In the growing sea of power metal, it’s becoming harder and
harder to stand out. Either you stay afloat or you sink to the bottom. The
majority of the time there is no in between. Bands like Powerquest and
Messenger are two of those bands. They aren’t awful and they aren’t amazing,
they’re just there. Messenger’s new
album “Starwolf pt. 1: The Messengers" doesn’t tread any new ground at
all and many of the songs sound the same, but it’s not entirely bad. Some parts
are pretty good, most notably the guitar work. With this being their fifth full
length, much more should be expected. With the onslaught of incredible metal this
year, this album will most likely get lost in the flood.
“Raiders of Galaxy” starts the album on a somewhat high
note. It’s one of the best tracks on the album complete with great guitar work.
It’s just that the uninspired chorus brings it down a notch. “The Spectre”
sounds similar to the previous track but with a better chorus. The guitar work,
again, is great. “Salvation” feels like it’s stuck on the flattest plateau in
the world. It never goes anywhere and is unrewarding. “Pirates of Space” is one
of the corniest tracks on the album. The guitar work is unimpressive which is a
first so far. “Port Royal” is a better track than the last and it’s much
faster. Definitely one of the catchiest yet and the solo is awesome. “Chosen
One” is probably the best track on the album. It’s well written, tight and
epic. Why couldn’t the whole album sound like this? “Earth, Water And Power”
has a great fucking solo but a lackluster everything else. “Reign of the
Righteous” sounds like it could’ve been on Judas Priest’s “Painkiller”. It’s definitely
one of the better tracks on the album. “Thousand Suns of Eternity” has one of
the worst verse parts this year. It’s almost embarrassing and it’s the part
where the album really falls apart. “Starwolf” isn’t any better and “Blackbone
Song” is just downright boring and sounds like it belongs on a Dio b-side
collection. It’s the absolute worst song on the album. “The Path of Science” is
the best track on the second half of the album and it’s a solid track. Closing
the album we have “Born to Face the Wind.” It sounds like a closing track but
it misses the mark. It tries to be to epic and sweeping, but it ends up boring
and forced.
What Messenger have created is something that can be passed
over. Although the guitar work is impressive most of the time and there are some
good ideas in there; they aren’t enough to keep the album’s head above the
water. The whole album feels like a mess and there is no flow. Bands that try
to emulate metal from the 80’s are welcomed but they have to do it right. For
fans of Messenger this is probably a must listen but heed my warning; they don’t
do anything at all to progress their sound. It also doesn’t help that it’s TOO
cheesy. Corny power metal is great, but there are some bands that just don’t do
it right.“Starwolf pt. 1: The Messengers” is nothing to write home about and is
a very generic album. It’s not awful but it could’ve been so much better.
6.5/10
Official Website - http://www.messengerband.de/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/messengerband
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