Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Level 10
Label: Frontiers Records
Released: 2015
Runtime: 53:05
Rating: 4/5
Level 10 is not a side project of any member of the British art rock greats Level 42, but a joint project fronted by the superb singer Russell Allen (Symphony X, Adrenaline Mob, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Allen / Lande) and the indestructible German bassist Mat Sinner (Primal Fear, Voodoo Circle, Sinner, and now Silent Force too)! Musically, the debut »Chapter One« is cooked up according to Mat Sinner’s musical sensibilities. He brought in a few members of his own band Primal Fear, and another German guitar heavyweight came on board too, the great Roland Grapow (Masterplan, Serious Black, ex-Helloween, ex-Rampage). Shrewd as he is, a seasoned old hand who’s been around the block and knows every trick in the book, Mat Sinner conducted the basic shape of the individual songs on »Cjhapter One«. He crossed the basic riff cues of Primal Fear (and Sinner too) with a hefty dose of musicality he’s picked up especially lately, as the main visionary behind the Rock Meets Classic project, where he’s learned a ton from the veterans and rock pioneers who work with him on it. So »Chapter One« comes across as a kind of conglomerate of songs whose riffs could easily have been used for Primal Fear, while at the same time leaning heavily, more than obviously (with an arrangement »wrapper« that never gets in the way), on a songwriting approach inspired by the work of classic hard rock bands whose vision shaped the course of rock and metal.
The opener Cry No More already serves up a Primal Fear-style flavor in its first lead guitar phrase, then jumps into an infectious melodic chorus whose harmonized vocals bring to mind art rock veterans Uriah Heep. In the second half of the album, the songs Demonized and the closing Forevermore join the close encounters with Primal Fear. The second track, Soul of the Warrior, leans on the songwriting form of the Tony Martin era of Black Sabbath, and Voice of the Wilderness is shamelessly similar in its chorus, with the main phrase almost lifted straight from the Black Sabbath song Headless Cross (the added vocal choirs try to hide it). Blasphemy surprises by openly flirting even with Symphony X riffs from the time of the album »V – The New Mithology Suite« (2000). Sinner drew Grapow and Beyrodt into the project. Both, of course, grew up on the principles of the seventies hard rock school, and Sinner knows exactly how they work and how to make the most of their arsenal. Beyrodt and Sinner play together in the hard rock outfit Voodoo Circle, and they also carry over the experience gained from hanging out in the Rock Meets Classic project, which is why »Chapter One« is a successful mix. The song In for the Kill proves, especially in the opening verse and phrase (with added guitar harmonies in thirds), that the guys are fans of Gary Moore’s work from the days of the albums “Wild Frontier” and “Run for Cover”, as well as Thin Lizzy.
Given how busy Sinner and his Primal Fear buddies are, and on the other side Allen, who is just recording a new Symphony X album and not long ago put out a new album by the Allen/Lande project, it’s only logical that this record features damn experienced musicians who can create music to order, tied to a firm deadline. Completely routine. And that’s exactly what »Chapter One« is. It feels as if it was commissioned by the label Frontiers Records.
»Chapter One« offers nothing new or unheard, but it does deliver a nicely packaged blend of influences from both the projects and the parent bands that Mat SInner and Russell Allen belong to. The crew of German musicians, together with Frontiers Records’ »jack of all trades« – keyboardist Alessandro Del Vecchio – flawlessly and conscientiously carries out the tasks set by Sinner’s songwriting baton. There are no arrangement misfires. It’s also clear that Russell can sing with a completely clean voice, which he uses especially in the Allen / Lande project, but he can also come in with a pronounced guttural vocal bordering on brutal, which he’s been doing especially on the last three Symphony X studio albums. Since Ronnie James Dio has always been his inspiration, his choice of vocal interpretation fits naturally within songs whose writing draws on the legacy of the pioneering classic hard rock bands, such as the aforementioned Black Sabbath, as well as Rainbow and DIO.
This album will be of particular interest to fans of the cited bands and projects that Russell Allen and Mat Sinner belong to and that are cited within this review! A proven, effective hard rock album with infectious melodic rhetoric and occasional detours into the German school of metal a la Primal Fear, but with a »softened« production. It’s a document of a successful symbiosis and chemistry between the combined elements within credible songs, with no dips in quality among them. What they lack are artistic quirks or provocation that could surprise or shock the listener. Unless, that is, you’re a freshly baked music enthusiast with a heart devoted to the love of tamer sounds.
Lineup
Russell Allen – vocals
Roland Grapow – guitars
Alex Beyrodt – guitars
Alessandro Del Vecchio – keyboards
Mat Sinner – bass guitar
Randy Black – drums, percussion
Production
Mat Sinner
Track list
1. Cry No More
2. Soul Of A Warrior
3. When The Nighttime Comes
4. One Way Street
5. Blasphemy
6. Last Man On Earth
7. In For The Kill
8. Voice Of The Wilderness
9. All Hope Is Gone
10. Demonized
11. The Soul Is Eternal
12. Forevermore
