Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Serious Black
Label: AFM Records
Release: 2015
Running time: 41:42
Rating: 4/5
What do you get if you mash together the covers of Minotauro’s »Master of the Sea« (2013) and Brainstorm’s »Metus Mortis« (2001)? The cover of Serious Black’s debut, »As Daylight Breaks«.
Serious Black is a new lineup of battle-hardened musical masters: guitarist Roland Grapow (Masterplan, Roland Grapow – solo, ex-Helloween, ex-Rampage), drummer Tomen Stauch (Savage Circus, ex-Coldseed, ex-Blind Guardian, ex-Heavenward, ex-Iron Savior, ex-Stormrider, ex-Lucifer’s Heritage, ex-Stranded Guns), bassist Mario Lochert (Emergency Gate, ex-Visions of Atlantis), keyboardist Jan Vacik (D-Vision, ex-D-Lusion, ex-Dreamscape, ex-Persiflage, ex-Schnupn), Austrian guitarist Dominik Sebastian (Edenbridge, Shadows’ Grey, Thirdmoon) and Swedish singer with the intriguing stage name Urban Breed (Project Arcadia, Trail of Murder, ex-Bloodbound, ex-Pyramaze, ex-Tad Morose, ex-Dark Empire).
At least two of the names above are partly responsible for popularizing power metal, which, with their help, exploded in the second half of the nineties. Those two are, without a doubt, Roland Grapow and Tomen Stauch. Both once again deliver the best of what we expect from them, and what earned them a spot in the league of the most distinctive German musicians loyal to the legacy of the classic melodic principle in heavy metal. 100% self-taught guitarist Grapow can still pull out a brilliant riff, and that shows on every Serious Black track on this debut studio album, while his approach to writing guitar solos remains instantly recognizable. On the other side, Tomen Stauch brings the trademark traits you can instantly link to all the classic Virgin Records-era Blind Guardian albums, confirming his reputation as one of the most distinctive exponents of the German school of metal drumming. On the debut, Serious Black serve up a bombastic variety of power metal, stuffed to the brim and leaning on a seasoned sense of musicality and tight, concise arrangements. The six-piece body works in sync and in balance across the whole record. Every song is surely built on a Grapow guitar phrase. Hence the passing parallels, both in style and in atmosphere, to Masterplan and also Helloween (in the »The Dark Ride« era).
Even though the band is billed as an all-German outfit, and stylistically it definitely belongs there, they turned to a seasoned Swedish vocalist for the vocals, Urban Breed. This singer is a fascinating blend of the voices of Michael Kiske (Unisonic, ex-Helloween), Roy Khan (ex-Kamelot) and also Žak (Black Diamond, Mary Rose), while his number-one idol, judging by the vocal approach he’s developed, is surely Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden). The vocals keep the pomp and bombast at an exceptional level, even fanning and strengthening it. At the same time, with a crystal-clear and authoritatively dominant approach, he plays his way past the dizzying range demanded by the songs’ lead melodies. The album’s firm grip of bombast is also secured by well-crafted keyboard arrangements, which work as an orchestra and add a real symphonic element to the power metal foundations.
Serious Black are certainly not discovering anything unheard of, but they’re so damn seasoned and experienced that packaging, or recycling, the already-explored realms of the melodic principle in heavy metal is an easy job for them! So the main motifs, even when they feel familiar and already heard, grab you instantly and hit with full blood on the first listen. The production is dense, the riffs form an incredible massive wall of sound, intensified by a hefty »envelope« of keyboards. The songs carry the freshness and variety you want, despite the narrow genre definition. Ultra-melodic chorus hooks mark the emotional peaks, while the songs are mostly written in mid-tempo to fast rhythmic patterns. Serious Black also add springs of mysticism, as in the song Akhenaton (the song is about the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep IV), which »dances« to »arabesques«, especially because it’s effectively combined with the instrumental prelude Temple of the Sun, which carries some typical Kamelot pomp.
If you’re looking for an ultra-catchy, melodic and hard-hitting dialogue of sweet symbiosis, »As Daylight Breaks« will fit you like a glove. Especially if you’re a fan of the hallmarks of German power metal. An album of undeniable songwriting and arranging chops, a superb patchwork of ideas, experience and routine from a crew of excellent musicians, who once again justify their high reputation in those musical circles that, even today, fatefully shape the face of power metal in the old continent.
Lineup
Urban Breed – vocals
Roland Grapow – guitar
Dominik Sebastian – guitar
Jan Vacik – keyboards
Mario Lochert – bass guitar
Tomen Stauch – drums
Production
Serious Black
Tracklist
01. I Seek No Other Life
02. High And Low
03. Sealing My Fate
04. Temple Of The Sun
05. Akhenaton
06. My Mystic Mind
07. Trail Of Murder
08. As Daylight Breaks
09. Setting Fire To The Earth
10. Listen To The Storm
11. Older And Wise
