Label: AFM Records
Release date: 28.09.2018
Production: Seeb Levermann
Album length: 51:38
Rating: 9.0 /10
How does a band work that has always flirted with the legacy of Teutonic thrash metal, and has a singer in its ranks who brings in melodic, authoritative vocals and whose “dominant pose” shapes the songwriting so much that the band’s music ends up drifting into power metal waters? Just ask Germany’s Brainstorm.
These long-running metalheads from the German town of Heidenheim have, over an enviable stretch of years (they’ve been going nonstop since 1989), built a style and sound all their own, and they don’t budge from it by an inch. Over the years the guys have of course matured and grown into even finer arrangers, but they still deliver, with incredible conviction and to seriously powerful effect, that old-school untamed fury of red-hot Teutonic riffing, which they use to bury the listener without mercy. In a way they keep that wild edge you’d expect from bands just starting out, not from metal veterans, which Brainstorm undoubtedly are. Brainstorm, who broke through on the international scene especially with the outstanding “Metus Mortis” (2000), seem to be sitting on a newly found peak, a giant wave of inspiration like the one the band rode at the turn of the millennium, when studio albums rained down one after another. Over the years Brainstorm have become more focused on polishing their arrangements, and that maturing evolution is confirmed by some cleverly added orchestrations and a few artistic touches that, more than 15 years ago, the guys consciously gave up, because back then they wanted to sound as destructive as humanly possible.
The blend of a few new elements in their music works really well, and bringing them in doesn’t lead to any “corruption”, as in Brainstorm sacrificing even a little of their own metal charisma and individuality. The musical payoff stays infectious, with the chorus melodies as the mood peaks of the songs. “Midnight Ghost” delivers a fresh crop of proper metal anthems, true marching hymns full of piercing bombast, and once again it’s hard to pick highlights. The lyrics again touch on a colorful mix of themes. From the struggles of the little guy and his slow (but certain) downfall, to the occult, all the way to historical legends and tales.
No hiding places here: true fans of this band will gladly add this new album, a proven fusion of German-school power and thrash metal orthodoxy, to their already enviable Brainstorm discography.
author: Aleš Podbrežnik
tracklist:
01. Devil’s Eye
02. Revealing The Darkness
03. Ravenous Minds
04. The Pyre
05. Jeanne Boulet (1764)
06. Divine Inner Ghost
07. When Pain Becomes Real
08. The Four Blessings
09. Haunting Voices
10. The Path
lineup:
Andy B. Franck – vocals
Milan Loncaric – guitar, backing vocals
Torsten Ihlenfeld – guitar, backing vocals
Antonio Ieva – bass
Dieter Bernert – drums
