Artist: Adramelch
Label: Underground Symphony
Release: 2005
Rating: 4/5
Tradition lovers, take note! “Broken History” is the big comeback album from legendary Italian heavy metal band Adramelch, back on the metal scene once more. The reunion happened in 2004, and only singer Vittorio Ballerio and guitarist Gianluca Corona remain from the original lineup, with Corona also contributing all the orchestral arrangements on the new record.
The new album takes us through the concept of the Crusades. Nothing new there. Plenty of bands have tried their hand at it before. It may well have been useful for the band to grab onto a concept like this while regrouping and getting back on their feet, since it gives the record a more clearly defined goal. And a band without albums has no reason to exist anyway.
Enough superficial philosophizing. Let’s get to the music on “Broken History”. It’s the band’s second album, but a whopping 18 years passed between the debut “Irae Melanox” and this one. Has anything changed? Stylistically, not much, which is surprising given that the band’s lineup today is very different. That’s a good sign, because “Irae Melanox” earned sky-high praise from fans and critics alike as one of the best heavy metal albums to come out of Italy in the eighties. “Broken History” is thus a logical continuation of the standards of ossified eighties heavy metal. The new album is of course much more mature, especially when it comes to production. It’s far more alive, with the low end given just as much weight. The riffing is a touch rawer and there’s way less polish than on the debut, which gives the overall sound a livelier feel, and Vittorio’s clean, melodically commanding vocals fit into it perfectly, having lost not a speck of power or shine in the eighteen years since “Irae Melanox”.
“Broken History” is a bit easier to get into, since the songs aren’t as complex as on the ambitious debut. Still, on tracks like Dethroned In Shame, or Different Times, Different Place in general, we’re hit with serious rhythmic and thematic variety, and the band shows it keeps an even easier grip on things, making sure the songs stay compact and hold onto their red thread. So the songs are much more defined when it comes to a clear riff setup and bringing the core motifs to the front. The band focuses on spotlighting one, two, three motifs at most, and builds the dramatic atmosphere the story concept demands. The verses are by no means naive, as you might expect from fellow countrymen Rhapsody Of Fire. Adramelch stay grounded and aren’t pretentious in the slightest. That dramatic feel the guys already delivered on the debut is with us the whole way through. And that’s exactly why “Broken History” is once again an extremely convincing piece of work. The band serves up compact songs with well-crafted choruses and pre-choruses, fluidly and maturely glued together. There’s a lot of riff-tugging in triad harmonies, highlighted on the album as a classic trademark of the band. It brings a nice dose of dynamics to songs that are mostly mid-tempo, and alongside the vocals adds a highly melodic element to the record. The bombast of the melodic chorus hooks is boldly balanced with a touch of dark atmosphere. A great example of this is the hard-hitting ballad Heap Of Bones.
Ballerio has kept his recognizable style. Once again, the tone of his voice and his approach lean a little toward Geoff Tate (Queensryche). It’s a voice that would fit great in some American old school speed metal band too.
“Broken History” is an excellent album rooted in classic heavy metal moves. The production is murky but alive, just like the sound of the reborn Adramelch themselves. The songs effectively combine melody, punch and the revived tragedy of the story. With “Broken History”, Adramelch triumphantly return to the scene, and they’re a fine example of a band that couldn’t care less about novelties and trends, and instead faithfully follows the tradition of its own ideas, rich knowledge and experience. It barely gets more authentic than a metal lineup like this! Let’s just hope we won’t have to wait another 18 years for the third album!
Lineup
Vittorio Ballerio – vocals
Gianluca Corona – guitar, arrangements
Fabio Troiani – guitar
Maurizio Lietti (Mau) – bass
Luca Sigfrido Percich (Sig) – drums
Tracklist
1. Intro: Fantasia I (instr.)
2. I’ll save the World
3. Cluny Calls
4. Choral Prelude (instr.)
5. Broken History
6. Beloved Jerusalem
7. Heap of Bones
8. Dethroned in Shame
9. Darts of Wind
10. Different Times, Different Places
11. Declaimed Prelude
12. Ten Wiles
13. Conclusion (instr.)
