Artist: Decoy
Label: AOR Heaven Records
Release: 2007
Decoy is a project born from the union of two driving forces: songwriter and Danish guitarist Torben Enevoldsen (Section A, Fatal Force) and singer Peter Sundell, who in May 2005 left rockers Grand Illusion after 20 years of loyalty.
Going by the advance word on the style of “Call Of The Wild”, we were supposed to get pure melodic hard rock. At least that’s what you could gather from the lofty pre-release hype for a record that was supposedly already tracked a year ago as far as vocals, guitars and bass go. In the final stretch of recording, Enevoldsen got a hand from his old buddy Thomas Heintzelmann, and the job was done!
It’s not pure melodic hard rock, though it carries plenty of the stuff that’s typical of it. Interestingly, this is a record that meanders between hard rock and elements of classic heavy metal. The production is seriously hard and the riffs carry the bulk of the melody. Then there’s Sundell’s voice, which in the higher passages can turn into a demolition siren. The production is a surprise for a Scandinavian outfit, since it managed to keep the raw, razor-sharp liveliness of both the riffing and the guitar soloing. The guitars are tuned higher and the bite of the riffing is even more pronounced. In his solos Enevoldsen shines technically, in speed and in expression, and a few times he points pretty clearly to the influence of the esteemed gentleman, the “electric Bach” Y.J. Malmsteen. The riffs are simple and very fluid, with parallels to golden “eighties era” Judas Priest. The title track Call Of The Wild rolls in with a classic Judas Priest riff, fired up in the chorus especially by Sundell’s high-pitched shrieking. If the production of the rhythm section weren’t so weak in this one, the element of metal aggression would be much more present, not just in this track but in all the related cases on “Call Of The Wild”. We relive a similar experience in Heavy Metal Thunder, as the title itself warns us, and My Religion. On top of that, there are no keyboards on the album at all, so atmospherically speaking it’s a real cripple on that front!
What on the other hand pulls Decoy back toward hard rock is the fact that on “Call Of The Wild” the double bass drum pedal is missing, and there’s the targeted use of multi-part vocal harmonies (the choruses), which bring in more melody but at the same time don’t leave behind feelings that would stay etched in your brain for long, meaning these harmonies are pretty pale. For instance, the closing Piece Of Mind is a typical hard rock track, with a light breeze of bluesy retro feel in the chorus, which grew out of the Rainbow legacy in a poorly disguised way. The slightly “pulled back” Brothers In Arms carries a shamelessly predictable mid-tempo hard rock chorus that you’re sick of after the first listen. Then with Make A stand we again bump into a direct parallel, one that seems written expressly for Tony Martin in late-era Black Sabbath. An inattentive listener might even let this “detail” slip right past their ears, since Sundell’s timbre is light years from Martin’s, and besides, the guy sticks to mid to lower vocal ranges in that track. Break Through has one of the more successfully polished choruses, joined by a similar flash in How Long. Careful, though! The album otherwise drowns in repetition of the already heard and never breaks through the ice to let something of its own, recognizable character shine.
So the guys don’t manage to deliver anything but empty feelings that point to little more than a solid-to-above-average imitation of what’s already been invented. It’s an album that still owes us a lot. The riffs need to be built up so they create high-mood choruses, with more variety among them as an upgrade in mood and dynamics. In the future a keyboard addition would definitely fit, breaking the monotony of a sound that on “Call Of The Wild” is dominated by monochrome, distorted riff-scrubbing. Above all, the drums and bass need to be cranked up to the same level as the guitar riff. In short, there’s more than enough work left undone, so both Torben and Peter will have to spit in their hands properly next time and sweat a few more fat drops in the studio. So approach buying this album abroad (you won’t find it here anyway) with great caution.
Line-up
Peter Sundell – vocals
Torben Enevoldsen – guitar, bass
Thomas Heintzelmann – drums
Production
Torben Enevoldsen
Track list
1. Divided
2. Call Of The Wild
3. Brothers In Arms
4. Heavy Metal Thunder
5. Make A Stand
6. Break Through
7. Forever And Ever
8. My Relgion
9. How Long
10. Real Deal
11. Peace Of Mind
Album length: 52.08
