Artist: Crystal Eyes
Label: Metal Heaven
Release: 2008
Runtime: 42:36
Rating: 2.5/5
Classic European power metal that started to flourish a good 10 years ago. For everyone who loves the broad range of tradition stretching from HammerFall through Dream Evil all the way to Firewind, you’ll find a cozy home in listening to Crystal Eyes too. The era when the market was positively saturated with bands like Crystal Eyes is over, and storms of that kind, led by Stratovarius, Rhapsody of Fire and HammerFall, have just died down nicely. Power metal is slowly retreating underground. So it’s interesting to pick up the odd promo CD that’s once again written in this style.
Crystal Eyes, who hail from Sweden, have been around since 1992, so it’s not fair to write them off as a clone. Over all those years they’ve gone their own way, got a bit of publicity, but kept the faith regardless. The fruit of that is their fifth consecutive studio release, “Chained”. Former Lost Horizon singer Daniel Heiman left the band after “Confessions of the Maker” (2005), and the explosive Nico Adamsen stepped into his shoes, making his debut with the band on this new studio outing.
Crystal Eyes are devoted to preserving the tradition that the very notion of power metal embodies. The Swedes have that innate gift for highly melodic tunes and for building epic bombast into catchy arena choruses. Compositionally, the songs are technically very well crafted and polished. The production is spotless, with a great riff embrace, a dynamically forged rhythmic undercarriage and a centrally placed, authoritatively eruptive, highly melodic clean vocal. The band keeps the songs dynamic by working in melodic transitional flourishes and elaborate multi-part guitar solos, which keep the common thread of compactness running through songs tied to their lead motifs.
But a bit of caution definitely pays off this time. Crystal Eyes aren’t exactly innocent when it comes to borrowing ideas. A song like Waves Of War is an unmistakable ride down the power metal template rails that Germany’s Running Wild laid in their own unique legacy, in their better days, of course. If you don’t know Running Wild, this song might even become your favorite on the album, since you’ve got nothing to compare it to. So the problem is a partial genre burnout. The album even has cosmetic traces of Heaven And Hell-era Black Sabbath, caught in Dying In the Rain. That transition in it with the verses “Look out…” – “hopla konop’la”, doesn’t it sound like Ronnie James Dio screaming in the Sabbath classic Children of the Sea? The Devil Inside, meanwhile, doesn’t hide in its lead riffing and vocal lines that it’s flirting with the legacy of Accept. Despite such whiffs, the band manages to spin power metal riffs around and pour their predictability into an impression that adorns the album’s more interesting feats, such as the opening Ride the Rainbow and The Fire of Hades, and overall Crystal Eyes win back their reputation in the second half of the album with Lonely Ball of Fate, Shadow Rider, Fighting and the closing acoustic ballad Guardian, with its typically Celtic-flavored melos.
For everyone who loves battle anthems, who’s committed to the hunt for full-on melody and isn’t bothered by recycling the legacy of Iron Maiden, Manowar, Judas Priest and Accept, let me hint that Crystal Eyes are quality makers of power metal flyers that work right off the bat and won’t leave you in the lurch. So this is an album for the most die-hard power metal zealots!
Lineup
Nico Adamsen – vocals
Mikael Dahl – guitar
Paul Petterssonn – guitar
Claes Wikander – bass
Stefan Svantesson – drums
Production
Fredrik Nordstroem
Track list
01. Ride The Rainbow (04:51)
02. The Fire Of Hades (05:56)
03. The Devil Inside (03:35)
04. Waves Of War (05:08)
05. Dying In The Rain (04:35)
06. Fighting (04:25)
07. Shadow Rider (05:50)
08. Lonely Ball Of Fate (04:31)
09. Guardian (03:45)
