Released: February 14, 2025 on Nuclear Blast
Production: Dynazty
Length: 42:14
Genre: Disco Metal
“Pop sounds dressed up as metal”
Around 2010, an interesting phenomenon started popping up in power metal circles. A bunch of bands appeared that took the sounds and rhythms of 70s disco, 80s pop and 90s Euro dance and wrapped them in a sympho-power cloak. Unsurprisingly, these bands come out of the Swedish and Finnish power metal scenes. The leading and most successful names in this relatively new movement are Amaranthe, followed by Metalite as the most blatant copycat, then Battle Beast, Beast in Black, H.E.A.T and of course Dynazty. I’ve probably forgotten a band or two, but the ones mentioned here are the most media-exposed. All of these bands have two things in common: above-average vocals and a totally saturated production. Despite that common denominator, each of them tries to push a different musical direction from the last three decades of the previous century to the front. H.E.A.T bet on glam metal, Battle Beast on 80s pop rock, and Dynazty on …
Dynazty are an interesting beast. On their first three albums they played a modern take on glam/sleaze/hard rock, and then with 2014’s Renatus they made a clean jump into the sound described above. Game of Faces is already their sixth album in this style, which speaks to the band’s remarkable productivity, since hardly anyone can keep up that kind of release pace these days.
Game of Faces doesn’t stray from the previous five albums in any way, it’s just that there’s more of everything. More melodies, more sound, more production, more stratospheric vocals. The guys have perfected the craft: every track is super melodic, super loud, packed with guitar solos and drenched in keyboards, which both guitarists take care of. I have to admit I’m a big fan of Nils’s vocal style and his vocal abilities, and the man definitely doesn’t disappoint on this album either. His melodies and the delivery itself are top-notch, and he’s unbeatable live too.
Since Nils is also one of the three vocalists in Amaranthe, the similarities in melodies, sound and compositional approach get more noticeable from album to album. Is it a coincidence that Elize, the lead singer and songwriter in Amaranthe, also contributes backing vocals? There are no coincidences! The production is very reminiscent of the middle period of Nightwish (Once, Dark Passion Play), with keyboards and samples taking up at least half of the sonic picture, so the sound just hums in your ears. Choir-driven choruses follow one after another, and it’s all executed with just a touch too much sugar-coated precision.
The problem with this album is its excessive uniformity, not to say sameness. The songs flow into one another almost without any difference, with no room to catch your breath. The only exception is the half-ballad, anthemic Dream of Spring, which, in both lyrics and style, is a bit reminiscent of the aforementioned Nightwish. The rhythms are mostly danceable (just listen to the Eurovision-style bouncer Devilry of Ectasy!), and half the tracks would have no trouble finding a spot on the playlist of any nightclub in the late 90s.
It’s also worth noting that, with two exceptions, all the tracks hover around the famous three and a half minutes.
The album is a top-notch product of its genre, but the genre itself is one big question mark, at least for me. What’s the point of pop ditties covered in double-bass-drum knitting, screeching solos and heavenly vocal heights? I’m not quite sure. But the album can definitely be played over and over without any problem, and you can even enjoy it. I picked my favorite tracks more or less at random, maybe a melody caught me, or some rhythmic pattern, I couldn’t say exactly. Or maybe it was Nils’s mop of hair flowing in the wind in one of the music videos?
Sticky candies: Dark Angel, Call of the Night, Fire to Fight
Rating: 7.5/10
Author: Igorac
P.S. Have you ever seen a track list with such cliché metal titles?
Track list:
01. Call of the Night
02. Game of Faces
03. Devilry of Ecstasy
04. Die to Survive
05. Fire to Fight
06. Dark Angel
07. Fortune Favors the Brave
08. Sole Survivor
09. Phoenix
10. Dream of Spring
11. Mystery
Musicians:
Jonathan Olsson – Bass, backing vocals
Georg Härnsten Egg – Drums, backing vocals
Love Magnusson – Guitars, backing vocals, keyboards
Nils Molin – Vocals
Mikael Lavér – Guitars, backing vocals, keyboards
Elize Ryd – Backing vocals
Linnéa Vikström – Backing vocals
