Released: February 18, 2026 via Victor
Produced by: Steve Jacobs
Length: 64.10 min
Genre: Power (Speed, Thrash, Prog) Metal
“The stars have aligned”
Outstanding Power is the fifth studio album from these pint-sized powerhouses from the Land of the Rising Sun. Lovebites have been on my see-them-live list for a very long time, because their energy screams out of the speakers even when you’re just listening to the studio records. That said, listening to a Lovebites album takes ears in top shape and a lot of concentration. At least until now, that is. The first four albums are made up of nonstop volleys of brutally fast power and thrash metal rhythms, killer solos and Asami’s slightly exhausting vocals. No rest for the wicked, in other words.
This time the ladies went about things a bit differently. Outstanding Power is by far their most varied album. It’s still impressively long, but this time it surprises the listener, and pulls your eardrums out of overload with sounds and rhythms we’re not used to from this band. Just listen to Wheels on Fire with its Thin Lizzy-style intro and “feel good” rocker groove. Or the post-grunge Blazing Halo with its funky undertones and an impressive bass spot from Fami in the middle. Then there’s Out of Control with classic heavy metal riffing and a groovy rhythmic foundation. And let me not forget Forbidden Thirst, where a Nightwish-style intro is masterfully woven together with a three-part guitar melody the Maiden way. Top-notch!
Of course, Lovebites qualify as a power metal band, so tracks like The Castaway, Phoenix Rises Again and the closing masterpiece One will Remain, with its ultra-melodic guitar interlude in the chorus, have to be here. The relentless “drive” of the record gets interrupted a little too late by the gentle ballad Eternally, which the girls should have placed about three spots earlier on the list for a bigger effect. The anger in your heart is taken care of by the thrashy bangers Silence the Void (my favorite on the album right now) and Reaper’s Lullaby.
The album’s sound hits you straight in the face, though it suffers a bit from the typical compression that has been plaguing metal albums for at least the last two decades. The legendary duo Jusilla -Karmila make sure every instrument comes through flawlessly, so you feel every heavy riff, every sick solo, the deep bass and Haruna’s unrivaled drumming. With all the instrumental and performance highlights, I still have to single out the simply, absolutely insane performance by drummer Haruna, whose dynamic style spices up the potentially tedious rhythmic foundations of an album stuffed full of power-thrash-speed anthems.
My only problem is with Asami’s vocals. Not necessarily the quality or the range itself. She’s probably not entirely to blame for the really pronounced accent, but she could have improved the vocal melodies themselves, which are sometimes downright uninteresting.
I’ll deliberately not mention guitarists Midori and Miyako 🙂
This time the stars have truly lined up for Lovebites. This album needs to be listened to the old-school way, in full from start to finish, while cleaning the apartment or flipping meat on the grill. And of course not with headphones, but with the amp of a 40-year-old sound system cranked up to 11. Cheers!
Rating: 9/10
Sweet treats: Silence the Void, Out of Control, One Will Remain
Author: Igorac
Track list:
1. The Castaway (6:07)
2. Silence the Void (5:39)
3. Forbidden Thirst (5:00)
4. Blazing Halo (3:49)
5. Dream of King (6:03)
6. Phoenix Rises Again (4:44)
7. Out of Control (4:39)
8. Wheels on Fire (4:29)
9. The Eve of Change (5:00)
10. Reaper’s Lullaby (5:34)
11. Eternally (7:20)
12. One Will Remain (5:46)
Lineup:
Asami – vocals
Midori – guitars
Miyako – guitars and keyboards
Fami – bass
Haruna – drums
Technical crew:
Mao – keyboards and programming
Mikko Karmila – mixing
Mika Jussila – mastering
