A Swedish melodic power metal band, formed in late 90s by guitarist
Olaf Lenk. The band released four albums in four years, featuring
Lenk, Oliver Hartmann (vocals), Rainald Koenig (guitars), and Uli
Mueller (keyboards), Juergen Lucas (drums), before the entire lineup
changed in 2003. Currently it features Mats Leven (vocals, also see
Yngwie Malmsteen), John A.B.C. Smith (bass, was also in Scanner), and Mark Cross (drums). Discography includes "No Escape" (1999),
"Heart Of Steel" (2000), "Dragonchaser" (2001), "Only Human" (2002),
and "Evil In You" (2003), as well as the contribution to the Metal Tribute to Abba and Hartmann's participation in Avantasia project. Their latest, "Chained" was released in 2005.
ONLY HUMAN (2002)
BEST SONGS: title track, "Take My Pain," "Fly To The Rainbow"
In general terms, this album very much
reminds me of DC Cooper and Silent Force:
hard-hitting melodic metal with a forceful vocalist and a solid
sound, only At Vance's keys are not as dominant. And, just like on
the last two SF albums, the material is very strong, although the
best tracks are all in the beginning: "Time Has Come," title track,
"Take My Pain," and "Fly To The Rainbow" are all spectacular anthems
of melodic power metal, insanely catchy (especially mid-paced rocker
"Take My Pain" and speedy "Fly To The Rainbow"). The band was
clearly set to kick ass, and that they deliver with shiny colors.
Oliver Hartmann is a perfect singer for this brand of metal,
reminding me of both DC and Jorn Lande. The
first four tracks are the strongest, but the rest of the material is
still solid. Two classical pieces, Vivaldi's "Spring" and Bach's
"Solfeggieto," reworked in a hard rock fashion, would make Jon Oliva proud. "Time" reminds me of
classic era Dio, and "Witches
Dance" is pretty good too. The album was produced by Lenk, but
Sascha Paeth did the mix and that did not hurt either. A splendid work in
the power metal genre, and the last one with Hartmann. Not to be
missed.
EVIL IN YOU (2003)
BEST SONGS: “Falling Angel,” “Stronger Than You Think,” “Wrong Or Right”
Olaf Lenk is still going strong and he won’t let a little thing like a singer replacement change his band. Not that it’s all that evident. In fact, if I didn’t know there was a change of vocalists, I wouldn’t have noticed. Simply speaking, “Mats Leven” = “Oliver Hartman.” They are identical, at least as members of At Vance. Mats may be a tad bit higher, but his vocal attitude is right there with Oliver’s. The music is not as “neoclassical” or “progressive” as before, it is more streamlined and now lies firmly in the realm of traditional melodic, slightly commercial, metal. But all of this matters little, because the quality of music here is superb. The melodies are lovely, almost as lovely as Kamelot’s, the energy is high, and the performance is top-notch. A large share of the album is speedy tracks, and they all rock. Opening “Falling Angel,” “Stronger Than You Think” (killer riff), “Wrong Or Right” (strange folky main motif plus wicked speed), and “Street Of My Dreams” all boast hooky accessible melodies and catchy-beyond-catchy choruses. Foot-tapping, head-nodding, and air-guitarring are almost guaranteed, and there is no reason these songs should not be all over radio, with crowds lapping them up. Other pieces are even more accessible. “Broken Vow” is an uptempo radio-ready “you’ve been a bad girl!” hit. Mid-paced marching title track is not exactly “evil,” just mildly menacing enough to offset the sugar. “One Million Miles Away” is another mid-paced arena love anthem. All 80s glam fans should be pleased by these three, as well as by a mandatory ballad “Shining Star.” Another mandatory track is a classical guitar piece, “Caprice No.16,” and, while it would certainly not be mandatory on 80s glam albums, it wasn’t all that uncommon either (see Yngwie or Randy). Overall, this is a magnificent album within the genre, and provides one with but an hour of excellent listen.
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