Yet another relatively new German band with friends in high places: their break-through album, "Ambiguity" (2000), was produced by Sascha Paeth of Heavens Gate and Dirk Schlachter of Gamma Ray! Needless to say, with such sponsors (and they thank numerous other power metal bands in the liner notes to "Ambiguity"), the future looked bright for these guys from the beginning. They have been quickly signed by Metal Blade and are now enjoying a pretty good distribution in USA. But the most surprising thing was that they have actually lived up to the expectations, as the following releases, "Metus Mortis" (2001) and "Soul Temptation" (2003) came out to raving reviews. The band has been pretty stable in its line-up, which consists of Andy Franck (vocals, songs), Torsten "Todde" Ihlenfeld (guitars, keyboards), Milan Loncario (guitars), Andreas Mailander (bass), and Dieter Bernert (drums). Andy Franck is also the frontman for another project, Symphorce. Brainstorm continuous to go strong, releasing "Liquid Monster" (2005) and "Downburst" (2008).
AMBIGUITY (2000)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: "Arena," "Maharaja Palace," "Demonsion"
A very solid power metal album, with a vocalist that resembles Hanne Basse of Metalium. I
personally feel the album lacks in that special feeling called
"groove," even though all the pieces seem to be present: solid
riffing and musicianship, decent lyrics, etc. "Crush Depth" and
"Tear Down The Walls" are good heavy tracks, somewhere between
Helloween and
Grave Digger. "Arena" is an excellent
rocker, with a great sing-along chorus, but it just sounds thin at
times. Ballads are this album's major weak points. Seems like every
power metal ballad nowdays must have a piano ballad, and "Beyond My
Destiny" is simply not on the level. "Maharaja's Palace" got just
what is missing for the main part of the album: that very groove,
obtained by the use of Indian melodies. Excellent. Two more
highlights come at the end of the disc: both "Demontion" (even
though I could never tell what this one is about, but it's very
catchy) and "Perception Of Life" are both very good power metal
tracks. Production is terrific (uhm, it's Sascha and Dirk, nothing
less than terrific would be accepted), and the album just adds to
the overall greatness of Year 2000, but it is not an instant
classic.
METUS MORTIS (2001)
BEST SONGS: "Hollow Hideaway," "Weakness Sows Its Seeds," "Meet Me In The Dark"
Now, THIS IS an instant classic. Power thrash album of the year and one of year's best overall. The sound
is perfect to the note, the intensity is high, Andy Franck's voice
kills, the riffs are hammer, the drums are thunder. Great
songwriting, a natural step up from Ambiguity, and you know
what this means? Bombastic choruses and no annoying ballads! This
album just takes off and never looks behind. After initial couple of
listens songs blend in a little, but after a while, you may find
yourself quietly (or not so quietly) humming virtually every track.
"Blind Suffering," "Shadowland" ("Don't give in!!!"), "Checkmate In
Red," "Into The Never" (very heavy and thrashy, reminds me of
Metallica's "Through The Never"), "Behind" (reminds me of Megadeth), and
"Strength Of Will" are all fabulous tunes with fabulous choruses.
What makes the highlights highlights? Even better choruses, if you
can believe it. And the highlights are "Hollow Hideway" with its
vicious groove, "Cycles" with its twisted attack, and "Meet Me In
The Dark" (drug-related, will make you go around singing "Meet! Me!
In! The! Dark!" like an idiot for hours). The highest point of the
album, undoubtedly, is "Weakness Sows Its Seeds." The main riff is
an absolute drill: it may rival the main riff from Falconer's "Heresy
In Disguise" for the Riff of the Year title. And THE CHORUS!! Use of
deathly growls (though words are clearly audible) on top of the
extreme use of melody in a power riff is outstanding, makes me think
of early Sentenced, albeit
the fact I've never heard anything that great from early Sentenced.
"Nevermind the unseen, the clouds feel my head. Blind without truth
in a word. Watching over your steps, weakness sows its seed. And I
still can't sleep!" Simply terrific. One theme that continuously
surfaces throughout this album is the theme of "blindness."
Seemingly, the lyrical hero of Andy Franck undergoes a very insecure
period of his life. He is alone and trying to fight through the
challenges and obstacles on his way. This is truly one of the more
inspiring works I've heard all year.
SOUL TEMPTATION (2003
BEST SONGS: "The Leading," "Shiva's Tears," "To The Head"
Brainstorm is turning out to be one of the most consistent modern bands, as their brand of dark power metal is
matched in quality and execution only by Tad
Morose. Unlike its predecessors, this album was produced by the band itself, but no significant
change in sound is detected, as Franck & Co. have obviously
learned the lessons on production from their teachers very well. The
main difference between Ambiguity, on one end, and
MM and ST, on the other, is that the latter two
are quite not as thrashy but also don't have the light ballads, as
the band has settled perfectly in between. Heavy and powerful
riffing, highlighted by the synth highlights, thunderous drumming by
Bernert, and upfront vocals by Franck make the signature sound of
the band, and thought-provoking (in places) lyrics, tasty melodies,
and grandeur choruses highlight the songwriting. The band is
seemingly not running out of ideas, although the riffs, the basis of
every metal record, cannot be deemed "ground-breaking." The emphasis
lies in perfect execution of these riffs and their interaction with
the harmonies. I only wish they would treat us to another taste of
death metal which skyrocketed "Weakness Sows Its Seeds" from the
previous album to the top of the "Best of 2001" list. But the songs
are still great: spectacular choruses in "Highs Without Lows," "The
Leading" (the highest point on the album), and "To The Head" (the
closest this album comes to their thrashy roots, and is also similar
to "Meet Me In The Dark" in its groove), well-crafted solos in
"Nunca Nos Rendimos," frantic riffing in "Dying Outside" and "To The
Head," and, finally, their trademark occasional flirt with oriental
sounds in "The Trinity Of Lust" trilogy ("Shiva's Tears,"
"Fornever," and the title track), all make this cd stand out in the
sea of mediocre metal flowing wild in Europe. And, since these guys
are just as tight live as they are on the record, they are clearly
riding the crest of the New Wave of European Power Metal.
LIQUID MONSTER (2005)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: "Worlds Are Coming Through," "Inside A Monster," "Painside"
I guess, two such fabulous albums as Metus Mortis and Soul Temptation are not easy to
follow. And, considering that the primary songwriter, Andy B. Franck, has two full-time projects, it is no surprise that the well
is showing signs of dryness. First of all, Symphorce and Brainstorm
are starting to sound too alike to even talk about two separate
bands, and not just the same band releasing an album a year. That's
not to say some songs do not trounce hard: the opening duo of
"Worlds Are Coming Through" and "Inside A Monster" are as heavy and
crushing as anything that Torsten Ihlenfeld and Milan Loncaric ever
chugged out, and "Lifeline" is a full-scale power thrash (not quite
Kreator but blasting nonetheless). Sound-wise, Brainstorm is still the same
well-oiled, charging steel machine that functions without a single
glitch. But the material is clearly not as interesting as before,
the vocal melodies are not as grabbing, and harmonies are just plain
derivative. The downgrade of vocal melodies is especially annoying
because Brainstorm gave us some of the catchiest vocal moments in
recent metal history, with tunes like "Weakness Sows Its Seed" and
"The Leading." The chorus to "All Those Words" comes the closest,
recalling some moments from Crimson Glory's "Astronomica," but it's still not quite up there, and a very similar vocal melody is also
found in the chorus in a generic ballad "Heavenly." The lyrics make
no sense whatsoever, but they rarely did for this band, so no
problem here. "Liquid Monster" is still a solid effort, but at this
point in time, I have no idea what should Brainstorm do next to
regain its freshness, as well as the leading position on the metal scene.
DOWNBURST (2008)
RATING: ****1/2
BEST SONGS: “Falling Spiral Down,” “Fire Walk with Me,” “How Do You Feel?”
A serious improvement over Monster (which wasn’t that bad to begin with), this album is a testament to band’s exceptional consistency and a serious contender for the “Album of the Year” title. It’s as if the human element has been completely removed from the equation, and the Hamburg-assembled machine, like an Audi factory, keeps churning out album after album of terrific rocking material. Of course, the Paeth / Miro tandem simply refuses to let them fall below a certain line. Virtually every song is good, but the first four songs (“Spiral Down,” “Fire Walk with Me,” “Stained with Sin,” and “Redemption in Your Eyes”) are on par with any of their previous masterpieces: high intensity, powerful riffs, Andy’s soaring vocals, and so on. “Fire Walk with Me” is my (and a guaranteed concert) favorite: it simply slays, with both atmospheric pre-chorus and a rocking chorus. “End in Sorrow” is a terrific plodding mid-tempo anthem. Another clear highlight is “How Do You Feel,” with its excellent melodic riffing, which for some reason, makes me think of Def Leppard “Mirror, Mirror.” “Frozen” is another one that offers Brainstorm’s trademark thrashy groove. I also love the artwork. Hurray to Andy and the boys!
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