Lead by a songwriter / keyboard virtuouso Andre Andersen, this Denmark-based band continues to be one of the torch-bearers in the realm of melodic metal. They started out as a straight ahead glam metal band, with albums like "Land Of Broken Hearts" (1993). However, when joined by an American singer DC Cooper, the band took a leap towards progressive metal, and its albums, "Moving Target" (1996) and "Paradox" (1997), received high critical acclaim. Unfortunately, the internal tensions drove Cooper out of the band, and he was replaced by another American, John West, formerly of ARTENTION. Other then-members were Steen Morgensen (bass) and Jacob Kjaer (guitar). Albums with John West -- "Fear" (1999), "The Mission" (2001), and "Eye Witness" (2003) also did reasonably well. Simultaneously, Andre Andersen released two solo albums. John West also has an intensive solo career. After "Paper Blood" (2005) Andersen has completely changed the lineup, recruiting vocalist Mark Boals (who sang on several Yngwie Malmsteen's albums) and subsequently releasing "Collision Course" (2008).
PARADOX (1997)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: "River Of Pain," "Tearing Down The World," "Message To God"
Great progressive metal from Denmark, distinguished by superb keyboards of Andre Andersen, excellent vocals of then-to-be frontman DC Cooper, and catchy and very melodic songs. Although musically they somewhat sound like a crossover between Savatage and Dream Theatre, Royal Hunt is actually quite unique in its sound. Album-opening "The Awakening"/"River Of Pain" is a 7-minute majestic opus, that gives you a complete impression you are sitting the symphony orchestra hall, listening to the full scale ensemble of metal. The follow-up, "Tearing Down The World," is my favorite song, and the main keyboard theme will be in your head forever. Catchy and intelligent, this is really awesome, and the chorus is really great: "Tear it down! We're gonna burn it! To the ground!. "Message To God" is also very catchy, with a nice build-up in heaviness, although it never actually gets "heavy." Other songs, unfortunately are not on the same level: somewhat Dream Theater-ish, only with dominating keyboards instead of guitars. "Long Way Home" is moody (but still pretty good), "Time Will Tell," "Silent Scream," "It's Over," and "The Final Lullaby" are alright, but not spectacular. But the first three songs are worth any price.
FEAR (1999)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: "Faces Of War," "Lies," "Sea Of Time"
A very enjoyable sequence to Paradox, although I know some people don't like it as much, but at times I like this one better, because all songs are about the same in quality, and there is no distress that comes up in Paradox after "Message To God" track, when the next couple of songs are weaker. "Fear," however, does not have such megahits as "River Of Pain" and "Tearing Down The World." All songs are solid keyboard-ridden prog metal. Andre Andersen shows why he is among the best keyboard players since the days of classic composers. Average track length is ~6 minutes. "Fear," "Faces Of War," are "Cold City Lights" are very neat songs, with very pleasant music. So, if you're in a lean and mellow mood, that's a good album, although it's not slow at all. Most of the songs are up-mid-tempo, except for a great ballad, "Follow Me" ("though I don't know where I'm going": I love it!). "Lies" is a little edgier, with a really rocking guitar. "Voices" reminds me a bit of "Tearing Down The World," and the guitar solo is pretty good. Jacob Kjaer shreds! Album-concluding "Sea Of Time" is a little like "Message To God," only not as angry. New vocalist John West, of Artention fame, fits the style rather well, and although he's not quite like DC Cooper, it's hard to think of better replacement. A good album.
THE MISSION (2001)
BEST SONGS: title track, "Surrender," "World Wide War"
Definitely the best I've heard from Andersen & Co. Two things are immediately noticeable: the sound is edgier and more energetic and you can hear something other than keyboards in more than a few places. Simply put, Andre loosened the grip on his crew and let them play a little more. Some slight modern elements are very tastefully incorporated into music, adding to the richness and uniqueness of the sound. Use of filtered vocals by John West definitely makes him sound punchier and not as "sweet." The songs are also more energetic, especially "Surrender" and "World Wide War." That is not to say that Royal Hunt became any less melodic than before: still, the unholy vision of "pop" is lurking around in between the rocking sounds. The chorus to "Judgement Day" could be covered by N'Sync, without sacrificing its loyal and dedicated pre-teen fanbase. Wait, they might need to look up a few words in the dictionary or even read "The Martian Chronicles"! Yes, the album is based on selected episodes from Ray Bradbury's classic saga, "Martian Chronicles," which I used to love quite a bit during my adolescence. Some songs have serious roots in the stories they're supposed to be "based on" (title track based on "Rocket Summer"), some are more loosely associated with the stories ("Judgement Day" and "World Wide War"), and for some I could find no connection to the source at all ("Surrender" vs. "The Third Expedition"). So, if you haven't read the book, don't worry too much about it, but in some cases, like I said, it certainly helps. Overall, I must say this is the steadiest and the most rocking offering from Royal Hunt. Some songs, like "Surrender," "Total Recall," and especially "World Wide War" simply rip, to the extent than nothing previously released under "Royal Hunt" logo ever reached. I still have one gripe though (besides the N'Sync allusions): why does Andre feel satisfied with putting only 8 full songs on the album? Why does Rage have 14 tracks on every album, and RH doesn't? I'm not getting my money's worth! Wait, this is still a great album, and better than Rage's Welcome To The Other Side too.
THE WATCHERS (2002)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: "Intervention," "Lies," "Message To God"
This is a collection of various live and re-recorded tracks. "Intervention" is the only new song, and it rules supreme. Great, great, great melodic tune that would totally belong on The Mission, and as everybody should know by now, this is a pretty good compliment. John West sounds like a god, and it's only fitting that he is now delivering the live "Message To God" a few tracks down the line. "Lies" has a long-ass intro (9.42 overall) but it's still great, "Flight" is very cool, and "Epilogue" is as good as any melody-dripping ballad that Royal Hunt ever put out. Overall, this release is worth the money if you can get it used, but I wouldn't pay more than $12 for it, mostly because it's old material. The re-recordings I cannot judge because I haven't heard Clown In The Mirror or Land Of Broken Hearts. I must say, however, that I prefer the radio edit of "Intervention" to the 14.12 full version. Also, absence of live tracks from The Mission hurts this cd a little. I want my "World Wide War" live, damnit!
EYE WITNESS (2003)
RATING: ***1/2
BEST SONGS: "Hunted," "Wicked Lounge," "5th Element"
A disappointment. After pure brilliance of The Mission, which featured some of the freshest and the most cutting edge production and songwriting to come out of Europe in the last few years, this album is a huge step backwards. Now they sound sweet again. Did we need them to be sweet again? Sure as hell not; I, for one, was VERY happy when they adapted a far edgier sound in The Mission, but this one lies somewhere between Paradox and Fear. Now, it's not entirely a bad thing, since both of those are good albums on their own merit, and this album also has some excellent moments, BUT! Neither Paradox nor Fear came after The Mission. As a result, I cannot judge Eye Witness on its own merit. I'm sorry. Yes, it's slightly heavier than either of them (and Jacob's guitar is more prominent than ever before), but it's not enough to make it a good-sounding album, because THE EDGE of the predecessor has been dulled. Keyboards are very, very subtle, which is a very strange phenomenon on a Royal Hunt album, and only in selected places Andre treats himself to a blazing synth solo. Some melodies and especially riffs sound downright rehashed (compare the opening riff on "Hunted" and the main riff on "Lies" from Fear). John West is a great singer, but after two exceptional performances he pulled off on TM and Earth Maker, this is merely good. "Hunted" is a very good song, so is "Can't Let Go" (talking negatively about American presence in Iraq: I wonder how John felt singing it), "Burning The Sun" is extremely cliche, and most of other tracks is, well, just there. On the contrary, "Wicked Lounge," is quite original, it is exactly what the title says: a wickedly performed piece of lounge music with bitter lyrics. "5th Element" is an excellent instrumental, possibly the best track on the album. So, songs are decent, but not spectacular, and at this point that's just not enough. Possibly, with The Mission (and two outstanding solo albums from both West and Andersen) Royal Hunt has set the bar too high for their own good. I must also mention that the bonus live acoustic of "Follow Me" is pretty neat. Hey, why is Jacob Kjaer reading "Argumenty i Fakty" (a Russian newspaper) in the booklet?
PAPER BLOOD (2005)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: "Seven Days," "Kiss Of Faith," title track
One can use Royal Hunt albums for a biannual calendar. Every two years, hell or high water, lineup changes or world turbulences, Andre Andersen & Whoever-Else-is-in-the-Band-at-the-Moment deliver 40+ minutes of keyboard-laden melodic prog. Two of the oldest (other than Andersen) band members, Jacob Kjaer and Steen Morgensen, are now out of the band, promptly replaced by Marcus Jidell on guitars and Allan Sorensen on drums, with Andre also credited in the booklet for playing bass. Sound-wise, this album is very close to its predecessor, Eye Witness, although not quite as sweet, in places resembling what I consider the band's highest point, The Mission (especially in counterpoint vocals of West in several songs). The guitar is crunchy and sharp, and I would say the solos are divided almost equally between guitar and keys, and there is even more interplay between both instruments (like in the second lead break in "Seven Days"). The band's main weapons are in top form: Andre is Andre and John is John. In all honesty, to me, all keyboard solos from Andre sound the same, but apparently he doesn't care: he simply keeps playing them quantum satis, concerned only with his musicianship and nothing else, making him indeed "Yngwie on the Keys" (out of 10 tracks, 3 are instrumentals). The lyrics are decent, but the song titles aren't: does the world really need another song titled "Break Your Chains," another "Never Give Up," another "Seven Days," and another "Seasons Change"? Not really. The songs themselves are good, fairly energetic and, of course, melodic, but all of them are somewhat hard to tell apart: they all have faster moments, mid-tempo moments, and slower moments (except a mandatory ballad, "Seasons Change"). Only their choruses and digital tracking tells you which track are you on now. Still, I do have several favorites, including nicely building "Kiss Of Faith" (which, for some reason, also reminds me of Rick Astley’s "Never Gonna Give You Up") and The Mission-recalling "Seven Days" and title track. It’s commendable that in the age of global "darkening" and "toughening" of power metal, Royal Hunt remains blissfully ignorant and blissfully melodic. Paper Blood is a fine melodic album, on par with anything they released before (except, of course, the "you-know-which" album).
PARADOX II: COLLISION COURSE (2008)
BEST SONGS: "The Clan," "Tears of the Sun," "Hostile Breed"
Does anybody at this point expect anything unexpected from Royal Hunt? "The Mission" was clearly an aberration, never to be repeated again. Even the entirely new lineup, fronted by Yngwie’s ex, Mark Boals (apparently there is a unique type of vocalists out there that is utterly devoid of self-esteem and therefore clings to notorious abusers), not going to change the formula. My enjoyment of each new RH release depends squarely on melodies: if it has melodies that I find cool, I like the disc, if not – I don’t. This one has plenty. I don’t see the need for calling it "Paradox II": it is no more similar to "Paradox" than to every other Andersen album (except the "Long Way Home" reprise at the conclusion of the album). The overall sound is a tad darker than before, but overall very similar to "Paper Blood". There are no boring ballads here, and that’s definitely a plus. One slow song is actually pretty good. The disc is also very even, with not one track that I would label "instantly skipable" (which was a problem with even "Paradox I"). One minor point of annoyance is that all tracks smoothly flow into one another, without clear beginnings and endings. I especially hate it about the album’s best track, "The Clan": by the time I realize that song is on, it’s already on the first chorus. "Divide & Reign" makes me grin every time: this is the Russian way of saying "divide and conquer," when translated into English, and we all know Andre gets his inspirations from Russian culture. "Tears of the Sun" have some nice female vocals. Other strong songs are "Exit Wounds" with its catchy chorus "Please, forgive me now for who I am" and "Hostile Breed." If at any point in time you were a RH fan, no reason for you not to enjoy this one too.
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