I’ve always regarded Germany’s Brainstorm as being in the Premier League of Power Metal bands. With the flamboyant packaging and trademark sound, they risk the accusation of being formulaic, but I’m very happy with it. Sophistication surrounds their melodies, there’s an air of mystery and the catchiness is infectious. Singer Andy Franck’s voice is rich and magnetic. Here’s a singer who can hold a note. His vocals are a perfect match for the atmospheric Power Metal. These qualities are all here on “On the Spur of the Moment”.
Yet the album is not without its surprises. “Below the Line” and “My Own Hell”, the opening and closing tracks, are not what I have come to expect. “Below the Line” is a bold beginning. Brainstorm are more measured than the cheesiest of Power Metal bands, preferring a tinge of darkness over flashy self-indulgence, but in the spirit of the genre, normally don’t miss out on the opportunity for an adrenaline-inducing passage. Instead of storming off in this vein however, this 6 ½ minute controlled track is more sober and mature. All the classic attributes are there, yet it doesn’t sound like anything they’ve done before. The same is true of the reflective “My Own Hell”. It’s a strange mix. Starting seriously and progressing with a pumping beat, I wasn’t entirely convinced that it worked. Whereas “Below the Line” is a masterpiece of control and power, “My Own Hell” doesn’t quite have that impeccable shape but I commend Brainstorm on their sense of adventure. These two tracks apart, we’re in more familiar territory on this album.
Oh yes. Speeding up from the second track “In the Blink of an Eye”, it’s all that we might expect. Driving and moving, it’s recognisable and happy listening. Power Metal drama enters the forum on “In These Walls”. There are dollops of cheese but as ever it flows and is well constructed. “Where do we go from here” cries Andy on his pedestal as we head into “Still Insane”. It’s what Brainstorm lovers are used to – a smooth flowing, utterly engaging and catchy rhythm. It’s bombastic but harmless fun. Cliché time next: “This is light, this is dark, it is tearing me apart”. We hear this ad infinitum. It gets in your head. More upbeat and dramatic is the multi-layered “No Saint – No Sinner”. It’s highly charged with colourful goings-on in the background, making it sophisticated. The album then develops into more rampant Power Metal with “Where Your Actions Lead You To Live”. Again a repetitive chorus line takes over but it’s exciting, fast and dramatic, a definite crowd-pleaser. So it is with “A Life on Hold”, a model of fast and chugging Power Metal.
I don’t get the impression that Brainstorm will ever make a quantum leap into entirely new territory. With the exception of a couple of interesting diversions, this is another album of impeccably delivered catchy Metal tunes. I’d say that it’s less anthem-orientated than previous albums but as always the quality of composition and structure is good, and there’s plenty here to entertain you. Indeed, I’ve come to realise that “On the Spur of the Moment” is one of those albums which lasts 40 minutes but will be going round my head for days and weeks.
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Andrew Doherty
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