AFM has been renowned for churning out power metal in all its guises for many a year now and I have to admit that my stint with power metal began and ended in the early noughties, though I still have affection for Stratovarius, HammerFall, Gamma Ray etc. I also have to admit that requesting this release for review was pure self indulgence on my part in giving the genre a fresh look after ditching it some years ago. My research yielded that this was At Vance’s eighth release after a decade of existence.
Throwing caution to the wind I gulped and slapped the play button and was greeted with a title track that was more lightweight than expected but highly melodic with leads that border a classical style and a power metal sounding chorus that you can obviously sing to. Giving an album like this to a gnarly old death metaller and smug thrasher like me will always throw up odd band comparisons of my yesteryear and “Torn – Burning Like Fire” has not escaped with me thinking it sounds like a heavier Magnum (if you believe that Magnum has a heavier side), though the melody in the track is excellent foot tapping rock music and a personal favourite on the album.
“Last In Line” has a change in vocal pitch, being more gravelly yet with clean passages of the Tom Englund (Evergrey) variety and more virtuoso lead elements. The pointless cover of “Wishing Well” passed me in a snobby sigh as “Salvation Day” has a folky Skycladish riff and more soaring power metal vocals. The speed is missing on this album for the majority and the band leans closer to Europe than HammerFall. The classical inspiration of “Vivaldi, Summer 2nd Set” with its obvious improvisation sees the band showing off big style whereas “Power” plods along pleasantly with hints of latter day Deep Purple. Ballads have always had the effect of making me yawn and “You And I” had exactly this effect, but thankfully the remaining tracks are far more enjoyable with “End Of Days” adding some much needed spice with double bass and power metal speed. “Falling” slows to a Whitesnake vibe and atmosphere with plenty of emotive vocals and an easy to listen to attitude.
Whilst rarely venturing further than hard rock and very melodic metal, there is no denying that this is excellently played with great vocals and guitar work as tight as the proverbial, so if Deep Purple, Whitesnake, Rainbow, Europe et al. is your thing then check this out pronto as I actually enjoyed it a lot.
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