Ahh, the smell of damp straw and flat beer, the enormous toilet queues… bands like this always evoke very strong memories of the Wacken festival for me, as what we have here folks is melodic, symphonic power metal, the sort of band found at outdoor venues all over Germany during the summer months.
This EP is supposed to serve as a taster of what we should expect on the new album, however I can’t prevent the words `record company cash in’ from flashing through my mind every now and then. Never before have I found an EP to be irritating in this way (I’m not referring to the music) – for a start there are three versions of the title song on the 5-track EP (three!!).
Not only do we have the full version of `Astral Hand’, but also an edited version for radio AND an instrumental version – why would anyone want to listen to a metal song with the vocals removed? If the track was written as an instrumental I could understand it, but listening to music deliberately laid out for verses and repeating choruses without the vocals is pretty mind-numbing after a while.
Out of the five tracks on offer, the only exclusive track on the EP is `Man On The Run’ – at the end of the release is an acoustic version of `Hold On’ - a ballad from their second album, pointlessly transposed from piano onto acoustic guitar.
Anyway, enough griping from me – when Mob Rules decide to rock out, they don’t do things by halves. It IS big, and quite possibly clever too. The title track `Astral Hand’ is gargantuan affair, with epic choruses, lush vocal harmonies, powerful riffing, vast layers of melodious keyboards and lots of lengthy dynamics. Occasionally I’m reminded of Nightwish when the guitar riffing gets choppy with overlaid keyboard stabs, at other times Rhapsody come to mind in the huge chorus sections. Quite why fans of the band would want to listen to a shortened version of this song is beyond me, let alone a version without vocals… sorry, I digress.
The one exclusive track on the EP `Man On The Run’ is a decent song in its own right, not as exciting as `Astral Hand’ but still a good metal tune with a catchy chorus and the grandiosity that this band seem to excel at. It does however contain a guitar riff that reminds me a little of the James Bond theme! The final track `Hold On 2009’ seems rather pointless to me (as I may have mentioned earlier) – the track has gained nothing from being re-recorded on acoustic guitar, and has actually lost something – the original was played intricately on the piano, whereas this version is represented with a few chords on the guitar.
These prolific and accomplished Germans do a grand job of penning epic, melodic metal and overall it’s enjoyable stuff. Possibly not very original, but don’t let that put you off – the catchy choruses and metallic riffery will hook you in pretty quickly! I would advise fans of the band not to waste their money on this EP though, and look forward to the brand new album instead.
http://www.mobrules.de
