The German Sextet has returned again for yet another offering of melodic power metal.
Among the Gods is a more interesting trek compared to their last release
Hallowed be thy Name, which was seemingly a dip in the consistency, not bad, but they could have done better, and they do it with this one, eh. Well, the admission that these guys have grown is present, with a record that besides the guitar crunch and occasional double bass pounding,
Mob Rules have created a record that includes Indian/Middle Eastern and Baroque music influences creating a mystical record with a more differentiated style.
Having a background with strong songwriting, they tend to compliment that, along with their chops, with Hammond organs, strings, the same discrete vocal harmonies, sub-symphonic arrangements, and the presence of a choir to create ten tracks that tend to stand along within their latest offering.
The straight ahead metal cuts such as
"Invitation Time," complete with a string section; the emotional darkness of
"Ship of Fools;" and the gloomy opening opus
"Black Rain" offer the metallic thrust; it's the mood-laden tracks that such as
"Miracle Dancer," offering the Kashmirian vibe, the sorrow filled finale of
"Arabia," and dark ballad interlude of
"New World Symphony" that bring different the elements to
Among the Gods table.
There are the typical power metal songs present, the Gamma Ray/Stratovarius reminiscent cuts such as
"Hydrophobia" and
"Meet you in Heaven" bring it back to basics without being filler, they work these songs out as ear candy rather than redundancy.
Among the Gods brings back the more dynamic mood of
Temple of Two Suns, which had a more diversified production styling which mirrors the production on this record, to give more flare for vigor, showing that these guys had pushed their headroom for experimentation, and yielded enjoyable results. Power metal aficionados as well as prog metalheads might also want to give this one a try.
Written by
Hashman Sunday, June 13, 2004
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