Mark Boals has been such a vocal staple in the metal scene the past decade or so that many might not have realized that he has failed to appear on a new project in a startling three years. Who knew he took such an absence? A reunion with
Yngwie Malmsteen and some rapid fire Ring of Fire releases kept him in the public eye for awhile. But now he's back, hauling the ever talented Magnus Karlsson along with him. That automatically makes
The Codex an enticing prospect for metallers everywhere since Karlsson's touch has resulted in an impressive run of golden releases, notably the
Allen Lande collaboration and Tony Harnell's
Starbreaker band from a few years back.
The break has left Boals in good shape, his voice sounding like a soaring eagle, revved up with vitality. Unfortunately "the magic touch" of Karlsson has worn itself out a bit here. The songs are like these magnificent tapestries, finely stitched intricacies and handiwork that is the mark of masters, yet the rats have been gnawing at its glory. Therefore it is littered in holes, places that seem lacking where everything else is near perfection. It is this marring of the metallic mastery that becomes quite bothersome. For instance, the first track off the release,
"Beyond the Dark". It's pumped, glowing in power, rhythm guitars and double drumming setting the stage for Boals' pipes to take flight. The chorus is bold with a bounce in its confident step, the entire song following suit by setting off at a nice hard rock/metal clip. Yet - there it is. Something missing. There is an "off" feel that sucks the magic right out of the track. It's like there should be more, something extra, lagniappe. But its just not there. And that is the feeling one often gets while listening to
"The Codex".
But there was something more. Mark has been an enjoyable listen when fronting for Yngwie for "Trilogy" back in the 80s and the Ring of Fire releases were passable...but to be frank - he's simply not a vocalist that can just sing anything and come out smelling like roses for it. The grinding rock pace of
"The Codex" sees Mark locked into the same screechy monotone that grates on the nerves. Couple that with some atrocious lyrics that sound anything but convincing and you get an album that is as awkward as a teenager at their first school promoted dance. You can't help but snicker over the ridiculousness of the proceedings at times.
"Toxic Kiss" is absolutely ridiculous lyrically but it does have a fast pace and a nice chunky melody. So does
"Raise Your Hands" but the gritty riffy guitars and Mark's monotone give it the same feeling as nails on a blackboard or an icepick in your brain.
"Mistress of Death" is more hohum racy metal, but
"Prisoner" calls upon the dramatics and a lovely melodic enriched chorus that sees Karlsson working his magic and making a decent cut after all. And even though
"Running Out of Hate" has some very silly clichéd lyric lines, the pompous production, blazing guitars and metallic slathered approach makes it a fun tune, if not entirely memorable.
"Whole Again" and
"Dream Makers" supply the slower moments while "Mystery" takes care of the moody midtempo piece. All in all, weighing the good with the bad, it manages to even out to a slightly above average album, best taken in small doses.
However I think those with an appreciation for the voice of Mark will warm up to the album more quickly than those that who do not. In fact, they will be in seventh heaven since he has been hand delivered some of the best music to sing on in his career thus far. For some reason his voice just doesn't work with the music on hand here, and it seems that several other dozen vocalists could have taken his spot and made this an A-list album. As it is - its more often annoying than not, and that's not a good thing for any music release.
Written by
Alanna Saturday, December 29, 2007
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