How many times have you seen a band described with
the term “supergroup” only to be subjected
to something that just wasn’t so super? You
think “man, I’m a huge fan of all of these
guy’s other work, so surely I’ll enjoy
*this*” And then reality smacks you in the face
with the hard truth: These guys are really good, but
they just don’t play well together. Well let
me introduce you to RIDE THE SKY an honest to goodness
‘supergroup’ consisting of current and
former members of HELLOWEEN, MASTERPLAN, TEARS OF
ANGER, BEYOND TWILIGHT, XSAVIOR, DIONYSUS, and STORMWIND.
The five members of the band (Bjorn Jansson, Uli Kusch,
Benny Jansson, Kaspar Dahlqvist, and Mathias Garnas)
have a combined recording experience of over 70 albums.
Wow, that’s a heck of a resume there, featuring
a whole lot of prog/powermetal. How could you go wrong?
Well let me assure you folks, with “New Protection”
the band’s debut album, you most certainly will
NOT go wrong.
It’s dark, it’s modern, it possesses
power metal aggression, and progressive rock complexity,
as well as AOR listenability and with all of these
varied elements it will please many different people
for many different reasons. There’s melody galore,
as well as intelligent lyrical content, all executed
with musical exuberance and flair. It stands apart
from other European hard rock albums as it’s
both accessible and challenging, the kind of radio
friendly metal you’ll never hear on the radio
(at least here in the States). And that’s just
a shame, because it’s bands like this, who will
get next to nil recognition, who deserve the most
attention, not the current MTV spawned flavor of the
month group. Oh wait, MTV quit playing music years
and years ago.
Bottom Line: Titans of the industry unite to craft
a highly enjoyable power-metal/AOR hybrid, featuring
talent, intelligence, and panache. Extreme metal fans
wont want to touch this with a 10 foot scythe, but
if you’re of the melodic metal persuasion (JORN,
KAMELOT or any of the myriad of RIDE THE SKY’s
bandmembers’ former groups) then you’ll
be pleased. Very pleased indeed.
Key Tracks: “Endless”; “Far Beyond
The Stars”; “The Prince of Darkness”;
“New Protection”
Reviewed by Farron Watson |
