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October 12, 2008 |
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01. Black Empire
02. Back To Hell
03. Cabrini Green
04. Death Comes Crawling
05. The Sinister Show
06. Days Of Damien
07. Disciples Of The King
08. Beyond The Gates
09. Hobb's End
10. Dead In Texas
11. Vorhees Revenge
12. S.O.S.
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This is getting a lot of praise in the Metal press the world over (due mostly to the pedigree of the players involved as opposed to the actual worth of the material on offer I'll wager) but to be honest my own feelings are running at a far more lukewarm temperature. Here's why. FORCE OF EVIL are essentially a brand-spanking new entity (NOT a side-project!) featuring assorted MERCYFUL FATE alumni Michael Denner/guitar, Hal Patino/bass, Hank Shermann/guitar, and Bjarne T. Holm/drums, as well as newcomer Martin Steene on stratosphere-shattering (yet ultimately wasted) vox. This, their sophomore album 'Black Empire' is likewise basically a straight-up, no-B.S. continuation of the MF sound with - IMO - somewhat of a Glam/AOR/80's kinda vibe shuffling around back near the bar. Thematically each song is an homage to a different horror classic born from the creative minds of Stephen King, Clive Barker, Wes Craven and others.
And to be honest, that's about it in terms of need-to-know details. As a final product however, this just falls flat for me, which is beyond weird given such a talented ensemble at work behind the scenes. It goes without saying that Denner/Shermann are two of the best damn Metal guitarists currently burning up a fretboard, and their work here is no exception for the most part, although to be honest they are definitely starting to repeat themselves. Same rules apply for the rhythm/percussion section of Patino/Holm. Add to this the vocal performance of Martin Steene which is among the better traditional Metal/Rock vocal onslaughts I've heard from amidst my piles of review-fare (cross Sebastian Bach with Jason McMaster of DANGEROUS TOYS for an idea of what to expect) and in theory this should be a winner. For me however, the end result just didn't match up to my expectations. Not even close. In truth it's more a case of lots of flashy tinfoil and wrapping on a lackluster present.
The problems that arise on 'Black Empire' reside less in the sum of the various technical performances involved which are more than competent (virtuoso even), and moreso in the fact that the concept, writing, and song constructs are just so dated and trite that frankly, one comes away with an almost tangible sense of anticlimax and disappointment. For starters, wasn't this whole 'Horror concept album' thing already done just a few years back by ICED EARTH on the 'Horror Show' album to equally mixed reviews!?! I mean, given the MF pedigree present here, I truly expected more than such an obvious conceptual cop-out as this ode to slasher flicks. Then there's the music itself: standard '89-'90 Metal/Hard Rock that could easily be mistaken for throwaway KING DIAMOND/MERCYFUL FATE tracks. Really. I'm not being pissy here. I know my Metal and this is nothing that hasn't been done better a thousand times before, in many cases by the very players involved!
Hell, to be fair, it's not even 'bad' per se so much as it's all just so damned dated, flat, and overdone that I just can't bring myself to care. I mean, if you're going to pay homage to both nostalgia AND camp at least do so with enough fire and hunger to make the listener give a damn (see the first two HAMMERFALL albums and WOLF's entire catalogue to date as examples of what I mean). Again, in terms of sheer technicality it's great. All the players are at the top of their game. What's missing however is any semblance of originality, passion, or heart. This is truly almost robotic in execution. Personally, I blame the choice of subject matter. Who in all seriousness can play/sing about Friday the 13th's Jason, the frikkin' Candyman, and Leatherface and really care!?! ICED EARTH's 'Horror Show' likewise failed for the same reason: regardless of how talented the assembled players are, if the songwriting/concept is weak and lacking in substance then really what do you have?
In this case what you have is a parade of very adeptly played, yet very predictable and ultimately, boring and underwhelming songs unworthy of the talents behind them. Fiery leads without memorable hook. Heavy riffs without heft. Soaring vocals without direction. Songs without purpose. A potentially great band on autopilot.
At the end of this I'm left baffled. This band is wasting themselves to an almost METALLICAish degree. I'm left with the sense that there was some sort of rush to get this album written, recorded, and out onto store shelves. To make their presence known. To throw their collective horned helm into the proverbial ring so to speak. If so...it shows. For the followup effort I would personally advise taking the time to sit back and really craft something of more worth. As it stands, this 'Empire' is in danger of crumbling fast.
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