Evil Masquerade - Welcome To The Show
Frontiers Records
Horst: Isn’t it funny? In the past I have heard several albums from bands like Royal Hunt, Wuthering Heights, Manticora and Sinphonia, but I can’t say I really liked them that much. You see, it is so hard in the power metal genre to do something that really stands out. Everything has been done already, and the aforementioned bands are to me no different than any other common power metal band. So, with this thought in mind, I did not expect sensational things with this new band Evil Masquerade. After all, all the member of Evil Masquerade have a history in the bands I just mentioned.

But the facts are harder than prejudice, so I found out after playing the cd a couple of times. In fact, it would be no surprise to me if this album will grow into the best power metal release of 2004. Now I don’t know of course what you seek in a power metal record, but as far as I am concerned all the vital elements are present, and more. They guys mostly play up-tempo, with of course some moments of peace and quite here and there. Henrik Brockmann is an outstanding singer, and the choirs that show up everywhere are of the same class (but than again, he does them himself). Drummer Dennis provides a sober, yet interesting enough foundation, together with his partner in rhythm, bassist Kasper Gram. The real fireworks – as usual in this genre - come from guitarist Henrik Flyman. His licks and tricks can be found everywhere, and when it is time for his own solo spots he sounds like one of those cool shredders from the 80’s.

So far it does seems still to be pretty standard, right? There are more bands capable of doing so. But there is a difference, and that has got everything to do with the compositions. Where most band kind of stay put with the usual way of song writing, Evil Masquerade relies heavily on the genius of the old masters. And I mean the old classic masters, so you can kind of compare the music of the band with music written by the likes of new Savatage and Trans Siberian Orchestra (in essence John Oliva), though it has to be said that Evil Masquerade’s music is somewhat heavier. A lot of songs are built on the foundations laid centuries ago by legends as Mozart, Beethoven, Grieg and Wagner, or the guys directly refer to them, when playing licks from classic evergreens as ‘Hall Of The Mountain King’, ‘Eine Kleine Nachtmuzik’, ‘Alle Menschen werden Brueder’ and more of the same.

I’ll say it again, I will be highly surprised if there is another power metal album put out this year that equals or even tops this one. The high score is utterly justified, and I am pretty curious if the guys can maintain this high level on an eventual follow-up.

Rating: 94/100 (details)