Solar Fragment - In Our Hands
Rating
RIYL
Power MetalPower Metal
Power Metal
Power Metal
Release Date
04/19/2011
Tracklist
1. In Our Hands2. With Empty Eyes
3. Inside The Circle
4. At The Harbor
5. Race The Seas
6. Come Hell Or High Water
7. Homecoming
8. Moana's Return
9. The March Of The Golems
10. Once Again
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Power metal seems to be slowly dying out as a genre; there are still a bunch of bands still trying to wave the flag, but overall most bands still playing in the genre are very much just boring and repetitive. Solar Fragment’s newest album, In Our Hands, falls squarely into this category--you have the soaring vocals and quick guitars that make power metal what it is, but they don’t bring anything new to this already weakening genre.
The first song, and title track, finds Solar Fragment opening with big chords and dueling guitars that at first listen intrigued me, but within a few moments became quite tiresome. I may be over-generalizing, but most power metal type bands seem to have really good guitarists that play their instruments with loads of dexterity, but they completely lack soul in their playing style. They're just playing to their genre, chugging triplets followed by fast solos. These guys must all share their guitar tones with one another as well because they're starting to sound the same regardless of which power metal band is playing. To top it off, all of the songs follow a similar pattern and it gets old really fast.
One positive thing about Solar Fragment is their lead singer, Robert Leger, as he actually has a really good voice, but despite that, there is still something about his approach that feels off. Maybe it's the melodies that I can’t get past, but this anthemic style of singing is very predictable. You can tell when each chorus is going to start by the inclusion of full-group vocals right before the lead singer kicks into the chorus. When listening, you may find yourself wanting to slay a group of golems with your fellow brethren, as is again the case with most power metal. Excuse my ignorance, but does all power metal have to involve some sort of fantasy quest with dragons or other mythical creatures that need slaying?
You are going to have to be a die-hard power metal fan to fall in love with this. If you are a casual metal listener you will probably want to stay far away from this release.
--Corey Mack
Comments
Minnesota
I like some power metal, but this was really, really bland.
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