METALIUM – As One

Metalian is about to conquer the world, and now there’s come some sort of woman into the mix too….

I’m short of bullshit tonight, let’s rock!

And rock we will, because it’s a long time since something hit me as hard as the opening riff of “Warrior,” the opener (after the intro) of German Preuser-Heavy act Metalium’s latest offering. The power of this hyper speed number is unbelievable – if pure Metal’s what you’re in for, this is IT! Where “Painkiller” ended, “Warrior” carries on …

Could it go on this good? Well, almost. With a few exceptions, this is a collection of very high class tunes, and from what I’ve heard from these guys before, this may very well be their best effort. To mention the downs first, “Find Out” is downright boring, “Pain Crawles in the Night” redefines the word “anonymous,” and except for a good chorus, “Goddess of Love and Pain” features little substance behind the cascades of drums and guitars. A thing I’ve noticed, though, is that the verse parts of “Warrior,” “Pain…”, and “Goddess…” are fairly identical. I don’t know if this is intended or not, but anyway, I really can’t see the point in this. The versions in the two latter lack all the flair of the verses in “Warrior,” and those songs could have been better with this part removed.

“No One” features another awesome riff, and “Athena” is screaMetal at it’s very screamiest. The European bonus track “Screaming in the Darkness” makes you wanna do just that (and Henning Basse does, too), with a ballsy bass intro, interesting wah-wah guitar fills and a melodic chorus. “Meaning of Light” is a little guitar-led interlude, very much like something Savatage could have done (think “Underture” or “The Wake of Magellan,” for example), and makes a great intro/outro to the very majestic Black Sabbath-meets-Helloween bomber “Illuminated (Opus One),” maybe the most distinctive song of the album.

In terms of performance there’s not much to complain about here. Henning Basse’s voice is every Metal band’s dream – powerful and with a tremendous range and a true German Metal vihihihihibrato. Check out “Warrior,” “Illuminated,” and “Athena,” for example, for some zeriouz balls-to-the-wall screaming that will burst a hole in your lederhosen before you can say wurst. The rhythm section — bassist Lars Ratz and drummer Michael Ehré — is as tight and fast as the best out there. The drum fills are extensive and impressive and the bass is actually heard here. Guitarist Matthias Lange also impresses me a bit. He’s definitely more comfortable when the music speeds up a bit — in calm passages he tend to choose too obvious scale tones and his vibrato is a bit out place, but he’s got the technique, the tone, the feel, and the attitude to do some serious rocking out.

This band has had Chris Caffery and Mike Terrana in their ranks, but there’s no need for them whatsoever nowadays, at least. This band has finally reached its full potential, and will be a definite highlight onstage this summer (with Freedom Call). Waaaaariooor, waaaaariooor!!