Sweden’s Supreme Majesty, hailing from Kristianstad, must be looked at as an established act by now. Elements Of Creation is the band’s fourth release, their third for German label Massacre, and there are no radical changes to their formula. But why change a formula that obviously works, and this time works better than ever? The royal ones have taken a small step for the Metal community, but a major leap for themselves, delivering fine Power Metal in the vein of Stratovarius, though sometimes a wee bit heavier.
With dozens of releases every week, all from bands around the world trying to play the art known as German Power Metal, one can easily bet and place money on the wrong horse. Supreme Majesty, guys and gals, is a safe bet though. Stratovarius is mentioned, and one cannot mention the Finns often enough, but that being said, if they (Stratovarius) released an album like Elements Of Creation after Infinite, no one would complain about their direction. Supreme Majesty does nothing to reinvent the steel, or wheel, but they steer clear of the bumpy road.
While on the topic of little originality, Royal Hunt is another act that must have influenced Supreme Majesty to create these fine elements. The orchestral layer and the structure of the melodies are much like the Danish/Russian/American combo – come to think of it, Kristianstad isn’t that far from Copenhagen, so it could be that all of these guys drink the same water, or do the same women …
Before moving on and praising a good handful of the songs on Elements Of Creation, another band must be mentioned; Europe. Not because of Supreme Majesty’s nationality – the most supreme and stunning Majesty is Princess Madelene of Sweden anyway – but mostly because singer Joakim Olsson really sounds like Joakim Larsson, also known as Joey Tempest. If Joey, Timo Kotipelto, and DC Cooper all were gangbanging the same chick, Tempest’s boys would have been the fastest swimmers and given life to Mister Olsson, that’s pretty much the voice of Supreme Majesty in a nutshell. He has the same “…-ah” way to end the words, like someone is caressing his nipples while he’s laying down the vocals in the studio – pretty much like James Hetfield sings “Sad But True-ah,” just in a much sexier manner. You see? Maybe it all sounds negative, but it really isn’t – Joakim Olsson is a fine, fine singer indeed, and that point is made by mentioning all these potential fathers of his.
Now, not so much about the band – you should have gotten an impression by now – this album is delicious like a Swedish meatball, and certainly stronger than their beer. The most delicious and outstanding number is in fact the ballad, “One More Promise,” which indeed would be a hit if released by Europe – the Power Metal ballad of 2005 is here. Whoever penned that song deserves a date with Ana Johnsson … one can imagine the big hall and all the lighters in the air, with young girls being crushed to the barriers and the stench of hairspray … and while some say that is a negative way to lead one’s thoughts – no, it sure isn’t.
Like our Webmaster says in the newsletters: And there is more … “Dawn Of The Dead” is a catchy eighties number that just underlines that these guys pick up where Treat left off. “My Revenge” and “King Of Warriors” are great songs, in fact, if you dare to give this band a chance, don’t be turned off quickly. The better songs are halfway through the disc, the first ones are not representing the overall quality – they seem more for the Japanese market, if that makes any sense to you.
To sum it all up – if you’re into Stratovarius, Royal Hunt, and Europe, and you can name every past and present member of Helloween (uh, that could be a hard one as they have adapted Spinal Tap’s drummer philosophy), don’t waste your time – this one’s crying your name.
Be the first to comment