Masterstroke // Review
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CD: Sleep Released: 25 February 2008 |
I have to admit that when I saw the phrase “melodic power metal from Finland” attached to Masterstroke’s music my heart sank a little, expecting the horrors of layers and layers of keyboards, a vocalist that even dogs would struggle to hear and barely a guitar to be found anywhere until the “dramatic neo-classically inspired solos” kicked in.
After a bit of a false start with the short, bombastic intro track leading into the clean-picked intro of the first ‘proper’ song Killing Creatures (which is actually a decent straight ahead rock song once it gets going but not exactly an album opener that gets the adrenaline pumping) we head into the riff-heavy Turn Away that sounds for all the world like a lost track from HammerFall singer Joacim Cans’ solo album Beyond the Gates from several years back.
It has to be said that this is a very enjoyable album indeed, with the keyboards adding another layer to the band’s sound without taking away from the guitars and while vocalist Niko Rauhala clearly worships at the altar of Dickinson he differs somewhat from so many others in that he refrains from using the higher reaches of his range unless absolutely necessary and always effortlessly reaches the notes he goes for.
For such a relatively young band (they only formed in 2002 and this is only their second full-length) Sleep is a seriously impressive album on every level – even the production is excellent and with any luck will see Masterstroke catapulted into the higher echelons of the power metal scene.
Review by Neil Woodfin
Track Listing
| Sleep |
[01] Transition [10] Final Journey [11] 'Making of' Sleep (Docu) |
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