sanction x the last day

Released: 29 June 2009 Label: Metal Heaven

Although first impressions of this album suggest nothing out of the ordinary, this German five piece undoubtedly tick all the right power metal boxes and repeated listens quickly confirm they are capable of making a strong contribution to what is already a thriving scene.

This is a very easy album to get a grip of. For fans of mainstream melodic metal it is a veritable - if predictable - feast of horns up rockers and sweeping epics that sound like a combination of pretty much every classic metal band you've known and loved over the last 30 years.

The Last Day kicks off with The Calling which evokes memories of Dio at their most grandiose, and this comparison resurfaces a number of times throughout the album, notably on tracks like Reason Why We Were Born and Alone Again, all of which have an epic majesty that Ronnie has made his trademark throughout his career, from Stargazer to One Night in yhe City.

In addition to Dio, there are a few other easy points of reference too. The heavily accented vocals of Eddy Paduch bring to mind Klaus Meine and there is a definite Scorpions flavour to tracks like The Eyes, while the excellent guitar / keyboard interplay of Demon’s Dance hint at a progressive sound not a million miles away from early Queensryche or even a heavier Magnum. Wrap the whole thing up with some big choruses and fluid soloing from guitarist Robbie Bobel, and the end result is a highly enjoyable straight down the line melodic metal album. Nothing more, nothing less.

More cynical critics will gleefully point out that Sanction X are incredibly generic and bring nothing new to the table. Perhaps it's a fair point – nothing here is re-inventing the wheel – but to dismiss the album on that basis is to miss the point. The Last Day makes no claim to originality, only to being a well-written and well-performed collection of traditional, melodic metal songs. On that basis, it absolutely delivers.

by Marcus Jervis