|
|
Band: Royal Hunt Album: Collision Course - Paradox II Reviewer: Nick/Jeff
Expectations
Nick: I have liked Royal Hunt for an unusually long time considering their relative obscurity. I still remember my first Royal Hunt purchase being the original Paradox at a local record shop over three years ago. Then and now the album blows my mind and remains a top ten album in my entire collection. Now with the release of Paradox II my only hopes where not that it would be the let down that Operation: Mindcrime II was. On my side I have the fact that Andre has been writing mostly fantastic music over the past ten years, whereas Queensryche has not, however Royal Hunt would not have the amazing vocals of John West on this release as they have for the past four albums, or the vocals of D.C. Cooper who appeared on the original Paradox. All things considered I expected an album that probably would not stand up to the original, but would be a great effort nonetheless, partially due to may love of the last Royal Hunt album Paper Blood.
Jeff: I’m not as die-hard of a Royal Hunt fan as Nick, but I’ve now been into them for some time, and I was very anxious to hear what the band was capable of following the lineup shuffle of recent years. The original Paradox is certainly an album to be reckoned with, and I’m sure many people feel the band are foolish to an attempt a follow up, especially with the barrage of bad follow-ups that have been done over the years. However as usual I approached with a generally optimistic point of view.
Song by Song
“Principles of Paradox” Nick: I love subtle recurring themes in music, however from the instant a stormy background started in this song, I feared that the kickoff to this album would be the same as the first Paradox. Not a bad thing, it’s a great intro, but I hate obvious themes between albums like that. Song slowly builds and takes its own identity, but it still remains the only song on the album I wouldn’t consider superb.
Jeff: Any fan of the original Paradox will quickly realize that what they're hearing is quite familiar. Just as the original, Collision Course opens with the same sound effects and acoustic guitar passage as heard in the track "The Awakening". All in all, this is really more of an intro track than anything else, despite its 5-minute duration. Basically this track more or less sets up the musical and lyrical tone for the album that is to follow. As soon as things get going, it becomes obvious that Andre Anderson has not chosen to deviate much from the formula of past releases, which for a band like Royal Hunt seems to help much more than it hurts. The band definitely has a trademark sound it's very much at work here as ever before.
“The First Rock” Nick: This song starts quick and is able to really start off what is an amazing rest of the album. Much to my surprise Mark Boals establishes himself as a suitable follow up to D.C. Cooper and John West. Guitar solo is top notch and I would expect anything less from Marcus Jidell. Outro of song and intro to “Exit Wound” feature a much better example of the cross-album referencing I enjoy.
Jeff: Ah yes, this track definitely grabs you right away. I had my doubts about Mark Boals as a vocalist in this band after their previous greats, but this track put most of them to rest. This number is definitely one of the more straight forward tracks on the disk, and probably among my favorites as well. As expected, the band delivers a really catchy chorus here, and Boals certainly wasn't going for modesty when it came to his vocal performance.
“Exit Wound” Nick: Very organic track in which verse flows into chorus and back out to verse without me noticing much, fantastic throughout. I agree with Jeff that the chorus is catchy, but I can’t help but feel it isn’t in the same style as traditional Royal Hunt.
Jeff: Go figure, the band wrote another really catchy chorus. Boals gives a much more modest vocal approach here, but still definitely shines. This is track probably has more in common with the original Paradox album than most of the songs on Collision Course, most likely brought on by the very "Message To God"-esque vibe throughout most of the song.
“Divide and Reign” Nick: By this point I’ve fully recovered from a somewhat lacking opening track and can’t believe how so far Andre has managed to make such a good follower to the original album. Also noticed by this point is the lack of a “normal” Royal Hunt chorus. Seems it’s been since the original Paradox that the choruses strayed so far from the norm and managed to stay so very good. Another amazing song.
Jeff: This could very well be the heaviest song on here, driven by thunderous double bass throughout its chorus. There's actually a very angry feeling to this track that's somewhat uncharacteristic of Royal Hunt. I personally don't find this to be one of the better tracks on the album. This being said, this definitely is still a worthy track, as even this album's weaker tracks are very enjoyable listens.
“High Noon at the Battlefield” Nick: Bit softer than the rest of the album thus far, especially for the first few minutes, but eventually the general heaviness of the rest of the album returns. Ending features a talking bit that may catch a few listeners by surprise at first. Andre said the content of the album might be a bit controversial to some, and so the squeamish may do well not to pay attention to the lyrics here or the next song especially.
Jeff: In sharp contrast to the previous track, "High Noon" opens up with a very mellow acoustic guitar and fretless bass intro, which gives way to a very ballad-esque vibe. The variety here is a nice change from the one-two-three punch of this song's predecessors. However, the ballad-esque vibe certainly does not last, as just over 2 minutes through the track; we're thrown into a very heavy, grinding passage. The variety of guest vocalists here really helps to keep things interesting. The track closes with a nice return to the original vibe of the intro. This is definitely one of the more creative tracks on the album.
“The Clan” Nick: Perhaps the most aggressive song on the album, Mark Boals powers his way through this one and delivers one of the edgiest performances in the entire Royal Hunt catalog. Song stays powerful throughout and ends up being my favorite track on the disc.
Jeff: Who would've thought a track about the KKK could be this great? It's true, this track's lyrics revolve around the infamous hate group, but in pure Royal Hunt fashion, they can write a really catchy song about a very serious topic. Most of this track just kicks you in the ass, and could very well be my favorite track on the album after the listens I've had. The instrumental section offers a kickass guitar and keyboard solo duel between Marcus Jidel and the "lord of the board" Andre Anderson. I've noticed though that as a whole there are less keyboard solos on this album than many Royal Hunt albums of the past. The keys are still very present in the mix, just less solos, which I suppose is good or bad depending on your feelings on them.
“Blood In Blood Out” Nick: On first listen I could only expect this song would deliver the first super catchy traditional Royal Hunt chorus on the disc as on the old song “Day In Day Out”, but once again the song is simply a well blended, perfectly crafted piece with a powerful punch.
Jeff: This track offers a slower, more broody building progression than the quick punch of many of the other tracks. Generally a slower tempo but quite heavy and driving number, this tune helps to up the album’s “epic quotient”, both due to the general feel and the variations to the style made throughout the arrangement. I don’t think anyone didn’t see this coming, but this track also offers another superbly catchy chorus that is sure to have you singing along after just a few listens. Andre offers up a traditionally great keyboard solo, again I don’t think this is surprising anyone.
“Tears of the Sun” Nick: Verses of the song are possibly the neatest and best on the album and feature some nice instrumental work. I would also say the short instrumental sections of the song probably come closer to a traditional Royal Hunt feel then any other part of the album.
Jeff: We’re greeted here by some female vocals done quite nicely, which leads into an instrumental section very reflective of the musical style of the original Paradox. Not as much here to grab a hold of here, but this track certainly isn’t lacking quality, perhaps just lacking the strong identity that many of these other songs have. The lyrics and at times delivery are a bit darker than Royal Hunt usually partake in, but for some reason the music comes across as jolly, which makes for an interesting combination.
“Hostile Breed” Nick: Another in a long string of great songs, however I do think this may be the weakest track on the album aside from the opening track.
Jeff: Here we have another darker song, this one reflected in the music as well. I have to say this one takes a little long to get off the ground, but once it gets going it’s very enjoyable. The chorus is a bit goofy sounding with the use of female vocals and whatnot, but it’s still got that classic Royal Hunt catchiness. As Nick said, it could be the weakest track on the disk, but it’s still very solid.
“Chaos A.C.” Nick: Last and shortest track on the album, it starts with a musical reference to the original Paradox that is much more to my liking than the one in the opening cut. Verses aren’t overly spectacular, but the instrumental work under the alright vocal melodies and the awesome chorus more than make up for it. The song ends as the album started with a more direct tribute to the first album; however after an entire album of original music this is much more digestible than in the first track.
Jeff: We get off to a very heavy start here, and I quite like the riff and use of Hammond-type organ. The guitar solo fills by Marcus Jidel here are quite nice and very much add to the mood of the song. The vocals here are very powerful by Boals’ or any other singer’s standards, and very much bring a sense of closure The album draws to a close with a very obvious motif drawn from the original Paradox, and as Nick also said, it’s more enjoyable than the one found in the opening track.
General Thoughts Nick: I can’t believe how close to the original Paradox this album came, and I can’t at times believe this is a Royal Hunt album. The combination of Mark Boals on vocals and Andre writing music that wasn’t centered around two or three major musical elements made this a unique and outstanding addition to the Royal Hunt collection. I have no problem calling it the best release of the year so far. The writing is superb, the solos are fantastic, the vocals delivered, and the only track that gets points taken from the overall rating is the opening cut. The music on this disc is much thicker than any previous Royal Hunt release, the instruments are not nearly as separated and individual catchy as I am used to, and the music is much more organic and blended. For the most part the musical referencing to the original Paradox is very well done, and it is kept to a very reasonable amount. Andre seemed to take some keyboard techniques he used on Paper Blood and honed them to perfection on this album. Production wise the album is good, but nothing to write home about. The mix is very solid with nothing standing out to make a complaint about. Every member performed well on the album, but the surprise superb performance definitely came from Mark Boals. Not the same style as either West or Cooper, he managed to deliver his own unique powerful performance on the album that will with another album or two put him right up there with the fantastic singers Royal Hunt has had. It will be interesting seeing him do the older songs on tour, or perhaps the entire Paradox album if they decide to do it before the performance of this album.
Jeff: Overall I am very impressed with this album. With all the changes Royal Hunt had undergone in the last couple of years – mainly the loss of John West, I figured that this album would be a wash, and I am very pleased to say it’s anything but that. Mark Boals fits the music of this album like a glove to a hand, and Andre has managed to throw together a bunch of new songs that both stay true to the classic Royal Hunt sound and offer enough evolution and new ground broken to satisfy the hardcore fan of years. I’ve been listening to the album fairly regularly since I came into contact with it and that doesn’t look to change, it definitely withstands many listens. I feel like most of this material will go over quite well live and I’m interested to see how Boals will handle the older material. This is a definite keeper of an album, and one Royal Hunt die-hards and new fans alike should make sure they check out as soon as possible.
Ratings Nick: 92% Jeff: 94% |
|
