If the pinky-hued sugary cookie monster ain’t your thing, go here. All others, follow the fearless RMR crew into the realm of the Metal o’ The Light. Power Metal is on the menu again and the Brits from Fellowship are the culprits this time around.
As you may remember, the band’s 2022 record The Saberlight Chronicles left quite an impact crater over here. Their brand of sugary sweet Power Metal almost gave us a toothache. But it was also one of the best-executed such records on the roster for the year. So, Fellowship here are up against a stellar debut album – and we’re in sophomore country now. So, let’s buckle up and let The Skies Above Eternity navigate these dangerous reefs ahead of ’em.
First off, Fellowship cut the airtime down from over an hour to some 42 minutes.1 And this usually is a good thing. Only, the Saberlight piece didn’t really gripe, despite its uncanny length. And quite unsurprisingly, The Skies Above Eternity tries to latch latches on wherever the chronicles left off. But this time, we’re not quite sure where this record is headed to. In desperation, the RMR crew consulted with the promo text. Only to find a vague statement that the piece should cover – and I quote – “…human aspirations to live freely, live well and live on…” and such. And that the classic Fellowship sound now includes “…a healthy sprinkle of Japanese power metal.”
Sigh.
In other words, The Skies Above Eternity will deliver a hefty dose of sugar-laden feel-good Metal o’ The Light with a penchant for Japanese preferences. After all, Fellowship‘s debut made quite a splash on these islands in the sea. And this is exactly what the band attempted to do. The mix somewhere in between Melodic and Power Metal is so hyper-processed that it lost a lot if not most of its bite or groove in the process. True, Mathew Corry‘s often soaring vocals are flawless as usual. And so is Brad Wosko‘s impersonation of one of Power Metal’s most gifted guitarists. There is some true PM guitar geekery on full display with frequent freaky shreds and solos that move in on often lukewarm rhythm guitar-led riffs. Need proof? Just head over to King of Nothing and be amazed. Whereas you only get the run-of-the-mill treatment from drums and bass.
And yet again, the production is flawless without one gelled hair out of place. This is offset by shallow songwriting that produced songs for folks outside of the connoisseur range. You know, future fans who’d like to experience that lustful shudder of having defied that devil’s music for once. That said, the tracks are well-written and roar along at a lusty pace. Only, you sometimes get those Disney flashes when wading into the nitty-gritty of the record.
And that’s to say that The Skies Above Eternity started off well. Hold Up Your Hearts (Again) nicely led into the record with a better-than-average first track. And once Victim started rushing forth with its lusty pace and limited groove, some folk over here started pumping their fist. The idea was that Fellowship nailed it yet again. And that feeling held its water until the next songs hit with their sweetish, dime-a-dozen quality. It’s just not enough to get excited. Albeit that Dawnbreaker and the aforementioned King of Nothing showed some real promise. In other words, you got yourself a record with 3-4 more or less great tracks with the rest rolling by on pastel-colored delicate wings. Complete with an early pseudo x-mas track, believe it or not. Or is it a Coke commercial hiding in plain sight?
Ultimately though, The Skies Above Eternity gets nowhere near its great predecessor. When the Saberlight packed yet another level of great yet insanely giddy Power Metal atop already great tracks, this record stops short of kicking it up a notch. True, the musical prowess is still flawless and Corry‘s exuberant and soaring vocals will bring the adepts of the metallic sugar-high much joy. Meaning, Fellowship‘s fanbase will surely find a ton to like here. And we’re equally sure that they’ll sound great on stage with their worn-out fantasy lore on full display. However, for this here crew, there’s just not enough meat on the proverbial bones to get us really excited. A sugar-high only lasts a short time, you know.
Record Rating: 6/10 | Label: Scarlet Records | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 22 November 2024
- Some 35% less, if you must know.-↩