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THE REVIEW
After a period spent sifting through doom, sludge, thrash records and similar stuff, I decided to return to that genre which, for better or worse, has always fascinated me. I'm talking about power metal. A relatively simple way of making music, which over the years has taken on the role of a prejudice catalyst on the part of the "true metallers," but has also managed to give birth to masterpieces of unquestionable value.
I was looking for a calm, smooth, enjoyable, catchy album. I thought of Freedom Call, but I've listened to everything from them by now. So I was recommended the first CD by the Danish band Royal Hunt, titled "Land of Broken Hearts." From the cover alone, I didn’t have great expectations of what I was about to hear, but the final result is anything but predictable and cliché. In fact, the metal of Royal Hunt is an artful blend of the typical elements of power with the freshness and catchiness of hard rock. Two genres wonderfully melded by the (then) four members.
The average level of the tracks is quite high, with fast and direct compositions that have catchy and engaging choruses. The only issue is the homogeneity of the songs, all or almost all similar or at least with few elements that elevate the originality of the work. "Easy rider", "Age gone wild", "Heart of the city", and the two instrumental tracks "Martial Arts" and "Freeway Jam" are a pleasure to listen to, while the rest, although of a high compositional level, do not reach the captivating power of those mentioned.
For these reasons, Land of Broken Hearts turned out to be a real surprise to my ears, where hard rock pleasantly fits into the double bass typical of power. A worthy album, even if not excellent. Forty minutes of good music and that is more than enough.
Rating 3 and a half.
1. "Running Wild" (5:09)
2. "Easy Rider" (4:58)
3. "Flight" (4:00)
4. "Age Gone Wild" (4:32)
5. "Martial Arts" (1:52)
6. "One By One" (4:34)
7. "Heart Of The City" (3:42)
8. "Land Of Broken Hearts" (4:41)
9. "Freeway Jam" (1:32)
10. "Kingdom Dark" (4:28)
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Summary by Bot
The review explores Royal Hunt's debut album Land of Broken Hearts as a refreshing blend of power metal and hard rock. While the songs maintain a consistent style, tracks like "Easy Rider" and "Heart of the City" stand out. The album provides about 40 minutes of catchy, enjoyable music, earning a solid 3.5/5 rating for its quality though lacking strong originality.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Royal Hunt
Royal Hunt is a Danish progressive metal/hard rock band formed in Copenhagen in 1989 by keyboardist André Andersen. Known for symphonic keyboards, melodic choruses and powerful vocals, they earned acclaim with Paradox and continued with concept-driven, polished albums into the 2010s and beyond.07 Reviews
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By Hellring
It's not a masterpiece, but it still deserves attention.
The album flows wonderfully with some pieces that deserve to be remembered.
