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Rating: 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)
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Running Wild (05:09)
I'm just a number, I don't know my name.
Unknown faces a part of the game.
Out in the desert the madness begins,
Who's talkin' mercy? We're playin' to win...
Better run around, there's no easy way out,
If you loose - take a stand,
So do whatever you can - again and again.
Running wild like creature of the night,
We're born to run - we never trust the light.
Running wild, we're so afraid to try,
We're all alone and everyone is blind,
Running wild...
You'll start the fire and livin' on a lie,
Rats get fat while good men die.
They got you running to follow the track,
You'll face the trouble with fear on the back...
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