Russell Allen - Jorn Lande
The Revenge

THE REVIEW

Two years after the successful experience of "The Battle," the duo of "monstrous" singers from today's metal scene returns with this "The Revenge": American Russell Allen (frontman of Symphony X) and Norwegian Jorn Lande (former Ark, Masterplan, to name a few...).

The formula is essentially the same as the previous album, and there was no need to change it, given the convincing results obtained with the excellent predecessor: a "creative mind" in the person of Magnus Karlsson, composer of all the music and lyrics, as well as a multi-instrumentalist here playing guitar, bass, and keyboards, supported by the capable Jaime Salazar on drums and obviously the two "golden voices" behind the microphones.

The basic idea remains unchanged, and so does the form compared to the previous work: here too, we find 12 songs of classic heavy metal, very melodic and certainly impactful, making them immediately and easily enjoyable. The 12 tracks are equally divided: 6 are "collaborations" between Allen and Lande, while the "solo" songs are 3 each: just so as not to wrong anyone...

The album is introduced by the title track itself, preceded by a soft intro of keyboards and background orchestrations, then opening up into a powerful and direct piece, well interpreted by the duo of singers, whose voices intertwine and blend among choirs and overdubs, in perfect harmony, without overshadowing or taking space from each other. This, along with a deliberately more "aggressive" production oriented towards a harder sound, is perhaps one of the minor flaws of the album: the singers' voices are very similar, and in some cases distinguishing them becomes an arduous task; moreover, the search for a more "metal"-oriented sound led to an emphasis on the lower tones and guitar riffs, sometimes at the expense of melody and solos, producing a somewhat muddled sound at times; nothing that compromises the quality of the album, however.

Speaking of the songs, it's worth highlighting the different attitudes of the two singers, which in this "The Revenge" is even more evident: Jorn's voice, in fact, is more suited to melodic interpretations, an example being the excellent "Master of Sorrow", a perfect mix between the sweetness of the initial piano notes and the aggressiveness of the central part, featuring an excellent solo by Karlsson; on the other hand, Russell's voice shines in the more aggressive tracks reserved for him, like the fast hard-rock of "Will You Follow".

Both, however, demonstrate great talent and ability (as if that were needed...), and are able to adapt to both the more melodic and delicate parts and the more raw and "driven" ones, always with great expressiveness; when the two sing together, small masterpieces are born: examples are the splendid "Just a Dream" and "Wake Up Call", two potential chart-topping singles with captivating melodic lines that get immediately stuck in the listener's head and won't come out... listen to believe!

Ultimately, this is an excellent album, confirming the good work done in the previous one, although perhaps losing a bit in terms of freshness of the proposal and having as its flaw (if it can be called that...) the fact of practically retracing "The Battle," not offering particularly innovative insights, except for a slight strengthening of the overall sound. But to have albums of this quality these days...