By Jonny Bakes
Have you ever found yourself wishing you could just have a cheesy dance around the kitchen, but that you can’t find anything that is suitably metal to enable you to do that? Well, it just so happens that there’s a whole host of synth heavy, pop infused power metal out there that can scratch that itch for you! You may already be familiar with Amaranthe, who are arguably one of the most popular bands in this niche, but there’s plenty more beneath the surface and if you do a bit of digging you might just come across Metalite. Which is exactly what I did when their new album, ‘Expedition One’, landed in front of me for review!
To be honest, my first impressions are that this is pretty much an Amaranthe clone, with the omission of male vocals. The music is very clean and well produced which gives it more of a pop feel than it does metal (some might call this overproduced). Although there are still heavy drums and riffs lurking in the background behind the prominent synthesiser that makes it somewhat resemble metal. For me, this makes for a fun and lighthearted experience with the poppy choruses threatening to become earworms but that may not be for everyone.
The powerful vocals of Erica Ohlsson are the clear focus of the music, with the rest of the band forming more of a backdrop that has a heavy sci-fi vibe to fit with the space adventuring theme of this album. Now would be a good time to mention that if you pay close attention to the lyrics, you’ll notice that this is a concept album depicting a fictitious story of dystopian life on earth in 2055 and the small band of people determined to seek out better life on another planet. This is something that takes the experience up a notch, but wasn’t clear to me until after reading the release notes that came with the album after my first listen through!
It’s difficult for me to pick out standout tracks for this album, as it did feel a little bit like one continuous song that ebbed and flowed to a point where it was difficult to distinguish where one ends and another begins. That being said, the opening track of any album generally needs something to grab the attention otherwise there’s every chance that you might give up at the first hurdle. And to be fair, title track ‘Expedition One’ does just that with a tense and dramatic opening that heralds the start of this galactic adventure. Setting the tempo for the rest of the album, it runs at just the right BPM to make it a catchy dance tune which when coupled with the catchy chorus should see it become a big crowd pleaser at shows.
I can certainly see crowds of people bouncing and singing along to this little number. So, yes, ‘Expedition One’ does indeed manage to keep my attention enough to continue working my way through the album.
Unfortunately though, while it was an album I can quite happily listen through and get lost in its cosmic catchiness, it’s not an album that I can see myself rushing out to listen to in a hurry. For those who are really big fans of the likes of Amaranthe and Beast In Black, you might find that this does enough to end up in your regular rotation because it really nails that niche of poppy power metal.
That being said, ‘Expedition One’ marks a real improvement in the quality and polished nature of Metalite’s music so if you do decide you want to start listening to this band, then ‘Expedition One’ should be your first space port of call!
- ‘Expedition One’ is out now.
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