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Facing Your Enemy
Facing Your Enemy in Bloomington, MN
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Each year evidence mounts that, should the world indeed suffer a final and devastating apocalypse, only cockroaches and German power metal will live onâ?¦unharmed, unperturbed, and unknowing. Certainly, the men responsible for second-tier power metal purveyors
At Vance
offer bountiful evidence supporting this (admittedly far-flung, knee-jerk) theory, as they continue to crank out album after same-sounding album, oblivious to evolving habits or new innovations, never mind political intrigue or geo-strategic realignments. And unless there's some cleverly concealed ironic admission behind its title, 2012's
Facing Your Enemy
(their ninth long-player) is yet another example of the band's obstinate, unflinching allegiance to the music of the late '80s, give or take a few imperfect nodes of synchronicity leaked from more recent years. As such, token numbers like "Heaven Calling," "Eyes of a Stranger," and "Fame and Fortune" uncomfortably nestle big repetitive choruses against choppy guitars, while first ballad "Don't Dream" (followed immediately by a second, "See me Crying," and, later, a truly painful acoustic weeper named "Things I Never Need") delivers soothing synths that work quite well with
Rick Altzi
's soft crooning at the start and finish. Meanwhile, the title track, "Fear No Evil," and "Live & Learn" contrast simple, classic rock power chords and horn-like synth-stabs to mechanized drum beds reminiscent of
the Scorpions
' ill-advised
Savage Amusement
LP spiked with a shot of
Yngwie Malmsteen
's
Rising Force
during the second go-round of walking wig-stand
Mark Boals
. God have mercy! There's even a
Spinal Tap
-approved instrumental called "March of the Dwarf" and another tune named simply "Tokyo," whose sophomoric lyrics seem to have frozen in time circa 1985! Clearly,
operate by their own time-traveling rules, and however stunted they may be, there are obviously more than enough like-minded fans willing to support their endless recycling of power metal ideals. So bring on the atom bomb --
, at least, have nothing to worry about. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia
At Vance
offer bountiful evidence supporting this (admittedly far-flung, knee-jerk) theory, as they continue to crank out album after same-sounding album, oblivious to evolving habits or new innovations, never mind political intrigue or geo-strategic realignments. And unless there's some cleverly concealed ironic admission behind its title, 2012's
Facing Your Enemy
(their ninth long-player) is yet another example of the band's obstinate, unflinching allegiance to the music of the late '80s, give or take a few imperfect nodes of synchronicity leaked from more recent years. As such, token numbers like "Heaven Calling," "Eyes of a Stranger," and "Fame and Fortune" uncomfortably nestle big repetitive choruses against choppy guitars, while first ballad "Don't Dream" (followed immediately by a second, "See me Crying," and, later, a truly painful acoustic weeper named "Things I Never Need") delivers soothing synths that work quite well with
Rick Altzi
's soft crooning at the start and finish. Meanwhile, the title track, "Fear No Evil," and "Live & Learn" contrast simple, classic rock power chords and horn-like synth-stabs to mechanized drum beds reminiscent of
the Scorpions
' ill-advised
Savage Amusement
LP spiked with a shot of
Yngwie Malmsteen
's
Rising Force
during the second go-round of walking wig-stand
Mark Boals
. God have mercy! There's even a
Spinal Tap
-approved instrumental called "March of the Dwarf" and another tune named simply "Tokyo," whose sophomoric lyrics seem to have frozen in time circa 1985! Clearly,
operate by their own time-traveling rules, and however stunted they may be, there are obviously more than enough like-minded fans willing to support their endless recycling of power metal ideals. So bring on the atom bomb --
, at least, have nothing to worry about. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia
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