Kirk
Masquerade

Is it James T Kirk going on a masquerade? Or is it maybe Spock? Well, from the look of the character on the cover artwork I do not think it is the Star Trek captain that cannot show emotions correctly or speak coherently. It is a swiss band, with guys from different swiss bands joining up to record this second album from Kirk. A band that was active in the early years of this century, but due to a drummer having some health issues the band sort of disbanded and we did not hear anything from them following their 2003 debut, until now. Now they are releasing their second album Masquerade, a show that takes place more than ten years after the debut. Well, not in a lyrical sense but in a release sense of the way. So if there are anyone out there having awaited this new album by Kirk, is it worth the wait?

Well, it is melodic metal predominantly with a very large keyboard presence. Very clean and polished soundscape, kind of a Dennis Ward feel to it which isn’t really strange since he is the guy who produced the album. Built around strong choruses and melodies dominated by keyboards, fairly typical style for a melodic metal album if I am honest. There isn’t really anything stylistically that sets these guys apart from most stuff I have heard, the singer is also fairly standard and does not really bring out anything extra to the sound. Eleven not overly varied tracks going on for near 55 minutes is what we have, I think maybe they have overdone it slightly, fewer tracks would not have hurt if I say it that way.

Not much sets these guys apart from much else in the more melodic metal genre, there are many bands that can be said to be very similar to these guys. This is one problem they have because despite the fact that their melodies are excellent, near the same level as grand masters of melodic stylings Royal Hunt, they do not have the finesse and power that takes these excellent melodies and make them into amazing songs. The songs are good, the album is good but so is many albums in this genre and it has very few things that sets it apart from anything else, which is why I have a hard time seeing why anyone would really find this exciting. I find it good, a good listen but I would not chose to listen to it if I had a free selection, there are too many good bands out there already and these guys do not quite rival those best ones.

I think the seventh track called Time is the absolute highlight on the album, I love that track but I don’t quite love the album. I like it, but that is it. It is a good listen, no more or no less and it feels like they do not quite live up to their potential. It sounds as thought they could have offered more, a lot more. The answer to the question is, perhaps.

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