Band:
Nils Patrik Johansson - Vocals
Joachim Nordlund - Guitars, keys, bass
Johan Lindstedt - Drums
Jocke Roberg - Organ, keyboards
Ulf Lagerström - Bass
Discography:
Of the Son and the Father (2003)
Evil Is Forever (2005)
Raiders of the Ark - EP (2005)
Astralism (2006)
New Revelation (2007)
Requiem Of Time (2010)
Testament of Rock (2010)
Guests:
Info
Produced by Astral Doors
Recorded at Big Time Studio by Joachim Nordlund
Mixed and mastered by Daniel Bergstrand and RIckard Sporrong
Artwork and design by Mattias Eriksson
Released 21/10-2011
Reviewed 2/11-2011
Links:
astraldoors.com
myspace
metalville
Musically I don’t think Astral Doors will surprise anyone who have heard them before, neither do I think they will bring anything really new to the heavy metal world. Regular heavy/power metal with a melodic touch, catchy choruses and high pitched vocals with a slight nod towards the late Ronnie James Dio. I do however think that he sounds more like a Dio impersonator rather than someone who has that voice as a natural voice. The production of the album is as expected, the sound is not particularly heavy but they are quite speedy on most parts. The album has eleven tracks and it plays for almost fifty minutes.
Jersualem is a quite good album, the songs hold a good quality and as does the work around it. It is much better than the “best of” as it is shorter and the songs are also better, I think the band has matured since those songs and the overall quality on Jerusalem is much higher than what they have done before which kind of proves my point that the “best of” was way too premature. Still, all is not good as I think the singer is kind of bad, I like Dio but this vaguely alike vocals does not suit this style of music and I am sure that the songs all would have worked way better with a vocalist with a voice that was more personal and felt more like his/her own which is not the case with the singer of Astral Doors.
The album otherwise opens with the track Seventh Crusade which is a very good song and a good opening to the album. It is a song that shows everything that we can expect from this album in the following songs, we are also introduced to the vocals which I don’t care much for. The song is still good though which is what matters. Then I think the track Child of Rock’n’Roll which is a song that sounds a bit like it could have been made by said Dio or something he appeared in, it is a good track and then I must also add the final track which is the title track, These three are tracks that stand out a little over the rest of the material on this album.
There are no bad tracks on the album, Pearl Harbour is a drab song but not bad, the same goes for Operation Freedom but none of the tracks are bad though. I think this album is an album that is well done in all parts, production, musicianship the cover art, but then comes the feeling that we have heard it and seen it all before, the album offers nothing new, nothing that makes this stand out from the rest and nothing that really grabs your attention, it is just a well made and good album that does not impress overly.
I would say that Jerusalem is a high quality product that is well polished but lacks the soul, that has everything you should need but you still feel like it is missing something. I would say that it is a good time of entertainment that doesn’t leave any lasting impression on my mind.
HHHHHHH
