Royal Hunt - The Mission

1. Take Off (1:06) 2. The Mission (5:50) 3. Exit Gravity (1:05) 4. Surrender (5:30) 5. Clean Sweep (1:57) 6. Judgement Day (6:28) 7. Metamorphosis (1:25) 8. World Wide War (6:26) 9. Dreamline (2:07) 10. Out of Reach (5:26) 11. Fourth Dimension (2:34) 12. Days of No Trust (4:55) 13. Total Recall (6:59)

Total Running Time: 77:12



I'm sure you've heard the expression "it grew on me" at least once in your life. In case you haven't, here's the deal: you listen to an album, don't really like it that much the first time around, and after a couple of more listens, you actually find out that it isn't bad at all. In fact, it turns out you like it. A lot. I'm also sure you know why I'm explaining all this, and if you don't, here's the deal: It happened to me with Royal Hunt's recent opus, The Mission.

With lyrics based on Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, the Danish band's latest is an extravaganza of memorable vocal melodies, majestic riffs, elegant harmonies, and the usual weaponry that has now been Royal Hunt's trademark for a while. And while it is completely true that this kind of music is nothing revolutionary nowadays and that there are tons of European bands doing it, few can equal the mastery that Royal Hunt commands over the art of melodic metal composition. Those unable to sing along to the unforgettable choruses of tracks like "The Mission" and "Judgement Day" must surely be hearing-impaired or plain unmovable, as it is hardly to ever get catchier than this.

The gala of resources that the band relies upon, however, goes well beyond a couple of memorable vocal melodies, and spans qualities such as sound lyrical coherence, a larger-than-life production, and glam metal-like bass lines that are just a pleasure to listen to. Particularly impressive were the regal Queen-like vocal harmonies of "Clean Sweep," accompanied by one of the album's most progressive moments and a host of mechatronic special effects going off like rockets in the background while the short interlude's riff spirals awkwardly.

It also must be added that an enormous part of the album's strength comes from keyboardist Andre Andersen's always-timely-tasteful-and-ubiquitous incursions into the band's songs, which sprinkle them with a touch of grandiose mysteriousness and serve as one of the cleverest elements of arrangement present throughout. Add to that the inclusion of short interludes between the main tracks of the record, such as the beautiful piano sonata of "Metamorphosis," and the fact that John West's vocal style has become considerably more interesting than that of his days in Artension, and you've got yourself a winner.

-by Marcelo Silveyra

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