ALBUM REVIEW: Memorial For A Wish (2018) – Nergard

Reissuing albums is an activity often received with an air of indifference: a lot of the time, the records that see the light of day are associated with being ‘for collectors only’, usually containing bonus tracks and a remastered sound quality from the original. Andreas Nergård has not so much bucked the trend as swam all the way up the river back to its source. The Norwegian composer released NERGARD‘s debut album Memorial For A Wish in 2013 and, over a period of six months last year, re-recorded the vast majority of it to capture the true essence of how the record should have sounded when originally brought out. Containing members from some of the greatest power metal acts of all time including GAMMA RAY, YNGWIE J. MALMSTEEN and legendary outfits such as WHITESNAKE, the new, revamped Memorial For A Wish (2018) is out now via Battlegod Productions.

It’s not just a re-recording that’s happened either; the entire record has been moved about in terms of track listing. Angels, the penultimate song in 2013 now opens the album, a grandiose slab of symphonic metal which sees Sanne Miello trader her impressive operatic pipes with the likes of David Reece, Andi Kravljaca and Tore Andre Helgeno as the song twists and turns, adding a soaring chorus to boot. That said, at over nine minutes long it’s not an easy, accessible introduction. Miello really spreads her wings on The Haunted; found on Youtube by Nergård, she has a voice that is reminiscent of Charlotte Wessels of DELAIN which is never a bad thing and will surely see her snapped up easily by a metal band in need of a powerful, female voice. Hell On Earth contains a huge riff and is very nicelty paced, opening single A Question of God is a bombastic fist puncher which sees Miello and British singer Tony Mills combine excellently and closing track Inside Memories is a true epic; like Angels it’s nine minutes long but the best has easily been saved until last, with Kim Sandberg‘s growled vocals a real highlight of the track.

Outside of this, there are a couple of iffier moments – neither Stay or Nightfall are particularly memorable tracks, with the former having male vocals that suggest the individual who sang on the track (there’s at least eleven vocalists on the album) wasn’t on the best of form at the time – and overall the album is, well, a little generic. None of it really stays with the listener too long in the same way that the big hitters of the genre like NIGHTWISH and WITHIN TEMPTATION do and that leaves Memorial for a Wish wanting in more than a few places. Nevertheless, Nergård has certainly achieved his ambition with the re-recording because the production value is second to none and that certainly gives the record added bite.

Compared to the original release, coming out alongside the updated version as a double album, Memorial For A Wish (2018) certainly takes a different path and therefore opens up a whole new dimension and world to be explored, and for that Nergård deserved a lot of plaudits. This year however, when you have to produce something pretty special to get noticed, it sadly falls short of the target.

Rating: 6/10

Memorial For A Wish (2018) is out now via Battlegod Productions.

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