ALBUM REVIEW: Pirates – Visions Of Atlantis
Pardon the pun, but metal is no stranger to plundering the world of piracy for inspiration on aesthetic, lyrics, artwork or a combination of the above. It’s option D where we find VISIONS OF ATLANTIS out of Austria, a symphonic power metal band who have taken the stories of life and treachery on the high seas and filled their boots time and time again for their creative output. It’s served them well, and they’re now eight albums in with the release of Pirates on May 13th via Napalm Records.
When one thinks of ‘pirate metal’, it’s oft in line with merry, upbeat numbers that could easily have been played in taverns at the time itself should those living then had the knowledge of electric guitars and amps. VISIONS OF ATLANTIS are nothing like that, instead taking a darker voyage with plenty of swirling keyboards and soaring guitar. However, the catchiness of the sea shanties of old remain, particularly when it comes to the choruses: Melancholy Angel is the first to boast one of note, the exclamation point on a punchy song that would have probably been a more palatable opening track than Pirates Will Return (which isn’t inherently bad, but at six minutes is a bit long). Clocks ups the chorus ante, opening with the hook itself and keeping a good pace that also includes a damn fine solo from guitarist Dushi Duscha. However, it’s recent single Legion Of The Seas that takes home the booty, as bombastic as they come with a chorus built for arenas and nothing less; you won’t punch the air so much as uppercut it.
Naturally, VISIONS OF ATLANTIS will draw comparisons with a lot of similar bands in their genre – DELAIN, WITHIN TEMPTATION, AMARANTHE, BATTLE BEAST etc. – but they’re more than holding their own there; however, if they’re wanting to reach the next level and become the sergeant to NIGHTWISH‘s commander-in-chief of the symphonic metal world, they could do with improving in two key areas. The first is grit; there’s not enough bite within the tracks to make them stand out. Creating songs with big earworms is all well and good, but there needs to be more crunch within the guitars and delivery for VISIONS to reach the next level. The second is that the record outstays its welcome a touch; it’s just under an hour long and could have done with being a couple of tracks shorter; namely Master The Hurricane – which starts well and then completely kills the momentum for a quieter vocal entrance when it should have maintained that – and the ballad Freedom, which is a bigger slice of cheese than was necessary and is placed early in the tracklisting, thus feeling like an outlier and as if it had been shoehorned in there for the sake of wanting it on the record.
In the grand scheme of things, VISIONS OF ATLANTIS are once again sailing the seven seas with pride; Pirates isn’t a veer off course into choppy waters by any means. However, if they give their formula a couple of tweaks for the next release, we could see them riding the crest of a symphonic metal wave not witnessed for nearly 20 years, and that’s a salivating prospect.
Rating: 7/10
Pirates is set for release on May 13th via Napalm Records.
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