Wednesday, July 16, 2014

UNISONIC – “Light Of Dawn”





RATING: RRRR

Label: EARMUSIC/EDEL

Review By: Alan Holloway


The phrase ‘Dream Team’ is often bandied about, and in music it applies to the likes of Jagger and Richards, Daltrey and Towsend or May and Mercury. In the rock world it is totally just to apply it to Hansen and Kiske, a couple of lads who made my life a lot more exciting back when they were in Helloween, even if it was only for two albums.

So is it godo to have them back together for their second Unisonic album? Hell, yeah! The first thing that grabs you about ‘Light Of Dawn’ is, unsurprisingly, Michael Kiske’s vocals, which are as powerful and soaring as they ever were. Many, many other singers have taken their lead from his groundbreaking style, but none has quite managed to match the superior tone of Kiske in full flight. Listening to ‘For The Kingdom’ transports me back to my teenage years again, swimming in the sheer melody and power, broken up only by a widdle-tastic solo from Kai Hansen. It’s one of several tracks that could have walked off of either of Helloween’s ‘Keeper…’ albums, and this is definitely a Good Thing.

‘Not Gonna Take Anymore’ is a more cumbersome track that comes across like something from one of the ‘Avantasia’ albums. It’s a bit of a fists in the air track, with a pounding drum beat and orchestral keyboards that bring to mind Kiske’s Avantasia appearances. There’s also ‘Blood’, a power ballad that doesn’t really do it for me, except when Hansen lets rip.  On the whole, ‘Light Of Dawn’ is an upbeat album that will have fans of classic power metal falling over themselves to get a copy. Personally, I feel that the slower tracks can trip up the momentum built up by the faster ones, but this doesn’t alter the fact that this is an album with a hell of a lot to enjoy within.

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