Review Stormhunter - Crime and Punishment 2011

Tracks
1. Last Words
2. Perfect World
3. Condemned Stranger
4. Knights Of Metal (Part 1)
5. Reality, Fatality
6. Robot Age
7. Unholy Seed
8. Inner Demon
9. The Final Battle
10. Crime And Punishment

Band:
Stefan Müller - Guitars
Julia Weiss - Guitars
Frank Urschler - Vocals
Andreas Kiechle - Drums

Discography:
Stormhunter (2009)

Guests:
Ben Krahl - bass

Info:
Produced by Christoph Brandes and Stormhunter
Mastered by Christoph Brandes
Cover art by Robert Buhl
Photo by Knuth Lohse

Released 20/4-2011
Reviewed 12/11-2011

Links:
myspace
last-fm
emanes metal records

Stormhunter is what they generally call those who chase tornadoes in the american south, those who use special cars and special equipment that is custom made for learning everything about those whirlwinds. Stormhunter is also a german heavy/power metal band who has a logo that looks a bit like an extreme metal band’s logo. They are now releasing their second album which is called Crime and Punishment and it has a cover artwork which is slightly reminiscent of a Hammerfall artwork but it is in greyscale which might be suggesting that the band is a nod back to classical times of the genre. This band is a quartet of three guys and a lady with the strange thing that the lady is a guitar player rather than singer which would be the customary thing.

Musically this band does make heavy/power metal in the style of the late eighties or early nineties, not like the past-1997 overpolished version that we have gotten used to in the last ten-fifteen years. They offer nothing complicated in their music, it is straight to the point with the typical song structures of the genre and to be honest I would say that there are really no surprises in their music. The production of this band has the feel of the period I mentioned earlier as it is rougher than the style of the modern touch power metal that we have gotten used to during the last couple of years. I think also of another Storm band called Stormwarrior who has a similar style that is reminiscent of that era but they have evolved to a slightly more modern style lately so more of the earlier kind than the recent Stormwarrior. The album has ten tracks and it plays for around 47 minutes, I should also add that the singer does not have the falsetto vocal style that the more recent power metal has, he goes for a more masculine and powerful kind of vocal style.

The album opens with its best track called Last Words which is a really good powerful metal track with some nice touches, it also sets a good tone for the rest of the album. There is one problem with that though as the rest of the album is not quite as good, the major problem is the lack of variation which might be due to the lack of vocal range from the singer. It might also be due to the band wanting to keep true to the style they have set themselves up to do giving themselves a bit too narrow a frame to really bring out the best of their music. I would say that there are good intentions but they are not quite realised as the band is either hampered by their singer or by their cautiousness not to fall out of their frame of reference.

For me this band does not quite manage to be varied enough to be entertaining all the way through this album, unfortunately I would say as I think that there is potential in this band and at times it can be heard, like in the first track and also somewhat in the ending title track. But the album becomes a bit too monotone in the long run and I do think that the singer is the biggest letdown for them as he lacks the needed range to add some variation to the music. I would however say that if you are a fan of classical heavy/power metal you will probably adore this as it is good all the way through but for me the lack of variation is a huge letdown.

So for me this is a quite good album that is being slightly let down by lack of variation and imagination.

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Stormhunter Crime and Punishment

Stormhunter
Crime and Punishment