PelleK
Ocean of Opportunity

Known for his four octave vocal range is PelleK known, according to the mail I got with this album promo. That sounds terrifying as singer like that usually only wants to show off all the time which makes the music quite bad, fortunately for me I heard PelleK in Damnation Angels earlier this year so I know he is a good singer and this four-octave shit doesn’t take the upper hand, at least not in that band. Ocean of Opportunity is the second album for the PelleK moniker and it looks very much like a power metal album with that ship on the cover. Apparently it is a concept album, I have no idea about the concept though so don’t ask me about that. What I do know is that this is the third album with PelleK appearing in just two years, that is quite fast paced album releasing. Maybe too fast?

Well, from looking at the cover I can say that what is on the album is no surprise, it sounds like it looks. It is symphonic power metal, not unlike anything else done in the genre. It is not amongst those misses that exist in the genre, which is fortunate because bad symphonic power metal is not fun to listen to. It is well produced even though its soundscape hardly overshines anyone else of the sharper end of the genre. It is good enough for what it is. The singer is also strong, he has an excellent voice for most parts of the album. There are some parts I don’t like the vocals in but in most he works really well in getting his vocals range to work. I don’t think the concept becomes very clear when listening to the album, it sounds more like a collection of songs than something connected together with a common denominator other than being made by the same guys. I would say that it is nine songs rather than nine chapters.

It is a very good album which I like listening to, I like it quite a bit actually. But as much as I like it, there are some things speaking against it as well. Like the fact that it offers absolutely nothing that feels new and unique, I think the best songs sounds like something Sonata Arctica could have tossed them and the other songs also reminds me of other bands especially Damnation Angels. Nonetheless, there aren’t any plagiarising going on so it isn’t that much of a problem as it may sound familiar but at least it does not sound exactly like something else. Good energy and a good catchy album with lots of energy and a fair bit of emotion. No major weak points are there either.

Best are the Sonata Arctica flavoured Sea of Okhotsk, Gods Pocket and Sky Odyssey which are three tracks to really enjoy despite them having a little bit of a flavour of déjà vu. And it is overall an enjoyable album and one that I like, I don’t think however, that those who are not madly into power metal will find this very interesting. But if you are, you will have a real treat in this album. Strong, fascinating, well made and melodic, a great album although thanks to it being completely devoid of innovative elements and ideas. Bottom line is that this is a strong piece of music for those into symphonic power metal, so if you are you should not miss this album.

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