Can of Soul
Hearreality

A can of soul? Well, funny name and cool cover artwork on this album. A project by a man called Tomrocker who is known amongst others for his role in the band Stygma, ha had a conceptual idea that he wanted to make into an album. And to his help he has enlisted a good range of skilled musicians from all areas of the metal scene, this in order to realise the idea of the Hearreality. The concept itself is a Sci-fi one, where a world is dying due to the solar radiation and it evolves into a story of aliens and fighting over land. Always refreshing with a bit of post apocalyptic stories, it brightens the day for someone tired of the stupidity of this planet.

The Can offers thrasy heavy metal reminiscent of countrymen Death SS, they have plenty of energy and is rougher around the edges than all the conceptual power metal bands that is cropping up from the Italian soil all the time. The singer is really strong with a powerful raspy voice that fits quite perfectly into the soundscape and they manage to deliver a sense of apocalypse not heard since the earlier works of Mob Rules. Good variation over the tracks and they manage to keep the thematic elements on a level that makes it interesting for those who wants to dig deeper while not scaring off the casual listener. That is a strong point but it may also be something of a weakness because it doesn’t quite play to the strengths of the concept and neither does it just go mad rocking hard.

That is my main complaint, if that is a word I should use, my main gripe is probably a better word for it. I think it doesn’t come up to a level it would seem that it would be able to reach had the concept been a bit clearer. Not that I think that it is a bad album, I like it wholeheartedly, not just enough to award it one of the higher ratings that we give. But it is exciting and dramatic at its best and a good listen at its worst so I think it is a fairly enjoyable album that should have been a little bit braver, the courageousness is lacking a little bit. I think that the Tomrocker is a bit too conservative in his creative process, maybe afraid to scare potential fans off or something. I do however doubt that this sense of familiarity and lack of fresh thinking disturbs anyone but the seasoned reviewer who hears and writes about many albums every day and week. Fans of the similar band will probably rejoice and find this pretty brilliant.

I think the opener We Hate the Sun sets a good tone, it is a fresh thinking and cool song. I also like Bette Davis Eyes which probably is my favourite song on this album, these are the pair that stand out for me, the songs that makes me take notice, other than that I think it is an enjoyable album but nothing that will go down in history, kind of like many albums you hear but this is a little bit closer to the best than most of the “good but nothing to really write home about”-albums that I receive in my mailbox every day. I like it but I might not quite love it. So, is it a can of soul? Sort of, there is a fair bit of soul there, just not all the time.

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