Ivanhoe
7 Days

 Ivanhoe may not really be a name that one connects with metal, but this German quintet has selected this name some seven albums ago. Their new album is called 7 Days and it is their seventh album, it is the second we here at Hallowed review – the first was the album Systematrix that was reviewed in 2013 and received some high praise. And now they are back, with some changes, 40% of their line-up is changed since last time around. They have a new vocalist and a new drummer for this album, the question then is if we still like them and if their new album is as good as the last one.

Musically the difference is not that major, they are progressive and they are heavy – I would describe it as majestic. The new vocalist has a strong voice and sounds very good, we know him from bands like Winters Bane and Powergod to new a few where we have heard him before. Let me also praise the production, it is very good – excellent sound that is best described as majestic and it is not as digital as the predecessor and kept simple for the genre, no overcomplications as we sometimes hear in progressive metal. The playing time is acceptable and it ends amusingly if you discount the ending bonus track. The thing is with bonus tracks, what is the point of them when they are poorly recorded live tracks that are very far from the quality of the rest of the album?

Still, discounting the pointless ending track it is a good album. The melodies are strong, the sound majestic and the vocalist is very good. I do however think that it is less good than the predecessor, you may call it a downwards step in terms of quality. What I mainly miss is something that grabs me as a listener, the attention catcher. It could be a hit song, or something else that catches the ear of the listener, this album feels a bit stale on that front. And as I alluded to, I am not fond of pointless bonus tracks, in this case a live track that in quality is well below the rest of the album and that makes the ending a little bit painful. I do however; doubt that fans of Ivanhoe will find this album too disappointing as it is not far from what I have heard by them in the past – though I must point out that it lacks some edge.

No track can be described as a standout track, they are all good but the album still feels pretty stale in terms of dynamics. It is well performed, well produced and well-made but it lacks that little extra that makes a good album great. Perhaps more energy, or a more raw sound, I can’t quite put my finger on what it is but something is slightly amiss and I cannot help thinking that they did it much better last time around. Sure the differences are not big but they add up to a significant difference. But to avoid overcomplicating things I just end by pointing out that this is a good album but it takes less than seven days to grow tired with it.

HHHHHHH