This is a solo project for the Swedish songwriter, current Primal Fear guitarist and producer Magnus Karlsson, who for this record has gathered together some notable friends to sing on this majestic metal album. I say majestic as the songs drift between 80’s Dio/traditional metal to the high octane approach of Gamma Ray and Primal Fear whilst not dropping one single ounce of credibility along the way.
The title track ‘Free Fall’ has that feeling of grandeur, you could be fighting dragons on stage although the lyrics suggest not I might add, but what I mean is the traditional metal influences of that wonderful decade the 1980’s is so much so on display right through to the power metal rising in the late 90’s and from then onwards and upwards. In this songs case (the title track), lead vocals are handled by Symphony X’s Russell Allen that provides a solid foundation to the start of this release. One of the many highlights includes ‘Higher’ (featuring Ralf Scheepers – Primal Fear/Gamma Ray on lead vocals) as it matches the singer’s style perfectly. There is not a single point that you think “well I have heard this all before”, even though you may have at some point. The art of arranging such songs as these is a true testament to Karlsson’s vision and results in a massive level of interest.
The list of highly sought vocal performances continues with Karlsson adding a touch of power of his own on some songs, especially on ‘Heading Out’. But one such album as this would not be complete without the obligatory melodic track, in this instance ‘Stronger’ enters the mix. Whilst being on the softer side, the guitars really wail into action when prompted. It is one of those tracks you can really feel all emotions at once courtesy of Tony Harnell’s (TNT) sultry vocal tones, but still manages to rock out to perfection when required.
There are plenty of anthem ridden tracks to choose from, this album covers all bases for the traditional metal, the power metal and the melodic metal fan in general. This is a very album with each track having purpose. There is genuine warmth, a genuine extravagance and musical prowess with this album. It is good to know that people can still produce albums like this and ‘Free Fall’ is certainly one that I can heartily recommend.
(8/10 Paul Maddison)
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