I’ve begun to think of German Power Metallers Brainstorm as the Sheepdogs of Metal. Look, bear with me – they are quick, powerful, energetic, reliable, resilient, occasionally unpredictable, but generally spending time with them is ultimately rewarding. See? OK, the metaphor breaks down when you include a desire to crap in a field and herd anything that moves (or does it? What goes on tour stays on tour guys eh?), but you get the general idea. So leaving aside the field and herding shenanigans, and seeing as I’ve gone and brought it up in the first place, I thought I’d better apply those metaphorical terms to this, their new album.
There’s usually a quick opener on a Brainstorm album and ‘The World To See’ is no exception, it thunders along with double kicks galloping, speedy riffing and one of Andy B. Franck’s trade mark memorable choruses. Straight in, no messing. Other quicker tracks ‘Where Angels Dream’ (everything German Power Metal was, is, and should be, yet with an unmistakably Brainstorm style chorus), ‘Twisted Ways’ and ‘Scars In Your Eyes’ keep the fires stoked and the temperature up – powerful, and energetic.
But powerful and energetic must also be applied to the albums groovier, slower tracks, like ‘How Much Can You Take’ and the title track. It’s the power with restrained energy that is the key here, knowing the band are holding it back, makes everything simmer and adds an extra dynamic. There are mid-tempo, heads-down Metal tracks too that also come under that energetic and powerful heading. ‘Caressed By The Blackness’ is a great example, Brainstorm at their heaviest…but then, really there isn’t a Brainstorm track that ISN’T heavy, powerful OR energetic – they don’t do ballads! Another good example of this style is ‘We Are…’, but with one tiny problem…every time the chorus comes in, I can’t help thinking of American 80’s Ethiopian Charity single ‘We Are The World’. I’m hoping it’s just me, but now I’ve put it in your head…?
Back on course with the earlier analogy, and Brainstorm are reliable. Fans are rarely disappointed by each subsequent Brainstorm album. They want what they get and they get what they want. And with this being the band’s 11th studio album, they are certainly one resilient band, plying their trade to the highest grade for over 20 years now. You can never pin Brainstorm down totally though, they can be unpredictable – like the strange choice of older-schoolchild backing vocal in the aforementioned not-an-80‘s-charity-single-for-Ethiopia-at-all ’We Are…’, and also closing the album with the slightly more commercial duo of ‘Take Me To The Never’ and ‘Sky Among The Clouds’. Neither track exactly lightweight, but certainly showing the band’s more melodic side a little more.
But yet again, spending time with Brainstorm is ultimately rewarding, as it usually is. They have a distinctive sound and song writing style, nestling nicely at the heavier end of Power Metal. They are damn good at it…and have been for a good long while now. As far as I know they won’t fetch a stick for you, sit for a biscuit, find a lost sheep or drool on your shoes when they’ve had a drink of water, but I reckon you can certainly do worse than spend time with a Power Metal Sheepdog.
(7.5/10 Andy Barker)
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