Galneryus - Angel of salvation 5/5
Reviewed: 2-1-13
Tracklist:
1. Reach to the sky
2. The promised flag
3. Temptation through the night
4. Lonely as a stranger
5. Stand up for the right
6. Hunting for your dream
7. Lament
8. Infinity
9. Angel of salvation
10. Longing
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Along with Concerto Moon, Galneryus has been keeping the Japanese power metal scene rolling for over a decade. However, while Concerto Moon's discography is filled with solid to good CDs (with a few reaching the level of excellence), Galneryus has provided one excellent CD after another, and they're easily one of the most consistent bands that I'm familiar with. Even though their CDs seem to be released at a yearly pace, the quality never drops. This is their 8th CD, entitled 'Angel of salvation', and it's their 3rd with vocalist Masatoshi "Sho" Ono, who replaced their long-time vocalist Yama-B, who is currently with the band Rekion and they have just one CD thus far - their fantastic debut 'The people who are bound'.
While the band's first 2 CDs with vocalist Sho were still excellent (like their first 5 CDs with Yama-B), this CD takes the band to the ultimate level, and in my opinion, it's their best CD to date and probably the best Japanese-band CD in my collection. For starters, Sho's vocals are better than ever, and better than Yama-B's ever were. His voice emanates passion, melody, clarity, and his range is exceptional. Just like with previous CDs, there are both English and Japanese lyrics, and it works really well. In fact, I think this is one of the best (if not the best) vocal performances I've ever heard from a Japanese power metal band.
Galneryus has always been known for their neo-classsical style and amazing guitar work (thanks to long-time guitarist Syu), and believe it or not, even that has been taken to the ultimate level with this CD. There are so many spectacular lightning-fast guitar solos that constantly hit you - one after another. There's tons of speed, lots of fast and catchy galloping riffs, and enough keys too - well done by Yuhki (as usual), and this is probably their most symphonic CD to date. The highlight of the CD is definitely the extra-long (around 15 minutes) track 9 "Angel of salvation", which totally leaves your jaw dropped with its absolutely amazing guitar work and numerous solos. This is certainly one of the best power metal songs in existence, and I also like how the CD closes with the following "Longing", a soft yet nice instrumental that ends the CD in a brilliant manner.
Look folks, I know that Japanese power metal is difficult to get into. A lot of the bands sing in Japanese (most metal fans prefer English lyrics), and the CDs are extremely expensive. However, if you're a major power metal fan, Galneryus is one band that you simply must dive into. All of their 8 CDs are worth the high price, and you will not be disappointed if you open your arms to this amazing band. If you already have their other CDs, you can grab 'Angel of salvation' with something to greatly look forward to, and the rest of you can either take my advice or move on. All I can say is that for me personally, this band is phenominal, and a treasure in my collection.
CLINT
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