Untitled Document

      On the release, the German quintet manages to capture the ghosts of early Iron Maiden, Yngwie Malmsteen and Labyrinth albums.
     Group founder and vocalist Andy B. Franck's voice is tailor-made for power metal. He can gently whisper an emotion, buckle down and add grit, or belt out a chorus with harmonizing backing vocals that struggle to keep up. Of all of the metal singers in the last few decades, only Bruce Dickenson (Iron Maiden years) and Geoff Tate (of Queensryche) could do better with such conviction.
     The dual guitars weave, batter and wail alongside Franck's voice. They even go off on solos, and on some beautiful bridges. In this modern world full of uninspired, chugging nu-metal guitar lines, it is refreshing to hear the work of art that is Phorceful Ahead.
     The bass line is lost throughout most of the release but, along with the drums, provides a launch pad for the vocals and guitars to take off from. This is what power metal is supposed to sound like.

	SYMPHORCE PHORCEFUL AHEAD METAL BLADE	LINKS: symphorce.net metalblade.com
	As much as I wanted to dislike this music, I just can't seem to do it. Not only can Symphorce not spell, they are German and they play old school melodic power metal. Three strikes and you are out, right? Not in this case. Phorceful Ahead, Symphorce's debut album on Metal Blade Records, is a throwback to the days when power metal was played with precision and grace.
On the release, the German quintet manages to capture the ghosts of early Iron Maiden, Yngwie Malmsteen and Labyrinth albums. Group founder and vocalist Andy B. Franck's voice is tailor-made for power metal. He can gently whisper an emotion, buckle down and add grit, or belt out a chorus with harmonizing backing vocals that struggle to keep up. Of all of the metal singers in the last few decades, only Bruce Dickenson (Iron Maiden years) and Geoff Tate (of Queensryche) could do better with such conviction. The dual guitars weave, batter and wail alongside Franck's voice. They even go off on solos, and on some beautiful bridges. In this modern world full of uninspired, chugging nu-metal guitar lines, it is refreshing to hear the work of art that is Phorceful Ahead. The bass line is lost throughout most of the release but, along with the drums, provides a launch pad for the vocals and guitars to take off from. This is what power metal is supposed to sound like.
----Scott Olivenbaum