Raintime - Psychromatic [Review]

Genre: Power Metal

Release Date: March 16th (U.S.) May (Europe)

Label: Lifeforce Records, Bieler Records


The first time I heard Raintime was a few years ago, when they released their 2007 LifeForce Records debut album "Flies and Lies" the video for "Rolling Chances" proved these Italian metal heads can take the now highly popular "power meets melodeath metal" formula and add their touch to it.

The band's follow up to "Flies and Lies" is set to be released in May through LifeForce (Europe) and March 16th, through Bieler Bros Records (U.S., Canada, and U.K.) titled "Psychromatic."

"Psychromatic" starts with a signal that blasts off the first song on the album "Fire Ants" which will also be the first single for the album. You can listen to the song now on the official Bieler Bros Records Myspace page.

On with the review. First of all the formula of "power meets melodeth" is not very apparent on "Psychromatic." In fact this release is more of an aggressive power metal album. There isn't much gothenburg influences on this release, instead the album is more accessible showing off the band's melodious side.

"Nothing But A Mistake" opens up with a mix of In Flames riffing layered with atmospheric keyboards, and actually some growls, but the chorus quickly transitions the song into generic territory.

"Psychromatic" does have it's moments, but if you were one of the many that weere surprised or even impressed by every song opener on "Flies and Lies," chances of that happening again on this release, is up for debate.

I'm not going to say that Raintime have commercialized their sound, because really in today's music scene, that has become one of the most over used terms. But the band have dropped a lot of the heavier elements of their sound, in favor of a wider audience, and in return the band dropped the thing that gave them an edge against the tide.

What we have here is an album that might not please fans of the crossover genre that Raintime has been writing, instead we get an album that is high on melody and big choruses.

Conclusion:

Raintime are currently expanding their fan base, and it seems like the band are trying to do that, by making their music a lot more accessible to new listeners, maybe they just want to experiment with new song writing, but as a fan of "Flies and Lies" this album left me wanting more of the same songs in the style of their 2007 release.

I also think the band should release a video for "Never Ending Stairway" it seems like a good representation of the band's current sound.

Recommend for: fans of Power Metal without all the swords and voyages into a pony's tail.







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