Search - At Vance :: Ride the Sky

Power Metal full of substance.

Nikiforos V. Skoumas | Athens Greece, Cambridge UK | 10/26/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the 8th studio release from German power metal band "At Vance". "Ride the sky" is a somewhat predictable title for a power metal band unmistakably referencing the genre-defining song from metal innovators "Helloween". Musically however this is a surprisingly cliché- free album and a breath of fresh air for the genre.



Thankfully lead singer Rick Altzi does not fall into the cliché of laying the saturated high pitched vocals, instead he masterfully makes use of his full range. On that count he is proven to be equally effective on both bass and high vocal tones. At the same time Olaf Leik unleashes memorable riffs (and well planned solos) forming the perfect basis for Rick to record some- beyond expectations- intense performances. The line up also features Alex Landenburg on drums and bassist Wolfman Black.

The songs ? Track after track melodic metal mayhem "Ride the sky", "Torn- Burning like fire", "Last in line" and "Falling" all faultless power diamonds.



Above all "Ride the sky" is a very direct album and with this quality manages to engage the listener and keep them interested throug most of its songs. In all fairness it is quite hard to find groundbreaking or even memorable power metal albums these days for that I have got to recommend "Ride the Sky" to anyone looking for a relevant power metal album; If you have bough the latest "Primal Fear" album then this is definitely the one to buy next.





"Metal Hammer" Greek magazine (issue 297) marks this album with 7/10 commenting: "80% Malmsteen, 15% `Rainbow', 5% `Talisman' and we like it!"





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