Search - Royal Hunt :: The Mission

Criminally underrated

Alain Fournier | Hamilton, Pembroke Bermuda | 04/25/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'll start of with this caveat. I have until I bought this CD never heard a Royal Hunt song. So I will be unable to grade the quality of this CD compared to its predecessors. It might have the advantage that I have no preconception towards what a Royal Hunt should sound like. The slate is clean. The album will solely be judge on its merits are lack of.The quick review is that this CD is that it's criminally underrated. The "Mission" is a concept album based on Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles. It's not necessary to have read the novel or to follow the story line of this album to enjoy it. Although at the very least understanding the story does give the music a greater emotional resonance. Especially on songs that close the CD such as "Days of No Trust" and "Total Recall".This CD is very much in the progmetal category. The keyboards are very prominent and played with mastery by Andre Anderson. He makes good use of the keyboards from them being nice and melodic such as in "Judgement Day" to straight out aggressive as in "World Wide War". The opening to "World Wide War" Anderson plays a wonderful classical influence interlude called "Metamorphosis" that is breathtakingly beautiful.John West's vocals are simple amazing. The man has great range and power. Witness some of his shrieks near the end on "World Wide War". His vocals are definitely been influence by past metal singers. He also does a terrific job on the slower more emotional songs such as on "Days of No Trust" . Where you can here sadness and melacholy in his vocals that goes melds perfectly with the lyrics.Jacob Kjaer on guitar is a perfect compliment to the keyboards. He can rip off riff after furious riff but he can also play remarkably well in harmony with the keyboards such as in ":Surrender". He is very versatile and has an excellent mastery of technique. He notably shines on "World Wide War" with its heavy riff and on the intro "DreamLine" that leads in to the start of "Out Of Reach".As mentioned earlier "The Mission" is a concept album as such you have the main songs and the songs that save as interludes or links from one song to another. There are 6 of these interludes. They range in length from 1:05 to 2:34. Don't let their brevity fool you there are some very fine moments in them. My two favourites I mentioned already are the beautiful "Metamorphosis" and the guitar oriented "DreamLine".This will sound like a cliché and I have used it before but there is not one bad song on this CD. My favorites include the straight ahead rocker "The Mission", the intense "World Wide War" and the brilliant vocal lines of "Surrender".In short this is an essential addition to any fan of progressive metal."

RH is now a true Progressive band.

Nikhil Nair | unimportant | 08/19/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Considering the talent in the band, Fear was a rather weak effort. The Mission, though, is definitely the most ambitious effort by the band thus far. If you're hoping for something like a cross between Paradox and Forces Of Nature, prepare for disappointment. Seems like the boys have been listening to their Yes, Deep Purple and electronica records. Andersen experiments with Hammond organs, Yes-like chirping keyboard sounds and a drum machine. Not even West can escape the experimentation as the band has him using vocal processors at times. Even though I'm not too big on electronica, I feel it really works here, especially considering the sci-fi lyrical content. RH shows good judgment by not using the techno sounds too often, so still expect a lot of power/prog metal. A lot of the times I find it hard to believe tat the band I'm listening to is RH, but then the backing vocals come around and I know it's them. The band with this album is now a progressive metal band in the true sense. Combining musical elements from their past albums with some drum machines, samples and sound effects, the band's new effort and incarnation sounds surprisingly refreshing.
Highlights: The Mission, Clean Sweep, World Wide War, Total Recallmore reviews at:
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or email me at coolguitarist@hotmail.com"

Incredibly talented Band/Amazing album

David P. Warren | Central California | 07/23/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Some of the best rock in a long time. Extreme musicianship--great songs."