Freedom Call - Legend of the Shadowking

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FREEDOM CALL walk (in a sense) a parallel path with GAMMA RAY due to Dan Zimmermann'spresencein the two lineups. But having heard a couple of tunes from them one can easily understand that these two German based bands stand in common music grounds. Having said that, I have to confess that due to this affinity I never considered myself a fan of FREEDOM CALL. But the recent concert supporting the latest GAMMA RAY tour made me reconsider. Well, not that much…

The album opens with the ultimate cliché way; some sing-along lyrics that are followed by the multi-used galloping rhythm leading to the up-tempo chorus. There is absolutely nothing to be surprised of since FREEDOM CALL write music by the great book of German Power Metal. Some will say that this is not totally bad; this type of music can and will satisfy anyone who is into this kind of almost happy-Metal. Hold your horses here, because the latter comment is not at all offensive. This specific genre serves all the purposes when played onstage. It is difficult to stand still when these songs are played they way FREEDOM CALL do. And that is, relentless attitude and a big honest smile.

“Thunder God” works exactly this way even though the German band adds something spicy in the guitar leads and make this song a little bit heavier than usual. The album continues in the same pace adding some more melody in the IRON MAIDEN-esque rhythm section of “Tears Of Babylon” while the keyboards work put san interesting touch. The same atmosphere can be found in the RHAPSODY OF FIRE tune “Merlin – Legend Of The Past” that comes strong with the HELLOWEEN signature all-around. The chorus here is probably one of the highlights of the album that is just perfect to sing-along. Chris Baydoes well behind the microphone serving the purposes of German Power Metal as he should with his high pitched voice without having a striking timbre. As it is expected in similar cases, a lot of work has been done in the guitars where the twin-riff pattern dominates all the album's structure.

There is nothing to be added here. FREEDOM CALL add another album in the discography leaving all the surprises aside. There is nothing to explore here if you know your way around German Power Metal. FREEDOM CALL continue to follow pre-defined structures and this cannot get them out of the sounds-like situation. If I was to choose a direction for this band I would go for the attitude I heard in the mid-tempo “Under The Spell Of The Moon” and the lowered pitch in the vocals. Adding to this direction is the nice “Dark Obsession” where I managed to discover some KAMELOT elements and an underlining VIRGIN STEELE layer.