It may not hold true, but in my mind’s eye I have a vision of the Battlegod office as a dungeon, filled with blood soaked weaponry and the spoils of war. If it should prove to be a simple office I will be most disappointed, but in the meantime the label is doing a good job of reinforcing my mental image of its premises with this gloriously over-the-top offering from tomorrow’s outlook, a Norwegian studio project featuring such luminaries of the rock scene as Graham Bonnet (yep – of Rainbow fame) and Michael Kiske. Clad in the sort of fantasy sleeve artwork favoured by Dio and Manowar you just know from the outset that it’s going to be an impassioned blast of furious heavy metal, and so it transpires. Let the wonders begin…
‘34163’ (for such is the album’s unwieldy title) opens with ‘As darkness falls’, an intro that sets the album’s stall out nicely. As a martial beat is carved out, a huge guitar riff provides the epic, metallic back drop for vocals which veer nicely between a high-pitched wail that would make even Bruce Dickinson green with envy and a more guttural attack that adds grit to the mix. A beautifully played solo, meanwhile, adds a touch of class and you just know that you’re in for one hell of a ride over the course of this fantastically produced record. ‘Gate to freedom’ is up next and it sees the tempo change up a notch as the band unveil a sound that is part Iron maiden, part Sonata Arctica. It is epic, trad-metal story telling of the first order bound together by a frantic riff and the sort of melody that aggravatingly jams in your brain only for you to start humming it at the most embarrassing moments. Power metal fans will love the storming delivery and the whole band sound as if they’re having a whale of a time, although it is the vocals which hook you in every time, delivered with a breath-taking panache that perfectly fits the rousing music provided by the band. With ‘gate to freedom’ ending on a contemplative, acoustic note, ‘Glass mountain’ comes flooding out of the speakers like molten lava, the riffs white hot against the thunderous percussion and when the main melody kicks in and the tempo escalates you’d have to be made of stone not to be swept away by the sheer grandiose e absurdity of it all. It’s so well delivered, so passionately fired out that its addictive and endearing in equal measure and, as you might well imagine, the band’s musical abilities are exemplary – a fact attested to by the monumental solo that dominates the mid-section of the song.
‘A song for you’ is everything its title promises – a brilliantly excessive power ballad caught somewhere between ‘the unforgiven’, ‘stairway to heaven’ and ‘living on a prayer’ that works on a number of different levels and sports a melody to die for. A love poem to the power of music itself, it is likely to strike a chord with anyone whose life is dominated by a passion for heavy metal. ‘Doubt’, unsurprisingly, takes the opposite tack with a pounding beat powering one of the album’s heaviest riffs, it is closer to Ozzy Osbourne and latter-day Alice Cooper than power metal and it is delivered with some ferocity by the band. ‘The ethereal dream’ is rather more relaxed, a plucked acoustic introduction allowing the vocals plenty of room to breathe before the band start to apply layers in the form of vocal harmonies, bass, guitar and eventually drums as the track moves into its main guise as a slow-burning number replete with sultry guitar leads and a sing-a-long chorus. The title track is an instrumental that gives the band a chance to shine in the spotlight and then ‘white lightning’ (hopefully bearing no connection at all to the vile ‘cider’ ingested by teenagers here in the UK!) kicks in like a folk ballad. It’s an unexpected side-step and although it fits perfectly with the generally enthusiastic nature of the rest of the album, it still comes as a shock the first time you hear it.
‘Liquid scream’ sees the album heading back into more brutal pastures, the pinch harmonics squealing away over a riff that chugs along nicely before the vocals come crashing in like Rob Halford warming up to perform opera, it’s an exercise in leather-clad vim and vigour that is everything power metal’s detractors could wish for when citing the genre’s more mirth-inducing aspects, and yet for all that it works brilliantly as the band’s increasingly eccentric metal lust wins out and you allow the band’s boundless enthusiasm to suck you ever deeper into the heart of the record. ‘Kill again’ is another heavy number belted out with precision by the band, the heavy riffs the perfect backdrop for a monstrous mosh pit whilst the chorus of “kill again” is destined to be screamed out loud and proud by the audience at any given gig the band play. ‘March of the demons’ is equally invigorating – part Priest, part Queen and then a Lizzy Borden cover in the form of ‘Red rum’ leads us to the concluding track, a reprise of ‘the ethereal dream’ which neatly closes the album and leaves you on an emotional high after so vigorous journey through the realms of fantasy.
It is without doubt that ‘tomorrow’s outlook’ will have a niche appeal. Certainly it will not change your opinion if you despise this kind of overly-theatrical, operatic metal. However, if you have an open mind and an all-encompassing for that wonderful genre we call metal then ‘34613’ will leave you with a monumental smile on your face, not to mention at least one of these brilliantly memorable songs lodged in your brain for a distressingly lengthy period of time. Invigorating, exciting and, most of all, fun, Tomorrow’s outlook are well worth investigating.
For those of you minded to check this release out further – have a gander at this teaser video:
