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Cellador: Enter deception
11/08/09 || GardensTale
Ever since Dragonforce decided to put out their ultra-fast power metal on disc, appreciation of the genre took a strange double half-turn. Suddenly, power metal was cool and the haven for musical virtuosity. Then, not long after, it turned out Dragonforce had absolutely nothing besides two guitar players who could play really fast, lacking the songwriting to carry the 12 hour songs and sporting the gayest vocals since The Darkness, and people realized power metal was still fruity and 95% pure shit and everyone went along their merry way.
But lo and behold, Cellador decided: “fuck this, let’s show them all who’s boss!” and proceeded to spread the message that power metal didn’t need to be gay at all. Americans, no use trying to talk sense into them, eh? Anyhow, here’s the disc, and did they succeed in backing their bold claim?
Well, sort of. First of all, there’s really no denying this is a tight disc. Musically it found a cozy niche between Dragonforce and Nocturnal Rites. There’s speed, but they don’t get lost in it, there’s good and tight songwriting, there’s no fruity keyboards at work, it’s got hooks, it’s catchy, it’s well produced and it’s got its own face, praiseworthy for certain concerning it’s a debut. The guitarwork is handled with a tight and cheerful flair without going into that realm of rainbows, butterflies and unicorns where Hammerfall and Edguy reside. The drums tend to get a bit same-same but there’s some very competent work there too, and he knows what those double-bass pedals are for. Bass… What bass?
The vocals are the only stain, at times, that is. Sometimes you can hear the inexperience, and during those times he sounds a bit thin. Also, his attempt at vibrato sounds more someone shaking him vigorously while he’s trying to sing, and that gets a bit annoying at times. Despite those issues, his range is impressive and he does some very competent falsetto screams, although those do tend to send the band tiptoeing into the land of flowers, elves and magic. On the other hand, the above average intelligent lyrics (especially concerning power metal!) earn him bonus points.
So all in all, what do we have? A very competent debut that actually makes power metal fun and non-flowery, even though it does require ignoring the singer from time to time. It takes what made Dragonforce fun at first listen and refrains from overusing it, instead using good songwriting and competent playing to retain the listener’s attention. Fans of the lighter side of metal should definitely give this a go, and if there’s only occasionally a power metal album that keeps your attention, this could certainly be one of them. If your credo is “no growl or screech means snore”, you can safely leave this one alone.
- Information
- Released: 2006
- Label: Metal Blade
- Website: www.cellador.com
- Band
- Michael Gremio: vocals
- Chris Petersen: guitar
- Bill Hudson: guitar
- Valentin Rakhmanov: bass
- David Dahir: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Leaving all behind
- 02. A sign far beyond
- 03. Never again
- 04. Forever unbound
- 05. Seen through time
- 06. Wakening
- 07. Releasing the shadow
- 08. No chances lost
