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Royal Hunt - Land of Broken Hearts (1992) Reviewed on 11/30/04

Good

Nation: Denmark

Album Genre: Progressive Metal

Pros: Decent debut by Royal Hunt here, however later outputs obviously as I stated in the "Clwon in the Mirror" review, are much more preferred. The basic idea of the Royal Hunt protocol is here and on all of their albums, but they just didn't have that "oomph" they have on later albums, especially "The Mission" and "Eyewitness." However, I do enjoy this album better than their second album "Clown in the Mirror" which is just boring as hell--though this one isn't much better.

Cons: Very mundane....

Royal Hunt - Clown in the Mirror (1993) Reviewed on 8/1/04

Eh...

Nation: Denmark

Album Genre: Progressive Metal

Pros: You can hear Royal Hunt really developing their sound, especially on the track "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow." Vocally though, Royal Hunt started becoming great when they switched vocalists.

Cons: I dunno, I guess I just find the album rather boring. It doesn't have the memorable melodic vocals that the latter albums have.

Royal Hunt - The Mission (2001) Reviewed on 10/29/04

Amazingly...

Nation: Denmark

Album Genre: Progressive Metal

Pros: A concept album based on famous sci-fi/fantasy author Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles", Royal Hunt has developed infinitely better from their early outing of "Clown in the Mirror." With this album, we have a new vocalist who fits the music alot better (which John West really shows off in the choruses of the songs). The sheer originality of the musical compositions between simple and generic progressive rock music is outstanding. With their blending of electronic sound techniques, along with great metallic intstrumental work, listeners are really treated to a earfull of wonderment on this album. I would highly suggest picking this puppy up!

Cons: It ended too soon, and it's already 51 minutes!

Royal Hunt - Paper Blood (2005) Reviewed on 7/4/05

Good

Nation: Denmark

Album Genre: Progressive Metal

I have come to the conclusion that Royal Hunt is the progressive metal equivalent to Iron Maiden . Both bands have the uncanny ability to retain their fanbase by releasing formulaic albums through a tried and true method that allows for bi-yearly releases of quality records with little or no variation in style, all while preserving the ever important catchiness factor. Unfortunately, both bands, like any other band, sometimes fall to the temptation of releasing such repetitive music that it begins to mold together into one solid entity, thus squishing the ever important catchiness factor in many cases. Royal Hunt 's latest release, Paper Blood , is one of those albums that maintains their trademark sound to a predictable degree, but goes over the border by marring the catchiness factor turning it into a single blob of John West's vocals, that Baptist-style chorus they maintain on ALL of their albums, and keyboards.

A few years ago I was introduced to Royal Hunt for the first time with the album The Mission . I was blown away by John West's very soulful output over such a neo-classical approach to progressive music. Every single song had very good lyrics, incredibly catchy choruses, and really neat synth stuff. Following my initial exposure to the band, I did what most music fans do--I began to obtain every album I could come across with original material on it, the result of which was disappointing. In my endeavor I had hoped to discover a new outlet for some amazing progressive metal, but what I ended up finding was a rather large back catalogue filled with similar albums of top notch music. The disappointment surprisingly, had nothing to do with the quality of the material, it was because the albums all sounded the same! With the exception of several standout tracks on every album, Royal Hunt maintains a formula that can become very repetitive and monotonous. Not surprisingly however, the band maintains a strong fanbase, which is completely understandable. Royal Hunt , like Iron Maiden , or AC/DC , has a very strict way for making records and their fanbase adores them for it. I say more power to them, but personally if a band begins to lose its catchiness in the process, I have no qualms about leaving the band in the dust until they show me they can crawl back with something that I can nod my head to with a smile on my face.

For me, Paper Blood is a mixed bag of nuts. You have the standard issue peanut and walnut, which taste great some of the time, but usually they are just a filler-upper snack to pass the time. However, in the same mix, you encounter some pistachios and the select few brazilian nuts thrown in also. Every nut compliments the other, but some nuts just stand out, while the others are just safe nuts that you know taste good, but are perhaps sick of. When I listen to an album, the ultimate goal is to be engrossed from beginning to end--this is how I usually judge the worth of albums. Paper Blood is made up of a hell of alot of peanuts with a few pistachios and brazilian nuts thrown in, which is disappointing.

Thus far, I have only listened to this album one full time through. Perhaps upon further listens it will begin to grow on me, but so far this album is just filler for the band. If you are a die hard Royal Hunt fan, you will instantly fall in love with this album. It contains intricate keyboards interlaced with their trademarked neo classical guitar riffage. There are also some stand out moments, like a cool drum solo on Twice Around the World around the 4 minute mark, some catchy choruses, and some surprising guitar solos that add alot of chops to certain songs. This album is standard Royal Hunt fare with nothing new to offer, I am hoping that more listens will change my opinion, but for the time being I would only suggest this album to those who enjoy the Royal Hunt sound and are not as picky as me.

(Originally written for www.metalreviews.com)

 


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