Astralism

The 2006 release from Astral Doors shows the pinnacle of how high this Swedish act would climb. Hot on the heels of two energetic and engaging albums, “Astralism” continued what could have been a a solid ascension to the top of the traditional and power metal world. Time would take its toll though, as the following albums could not live up to their predecessors, in the slightest. While “Astralism” is not a hugely original experience, the band displays an ability to make a traditional metal album full of hooks and sing-a-long choruses with enough nods to the past and touches of modernity to be truly memorable.

“Astralism” takes the formula that Astral Doors had been crafting on “Of the Son and the Father” and “Evil is Forever” and runs with it. Rather than jumping between speedy barn burners, slow paced crawls and mid-paced fist pumpers, most of the tracks here keep a constant mid to fast paced approach, which adds some continuity to the mix. Once again, the band borrows heavily from the godfathers of metal, like Deep Purple and Rainbow, which is probably best showed not only in their general song structures, but in the liberal use of Hammond Organ sounds littered through the album. Astral Doors seems most at home when firing on all cylinders during the faster paced numbers, like on “EVP” or “Raiders of the Ark”. It’s during these speedier tracks that the twin guitars seem to shine the brightest, with inspirations ranging from Blackmore to Iron Maiden. The guitars, as a whole, are chunky with tons of palm muting connecting catchy riff after catchy riff. The forceful guitar lines scream early eights, with constant nods to the “Holy Diver” era of metal. The drums are much more forceful this time around, with more galloping rhythms and fast paced fills than the band’s earlier albums. While the markedly slower paces during “Israel” and the beginning of “Apocalypse Revealed” leave something to be desired, the band quickly makes up for by going straight back into the powerful anthemic style.

The vocals of Nils Patrik Johansson once again shine bright, as his nasally Dio impression is forceful and full of energy. The band gets all sorts of props and accolades for the vocals being so powerful and acrobatic. Johansson has a solid set of pipes on him, bouncing between high and middle ranges with a constant touch of Dio. The vocals may not be as awe inspiring as “Heaven and Hell”, but the choruses on tracks like “Black Rain” and “EVP” will have you singing along in no time. Actually, just about every chorus on this album is so vocally hook-laden that it’s almost physically impossible to not sing along. It’s these catchy moments where Astral Doors shines brightly, and, thankfully, “Astralism” has more hooks than Bass Pro Shop. The flow is lost during some slower portions, but the vocals pull it through.

The band’s debut, “Of the Sun and the Father”, was anthemic, but was missing some spark or inner fire to push it over the edge. Some parts were catchy and it was a good album, but it wasn’t monumental. “Evil is Forever” suffered from the same issue: catchy and forceful, but it wasn’t a truly great album. The missing pieces were found and thrown straight into “Astralism”. The band was more on fire and more energetic than before: something that began being swapped out for the dreary and mundane on later albums. Carried by a forceful dual guitar attack, catchy riffing and the amazing throwback vocals of Nils Patrik Johansson, “Astralism” is a great album for traditional and power metal fans. This is by far the best album from Astral Doors and one that, sadly, the band hasn’t come close to since. While their approach is far from the most original, and everything on this album has already been done by Astral Doors on their previous albums, everything just clicks on this album. The energy and hook-laden catchiness make this an album not to miss.

Written for The Metal Observer:
http://www.metal-observer.com/

Not in a million years would I have thought that Astral Doors was able to surpass their last album "Evil is Forever" this much. Not only is this album better in every aspect, it is a huge step forward and to date their most mature album.

Astral Doors do still wear their influences on the outside, old school classic heavy metal with roots in Dio, Rainbow and Black Sabbath. Ever tried to imagine how the 3rd album from Dio would have sounded hadn't he chosen a more commercial sound? Well without knowing, something like this album is a pretty good guess...

Traditional Hammond organ sounds, outstanding vocal acrobatics from Nils Patrick Johansson and a rock solid rhythm section lays the foundations. But the biggest improvement has to be in the guitar department, excellent riffs and some of the coolest twin and single leads I've heard for some time.

An album packed with excellent traditional metal, a production that fits the music like a hand in a glove and another outstanding artwork from Mattias Norén - what more can you ask for in a metal album?

The bricks are in place, this album has all the qualities to take Astral Doors even further up the latter and I can only strongly recommend this outstanding album to all metal fans out there!

Recommended tracks: All of them, there not a single bad note on this album!

Kenn Jensen