Nothing to Undo - Chapter Six

Metalium are back with their 6th full-length CD, called ‘Nothing To Undo/Chapter Six’. These German metal masters have been releasing CDs since forming in 1998, so 6 CDs in 9 years is very consistent and very busy. It seems with every metal review website you go to, the majority of metalheads believe that Metalium’s CDs have declined, possibly from and after ‘Chapter Three’ of their discography. That may be true, it may not, but I have only heard Metalium from ‘Chapter Four’ onward, so I cannot comment on their first 3 CDs. But what I have heard has been pretty good. Nothing new or amazing, but solid nevertheless.

Metalium does have a lot of things going for them. One would be the vocalist, Henning Basse, who has always performed at his best, and has a great range and excellent delivery. And 2nd, the guitarist Matthias Lange, who is a marvelous shredder and displays a lot of talent. These fellows can put on quite a show live, yet somehow is hasn’t fully carried over in the studio with their last few releases.
So, they have the goods, but what is it that has been lacking in the past few CDs? My best guess would be consistency with their songs. You have some killers and yet you have some shockers too. Some are far catchier than others, particularly with the choruses, or with the guitar or drumming delivery. Metalium really needs to reach a certain level of consistency, running through their CDs.

Will ‘Nothing To Undo’ correct these problem areas and deliver a CD that make metalheads listen and take notice?...
Well, the first thing I noticed after the build-up intro, and into the first track, is how aggressive the band sounds. It was indeed a slap in the face as I immediately started nodding my head to the first track. Henning Basse sounds absolutely fantastic, sounding both aggressive and melodic. Very catchy “sing-a-long” choruses, and an overall raw and edgy sound, that took me by complete surprise.

After a strong first half of the CD, except for “Mental Blindness”, which is a rather poor track, the 2nd half does drop off a little. Thus, bringing me back to my comment about one of Metalium’s problems: consistency. That’s not to say the 2nd half of the CD is bad, it’s just the quality of the songs compared to the ones in the first half is not quite as good. Still, I think Metalium have done a decent job to even up the overall quality of all the tracks, probably more so than on their previous 2 releases.

As for the better songs on the CD, the best 2 tracks would be “Spirits” and “Mindless”. They are full of speed, aggression, heaviness and some very cool riffing. Basse’s vocals really make these tracks stand out, but he pretty much does that for the entire CD. The next best 2 tracks would be “Straight Into Hell” and “Heroes”. Both tracks are in the same vein as the tracks mentioned above, very catchy and very melodic. Brilliant vocals as always, and a few ripping solos here and there.

I will make mention to the track called “Follow The Sign”. It’s a very nice mid-paced, almost ballad-esk song that does bring the CD back up after 2 average tracks back to back before it. Finally, the cover song entitled “The Show Must Go On” originally by Queen. Metalium, Basse especially, does nice justice to this catchy song. Basse seems to try to sing the way Freddy Mercury did, and he does pull it off rather well and it’s a nice way to finish the CD.

Overall, I must say that I am pleasantly surprised by this effort from Metalium. I feel that they have improved somewhat, since their last 2 CDs, and seem to have caught the sniff of the “right stuff” once again. Not knowing (yet) how the band sounded back with their first 2 releases, I do believe that the fans who enjoyed that sound will have something to like from ‘Nothing To Undo’. Maybe not the entire CD, but at least half of it. Aside from Metalium fans, anyone who is a fan of melodic power metal should really give this a good listen. I think it may surprise you too.

Originally written for www.metalcdratings.com (2007)

This is textbook Heavy Metal; in essence exactly what you would not want a non-metal listening friend to think your favorite genre was like, often coming off as embarrassing in its misguided, juvenile attempts at Heavy Metal exuberance. I have no problem with cheesiness and blatant Metal worship, but that is only when it's done with some tongue-in-cheek sensibility or genuine "take no prisoners" attitude - Saxon's Denim & Leather is quite a good example, positively overflowing with big, stomping riffs and enough attitude to tip the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Metalium have none of that, and all they do on this album is play Heavy Metal in the style of their (far superior) contemporaries (think Paragon, Grave Digger, older Mob Rules, Iron Savior, etc), but they don't seem to have a clue about anything beyond the surface aesthetics of the music. The crunchy, stadium-friendly riffs are there, and so are the juicy, galloping Power Metal solos, and the double bass drumming, and the high pitched wailing from behind the mic, but none of it ever sticks. This is all very lightweight, jokey, fake sounding stuff that comes off as if the band were just imitating the founders of the genre without actually doing any research on or caring about what made Metal so great in the first place - the dark mysticism of Black Sabbath, the sense of genuine adventure that Iron Maiden possessed, the rebellious stance of the 80s scene in general, all of that. Metalium, and indeed this album as well, are as shallow and fraudulent as it gets. Toys 'R Us Metal is what this is.

I must dedicate a whole paragraph to vocalist Henning Basse, who is by far the worst "True Metal" styled vocalist I've ever heard, boasting forth with an annoying sort of whine to his already incompetent wailing that makes me want to take the microphone from him and beat him mercilessly over the head until gumballs shoot out of his nostrils. He also can't sing a good vocal line to save his life, which is the other huge problem with the vocals here, as there are a total of 0 vocal lines that made me want to sing along on this album, and a total of 0 good vocal hooks that stuck with me after the album ended. Get a new vocalist, Metalium. And start writing good songs while you're at it.

This album's name is also false, as there is much that needs "undoing" on Nothing to Undo. This is more like slushy, lukewarm liquid than Metal, as last time I checked, Metal was supposed to have some actual firepower and memorability to it. Metalium is a silly, overblown joke of a band given more fame than they were ever worth, and I'm putting my foot down right here. The fact that this isn't nu metal isn't enough to save it from oblivion. This band sucks, this album is infuriating and terrible, and I can't recommend this to anyone unless you happen to enjoy lame Metal-Lite poser crap.

Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com

So whenever I happen to be visiting in Windsor, Ontario, I always make a point of hoping into HMV at the local mall. While most of the music there is rather expensive, it has a fairly large selection of metal albums to choose from. And after finding a Gamma Ray album, not titled Majestic at this particular store, I decided to check out what else it had to offer. One of these excursions had me flipping through the annoyingly long Metallica discographies (please don't ask me why), and as luck would have it, I came across the Metalium album, Chapter Five: Demons of Insanity. The album cover featured an armoured man and some scantily clad chick doing battle in a pit of fire. Err…cliché much? Needless to say, I continued flipping through the various discs without hesitation. But when I got home some three or four days later, the name Metalium was still in the back of my mind. What kind of music would a band with such a name produce. Power metal undoubtedly. So I looked them up at various metal websites. The band, formed in 1998 in Hamburg, Germany, was indeed of the power metal variety. And as they had a new album due in February of 2007, titled Nothing to Undo, I decided to check them out. There'd be nothing to lose after all. And after listening to the final seconds of the Queen cover, The Show Must Go On, fade away; Metalium is just as I expected them to be. Not the best of the bunch, but no slouches in their area of expertise as well.

With their sixth album, Metalium unsurprisingly builds upon their main musical foundation: unadulterated European power metal. When listening, it isn't difficult to pick out the Gamma Ray influences, the Helloween influences, the Grave Digger influences, and of course, the mandatory Iron Maiden and Judas Priest influences. Throughout the forty-some minute record, however, said influences mesh together exceedingly well, for the most part. The riffs which piece together Nothing to Undo's fairly upbeat tracks are heavy affairs with the listener. The vocals are of the falsetto variety. Heavy double bass drumming anchors the rhythmic section of the album. Each of these aspects are fairly well written and performed with skill and precision. With that said, none of the members in Metalium, be it vocalist Henning Basse, bassist, Lars Ratz, or guitarist Matthias Lange, really take charge and lead the group through the album. The musicianship is evenly spread through out each role in the album, so don't be expecting any earth shattering Herman Li-esque solos or Hansi Kursch-eqsue vocals. The music found on Nothing to Undo often fluctuates between mid-paced to fast, as can be heard in the likes of Mindless and Heroes (the faster of the pair), but the tracks are mostly all rather upbeat and energetic regardless of the speed. Power metal fans, especially those who favour the German variety will likely enjoy what Metalium has put together.

Of course, as with any album, Metalium's sixth has a few flaws. Unfortunately, while it isn't exactly a carbon copy of some of the German scene's more prominent works, with Nothing to Undo, Metalium does not really stamp on its own sound. At times this causes the album to feel stale and generic. Longer tracks such as Metal Blindness and Was Home (both of which approach the seven minute mark), are two victims of such weaknesses. Just as with fellow power metallers 3 Inches of Blood, fellow Germans Perzonal War, and fellow metal band Trivium, Metalium is not able to put together a full album of classic musical throwbacks. While Nothing to Undo is definitely stronger than the likes of Advance and Vanquish, Different But the Same, and The Crusade, a little originality wouldn't hurt. Variety is another characteristic that would help. Lengthy, metallic riffing is what makes this CD, and the German band's sixth album hardly strays course, even for some of the slower, more heartfelt songs. This element of non-stop power and energy is quite enjoyable on the first few tracks, especially the likes of Heroes and Straight into Hell.

Overall, Metalium's Chapter Six: Nothing to Undo is a fairly decent record. It's quite obvious that these Germans are a focused bunch, recording classy unadulterated power metal. While a little variety and originality would definitely benefit the band, fans of the German power metal scene should be very pleased with how well crafted Nothing to Undo is. Personally, I would not recommend the band's latest offering over some of the genre's more accomplished works, but if you're looking for a decent, interesting power metal album, then this wouldn't be a poor choice. If not, well, you aren't missing out on a lot.

(Originally written for Sputnikmusic)