Radical Peace

German melodic power metal band, Mob Rules, have certainly come a long way since the times of 'Savage Land' and 'Temple of Two Suns'. Over the years, Mob Rules have carefully moulded themselves into the band they are today, releasing some very solid metal albums, including 'Among The Gods' and most recently the powerful and impressive 'Ethnolution A.D.'. That release, I believe, to be their strongest effort so far; with the band making their claim in the unrelenting metal world.

Mob Rules have taken quite a serious approach to their music of late, with lyrics detailing real life struggles and events in the world, rather than the typical power metal topics that you find in most band's lyrics. You might call Mob Rules' current musical evolution a progressive metal band in a power metal body, as their song-writing contains both the hard aggression and melody found in power metal, but also the structure and complexity that you find in prog metal, including the lyrics.

Aside from the increasing use of keyboards over the years, Mob Rules also uses orchestration in their sound, including horns, strings and piano. These inclusions add further depth and is a great element in the picture they are wanting to portray. You can also hear a strong Iron Maiden influence in their music too, as well as similarities with other Euro melodic metal bands.

The new approach the band has taken with 'Ethnolution A.D.' has continued on here with their new 6th studio release, entitled 'Radical Peace'. On the album, you'll find further progression of their sound and style with yet another fulfilling, powerful and emotional album. Like 'Ethnolution A.D.' and now 'Radical Peace', you won't find any guitar wankery or super heavy and fast riffs and licks. Rather, calculated, creative and precise guitar chords, powerful but not overly heavy riffs and a heap of melody, keys and choirs to keep both the power and prog metalheads happy. Similar to the way Swedish metal band Evergrey constructs their song-writing, it is a pure blend of both prog and power, which is heavy but also meaningful and smooth-flowing.

'Radical Peace' is a intricate mixed bag of great tracks, whether being an emotional power ballad like the touching "Warchild" or the soaring "Astral Hand", which was also released as a single before the album became available. One of the best tracks on the release, however, is the bombastic speedy number "Waiting for the Sun", a brilliant track full of great riffs, orchestration, heavy bass and piercing vocals by Klaus Dirks; a true highlight in anyone's language.

Other excellent tracks appear on the album, such as "Children of the Flames" (an epic 7 minute track, full of melody, heaviness and diversity), "The Glance of Fame" (mid-paced melodic track with a memorable and catchy sing-a-long chorus) and "Trial By Fire" (an Iron Maiden influenced speedy track, with heavy head-banging riffs and a great vocal performance by Dirks).

However the opus of this great album is the incredible 18 minute track "The Oswald File". The track is divided up into 6 chapters, detailing the events of the 1963 assassination of American President John F. Kennedy through the eyes of the alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald. This track has to be heard to be believed, and a short description of it here will not do the song justice.

Overall, I would say that 'Radical Peace' is a huge album from Mob Rules, surpassing their previous excellent effort with 'Ethnolution A.D'. Some fans have not liked the sound of the band's current form, preferring the sound from previous early albums, but I can tell you that Mob Rules have never sounded better than they are right now. Those who enjoyed 'Among the Gods' and 'Ethnolution A.D.' will definitely find 'Radical Peace' impressive and exceeding their expectations. Melodic metal fans should also find this album enjoyable as well as prog metal lovers, particularly fans of Evergrey.

'Radical Peace' also marks Mob Rules' first release under the AFM Records banner, after 3 studio releases and a live album with SPV Records. This new album is a sure-fire winner in my book and Mob Rules have continued to impress me ever since hearing them for the first time, back with 'Temple of Two Suns'. Things have certainly changed for the best with the band since then, and like a good bottle of wine, they have only gotten better with age.

Originally written for both www.metalcdratings.com and www.themetalforge.com (2009)

Mob Rules is very much a thinking man’s power metal band, not so much because of any extravagant fits of progressive musical development, technical flair, speed, or even lyrical intricacy, but more so for the weighty subject matters that they delve into. The retro-styled simplicity of their debut “Savageland” was no exception, as they’ve managed to take a story not all that different from “The Road Warrior” and turn it more towards a deeper, heavily philosophical statement of the dual nature of man. Since then they’ve become a bit more journalistic and cynical in their outlook on album concepts, but the same sense of proactive storytelling remains, both lyrically and musically.

“Radical Peace” is essentially a further development on the measured balance of old school heavy metal and progressive rock heard on “Ethnolution A.D.”, but without the stylistic confusion that dragged down said album. There are no half-hearted ballads or meandering musical afterthoughts filling out the space in between the 6 part musical epic and the close of the album, only a continual helping of solid, straight up metallic goodness. Things are generally upper-mid tempo, but a bit more guitar oriented than they were on the last couple albums. The lead work of Sven Lüdke, in particular, has a bit more flash and flair than it on the previous release, and far more technical than Fuhlhage’s contributions to the band in the past, though remaining quite subdued and short in comparison to most in the genre.

Though quite comparable to the last album, the break down of the songwriting is about on the other side of things as they could possibly be. “Children Of The Flames” and “Astral Hand” prove against the expectation of another complete domination of the album by the longer epic that the strength here is on the outer extremities at the beginning and the end. The beautiful blend of NWOBHM influenced riffs, dense vocal and keyboard sounds, rock solid rhythm section and instantly familiar yet original melodic composition on these songs just wins out against the ambitious ideas at play on the “2112” inspired multi-track song found here. Nonetheless, Mob Rules’ own musical insight into the Kennedy assassination on “The Oswald File” is a formidable endeavor, though it relies a lot more on extended instrumental sections than on epic lyrical deliveries out of Klaus Meine, whose vocal work tends to be just a tiny bit too reserved throughout much of this album.

Ultimately “Radical Peace” gets the job done in the way that “Ethnolution A.D.” could have if it had been more consistent. Had a few more driving riff monsters like “Trial By Fire” and “Waiting For The Sun” had been on the latter instead of a potpourri of Modern Rock experiments, it would have been a stronger album than both this one and “Among The Gods”. I’m still partial to the band’s older, pure Power Metal sound before the symphonic tendencies started creeping in and the keyboards began fighting the guitars for prominence rather than complimenting them, but this is a worthy pickup for anyone looking for a less technically oriented alternative to Communic and a more mature and measured answer to the wide array of Helloween enthusiasts populating the German scene.

Originally submitted to (www.metal-obsever.com) on February 5, 2010.

Steadily hammering away at their classic brand of power metal for 15 years now, Mob Rules have slowly refined and improved their song writing. The result is Radical Peace, their 6th full-length and probably their best to date. The band hasn't sounded this much on fire since their first two albums Savage Land and Temple of Two Suns, but they can now match that with the immense production standards and huge atmosphere of this record.

Mob Rules do play power metal, but it's not as quickly paced or anthemic as a lot of their German peers, instead infused with a higher sensibility for the classic sounds of post-Ozzy Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and (obviously) a touch of Dio. The songs here aren't hyperactive attempts to capture your attention through noodling, throwaway melodies. They are all loud and simple, with ringing, powerful chords, and a synthesizer that does not try to overpower them, rather just to blend in. Yet they still carry the veneer of a symphonic band, since Sascha Onnen excels at the placement of his strings and organs. "Children of the Flames" comes trouncing out the palace gates like a displaced king, and "Trial By Fire" transforms a Maiden-like intro riff into a slow march, and then a Priest-like power rhythm. Perhaps the most ambitious track on the album is the 18-minutes of "The Oswald File", which ranges from prog metal to the band's burgeoning power, and doesn't get tiring. "Astral Hand", which was issued as an EP prior to this album, is a fairly catchy melodic hymn, and "Waiting for the Sun" glistens with vocal harmony and some killer verse hooks.

The production here is just too good to be true, rivaling or even exceeding most of the band's big time German peers. It helps that the band plays in a simpler style and really lets every rhythm hook breathe in the mix, and Klaus Dirks offers his own personal effort, striking a fine balance between Ronny James Dio and Angel Dust's former vocalst Dirk Thurisch. This is probably not an album to appeal to fans of Dragonforce or Blind Guardian, or most other modern power metal, but it's got a metric ton of class. Listen at maximum volume.

Highlights: Children of the Flames, Trial By Fire, Waiting for the Sun

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com