Target: Earth

It's rare nowadays that a power metal album will catch my attention to the point that I'm completely enamored with it; sure, a new classic will come out once in awhile, like last year's Virgin Sails from Satan's Host, but I'm pretty well-versed in the power metal genre and I know most of the well-respected albums. Staples of the genre are a regular part of my musical diet; stuff like early Omen, Crimson Glory, Fates Warning, etc. However, occasionally something will slip through the cracks, and I'll discover or rediscover a masterpiece. This has been the case with Screamer's Target: Earth. Any fan of progressive USPM will tell you it's worthwhile, and while I've always liked it, it's never been something I was super crazy about, but rather nice background music that I would play once in awhile, akin perhaps to Queensryche in that it's certainly got atmosphere but it doesn't have great riffs nor a great singer. I've been back and forth between finding it mildly entertaining and fairly mediocre for the last few years, until recently.

It turns out this album is quite the grower; when you really focus on it, paying attention to the structure within each song as well as in the entire album, it's a pretty complex beast. It's slower than a lot of USPM, which tends to make it seem sort of wimpy at first, and a lot of the riffs are quite simple, but the songwriting is masterful. The riffs are arrange along with the leads and vocal lines in such a way as to paint a very specific picture of an epic space journey, one that certainly has its slow points, but when it gets going, is about as powerful and energetic as you could imagine. The album itself seems quite linear as well, organized around the concept of space travel and containing slight alterations of the same lyrical theme throughout the songs. Looking at the lyrics, they're not really specific enough to conclude one progressing tale, but it certainly fits together well.

Screamer seem to have a real penchant for melody here, as well, choosing their riffs carefully to alternate between very simple and more complex (but still catchy), not to mention the killer leads and solos going on throughout the album. The flow is fantastic, with nothing feeling out of place and really, no riffs, leads, or vocal lines that are particularly mediocre; some are better than others, but all are good, if not excellent. The production is good, too, with enough heaviness in the guitars to clearly put it in the not-as-shitty-as-Queensryche camp, but the vocals still clearly in the spotlight. Speaking of vocals, singer Bill Carter is quite cool, though certainly an acquired taste. His nasal, quavering warble isn't quite like anything else, though it certainly borrows heavily from the Geoff Tate camp. However, his willingness to let out roaring shrieks and the immense amount of character he possesses gives him a clear, unique voice that surely rises above Tate's. Overall, this album is fantastic - the subtle songwriting, strange vocalist, and long song times may make it difficult to get into, but it's definitely worth it.

"Target: Earth" is one of those albums that makes you glad you spent the time to search the underground for good quality metal. Screamer play a dark, melodic style of metal, not unlike bands such as Crimson Glory, early Queensryche, and early Fates Warning.

The vocalist has a great, soaring vocal style that seems to float above the rest of the music. He sings very well-crafted melodies, some of them I find to be downright beautiful in how expressive they are (particularly the chorus to the opening track, "Visionary"). His style could be most closely compared to John Arch, Geoff Tate, and perhaps Geddy Lee for a somewhat nasal/strained vocal quality that may turn off some listeners.

The rhythm guitars mainly play very melodic chord progressions and harmonies. Very nice dual guitar runs abound throughout the album. Pretty much all the riffing throughout the album is in the same style, that is to say, there aren't any ballads popping up or death metal riffs anywhere. The solos show quite a bit of flash and remind me a tad of the soloists for King Diamond. The drummer really blows me away on this album. He plays some really awesome patterns and great fills in a style somewhat like Scott Rockenfield (Queensryche) or Neil Peart. I think he may have some timing issues here and there but overall, I love what he is doing.

I subtracted a few points over a few minor issues. First of all, let me be clear that I don't believe any album is perfect. I believe there is always room for improvement for musicians to strive for. My rating reflects that belief. I think some sections in some of the songs could've been stronger/catchier. I also think the drums could've been performed a bit tighter and that the vocals could've been executed a bit cleaner a la Geoff Tate or Ray Alder for that super-clean power metal sound. Keep in mind though, that I consider these critcisms to be very minor considering the number of things "Target: Earth" has done well and I consider this album to be a gem of underground metal.

I have spun this album many, many times since I purchased it. I liked it when I first heard it, but after many listens I finally realized how good it was. I discovered great little nuances with each listen. It is now widely available on CD, having recently been reissued by New Renaissance Records, so fans of the aforementioned bands have no excuse not to pick it up.