FATAL FORCE
Originally formed in 2005 Fatal Force is a Melodic Rock/Metal outfit and the brainchild of Danish guitarist Torben Enevoldsen (Fate, Section A). Having been influenced early on by such players as Tony Iommi, Richie Blackmore and Eddie Van Halen he then went on to ‘discover’ the likes of Yngwie Malmsteen and the shredding style of playing which is prevalent throughout this album. Fatal Force released their debut, self titled album in 2006. Joining Enevoldsen for that release were vocalist Mats Leven (At Vance, Yngwie Malmsteen) and drummer Daniel Flores (Mind’s Eye). He has also kept himself busy with many other projects since then. Those projects and scheduling problems resulted in new members being sought for Fatal Force and are the reasons why the second album has taken six years to materialise.
This time around we have vocalist Michael Vescera (Yngwie Malmsteen, Loudness) and drummer Dennis Hansen joining Enevoldsen, who also plays bass and keyboards, for the ride. ‘Unholy Rites’ unfortunately starts with the underwhelming ‘Run For Cover’. Whilst it’s not a bad song it certainly isn’t the strongest one on offer and I feel there are better openers. Obviously the whole album has a very Malmsteen feel to it, and the title track reminds me a little of Queensryche, especially in the vocal department and several of the songs - ‘Fight’, ‘Lessons In Evil’ and ‘No One Will Listen’ - also evoke Tony Martin-era Black Sabbath (always a good thing in my book). I was a little thrown by the track ‘In Silence’ because its riff during the intro and chorus are almost exactly the same as the Saxon song ‘Crimes Of Passion’ from their ‘Into The Labyrinth’ album. Entirely coincidental I’m sure but it just made listening to that particular track difficult. The album is excellently produced (also by Enevoldsen) with a punchy modern feel and the guitar solos are very good.
However, there is a ‘Fatal Flaw’ with this album and that is its pacing. All ten songs are mid-tempo affairs and it feels a little ‘plodding’. Had there been 2-3 more up-tempo numbers mixed in it might have held my attention for longer. Subsequent listens have not changed my opinion on that either. There is obviously talent on display here but there needs to be more variety in the song writing. I will certainly watch for album number three as I really do think they could release something special but based on this release Fatal Force are good without having that extra something that makes them great.
This time around we have vocalist Michael Vescera (Yngwie Malmsteen, Loudness) and drummer Dennis Hansen joining Enevoldsen, who also plays bass and keyboards, for the ride. ‘Unholy Rites’ unfortunately starts with the underwhelming ‘Run For Cover’. Whilst it’s not a bad song it certainly isn’t the strongest one on offer and I feel there are better openers. Obviously the whole album has a very Malmsteen feel to it, and the title track reminds me a little of Queensryche, especially in the vocal department and several of the songs - ‘Fight’, ‘Lessons In Evil’ and ‘No One Will Listen’ - also evoke Tony Martin-era Black Sabbath (always a good thing in my book). I was a little thrown by the track ‘In Silence’ because its riff during the intro and chorus are almost exactly the same as the Saxon song ‘Crimes Of Passion’ from their ‘Into The Labyrinth’ album. Entirely coincidental I’m sure but it just made listening to that particular track difficult. The album is excellently produced (also by Enevoldsen) with a punchy modern feel and the guitar solos are very good.
However, there is a ‘Fatal Flaw’ with this album and that is its pacing. All ten songs are mid-tempo affairs and it feels a little ‘plodding’. Had there been 2-3 more up-tempo numbers mixed in it might have held my attention for longer. Subsequent listens have not changed my opinion on that either. There is obviously talent on display here but there needs to be more variety in the song writing. I will certainly watch for album number three as I really do think they could release something special but based on this release Fatal Force are good without having that extra something that makes them great.
LABEL:
FORMAT:
Metal Heaven
Album
UNHOLY RITES
Review by Rick Tilley
RUNNING TIME:
48:48
RELEASE DATE:
23rd July 2012
TRACK LISTING
1) Run for Cover
2) Unholy Rites
3) Fight
4) Lessons in Evil
5) In Silence
6) No One Will Listen
7) Higher Ground
8) Listen to Reason
9) Enter the Night
10) House of Pain
2) Unholy Rites
3) Fight
4) Lessons in Evil
5) In Silence
6) No One Will Listen
7) Higher Ground
8) Listen to Reason
9) Enter the Night
10) House of Pain
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
Denmark/USA
"...there is a ‘Fatal Flaw’ with this album and that is its pacing. All ten songs are mid-tempo affairs and it feels a little ‘plodding’."
