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Invisible (CD)
Italian Power Metal. Normally that statement would suffice to let anyone familiar with the genre know what to expect from an album: high-pitched vocals, layers of keyboards and super happy choruses. While those elements can all be found on Perpetual Fire's new album Invisible, there are some variations on the Italian Power Metal theme.
That's not to say Invisible is groundbreaking because it isn't. There's nothing new here, not that that's necessarily a bad thing. However, I'm about to compare most of Invisible to other bands that have gone before, so set your expectations accordingly. Opening/title track "Invisible" does a fair impression of Nightwish. It features the most obvious keyboards on the album. The rest of the time, the keys are relegated to a supporting role, again not necessarily a bad thing. "April's Blood" has a later Death Angel (circa Act III) thrashy feel and the first (of a few) ballads, "Lost Forever," bears a passing resemblance to Queensryche. In between these songs are some forgettable Power Metal knock offs, running out the same old riffs and solos that have been heard many times before. It isn't until track 11, "Secrets," that Perpetual Fire start to hit a stride, settling into a Rebirth-era Angra groove that lasts until track 15, "Cold Rain." The band steps up the intensity on these songs and they stand out from the rest of the album. After the first few spins, I found myself starting with "Secrets" and then listening to the rest of the album, not an easy task when you consider there are 16 songs clocking in at over an hour. The vocal harmonies on the choruses are well done and the songs feature the best writing on the album.
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