Diogenes
Russell Allen and Jorn Lande singing on the same album, huh? I’m kind of surprised that this album doesn’t get a little more support, since Symphony X seems to be the hot setup nowadays and whatever bands Jorn is in are pretty good. Then again, this did come out six years ago, so that shows how late to the party I am. Oh, well.
The name of this project is a little misleading. It’s called Allen-Lande, but guess what? They’re just singing. Neither of them wrote anything on this album. In fact, everything was written by one guy, Magnus Karlsson, who also played all of the instruments except for the drums. Now, to me, this absolutely screams “I’m using two famous vocalists to get me money and exposure,” but I’m probably more cynical than you, so take that with a grain of salt. Anyway, this isn’t necessarily a problem, but you might want to change your expectations if you’re thinking this is going to be something like Symphony X or Ark, or even Masterplan. Again, this isn’t bad, but it’s something that threw me for a loop when I first listened to it.
The Battle is more of a melodic rock/heavy metal album, with lots of formulaic song structures and power ballad influences. If you look at it that way, it’s very good; Karlsson is a gifted musician, considering he put something like this together. His riffs have plenty of crunch, his solos are pretty good (although a few of them are bit long), and the pianos are used tastefully. Obviously, vocals are far from a weak point on this album, with both Allen and Lande giving their usual excellent performances. And pretty much every song on here is catchy and friendly enough to be played on the radio (see Come Alive or My Own Way Home), but with enough metal thrown in to keep it from being a straight-up rock project. In short, there’s nothing really WRONG with this album per se, as it’s easy to listen to with solid songwriting and musicianship. It’s also put together in a way that doesn’t get boring or repetitive, even though there might be one too many songs for people who like shorter albums.
Here’s the issue I have with all of this. This album (and this project, for that matter) is centered around two extremely talented vocalists. So why in the world are they singing stuff this simple? The vocal lines are good, yeah, and catchy as all get out, but there aren’t really any “epic” moments on this album that you might find in another Allen or Lande band. They’re either taking turns in the verse or singing together in the choruses, and that’s pretty much it. Allen rarely gets into the upper register, and when he does, it’s usually just backing Jorn’s midrange vocal lines and not at the forefront. So, Mr. Karlsson…did you REALLY want to form a groundbreaking project with two of metal’s finest vocalists? Or did you just want a couple of famous guys to sing vocal lines that could easily have been done by someone else? Of course, I’m kidding. I’ll drop the accusations. But seriously, I feel like there is a LOT being held back on The Battle.
To embellish on what defines The Battle, I present to you the following scenario! Let’s say that I’m going out to buy a car. I have a shit-ton of money (lottery winnings, I guess), so I settle on a Ferrari California with a V8 engine. But wait! I still live in the suburbs, where the speed limit is 25 miles per hour. It’s still a Ferrari; I can use it to get chicks and make my friends jealous. But there’s no way I can use it to its full potential because this stupid town doesn’t allow street racing. That’s the sort of thing I’m getting at here.
I’m not sure if fans of any other Russell or Lande acts will like The Battle as much as those. Yes, they’re singing on this album, but they’re definitely not as big a part of it as the band would like you to think. If you’re looking for a catchy, no-nonsense melodic metal album with plenty of tracks to sing along to, don’t let this stop you. Just don’t be disappointed with what you find.
P.S. I apologize fifty-seven times for not spelling Jorn's name with the cool slashed-O. Curse my Americanized keyboard!