Veonity – Elements Of Power
Veonity – Elements Of Power
Scarlet Records
Release Date: 18/02/2022
Running Time: 47:00
Review by Rory Bentley
3/10
Music writing, like any pastime or profession, has its ups and downs. Since joining the website I’ve been riding a crest of joyful discovery, raving about new bands I’ve never heard before and old favourites who have produced delightful surprises and, in some cases, album of the year candidates (you know who I’m talking about). But the day was always going to come when I’d have to eat my vegetables and take one for the team, after all life isn’t all sunshine and beatdowns. With that in mind I thought I’d dip my toe into the waters of ‘Ultra Power Metal’, thinking (rather foolishly in hindsight) that I’d have the stomach to exercise some objectivity and see the merits of something that came from a genre that I’d not normally gravitate towards.
“Elements Of Power” was what I ended up plucking from the release schedule, with the logic being that despite my normal penchant for more abrasive sounds I can still have a good time with something that dials up the cheese factor and seeks to make the listener sing along to triumphant melodies like an off-duty knight in a tavern where he gets a warrior discount off the grog.
After all, I love Blind Guardian, have a soft spot for Powerwolf and, inexplicably, my favourite band is Nightwish. Surely that puts me in good stead for at least appreciating some good-time silly power metal right? RIGHT??!! Wrong.
Things started off pretty tolerably with ‘Beyond the Realm of Reality’, there was no acoustic intro or pompous orchestration – it just kicked straight into the riff and I breathed a sigh of relief. Sadly this did not last. Several issues reared their dragon-shagging heads within seconds.
For some reason singer Anders Sköld is unable to go into his higher register without sounding like he has a severe speech impediment. Maybe he ‘Skölded’ his tongue on a hot coffee the day they had to track vocals (fuck you, let me have my stupid puns, I’ve earned it after listening to this record)! The vocals are normally the first thing to make me switch off Power Metal and the strained wail of someone clearly operating an octave above their comfort zone was an instant red flag for me.
But poor old Anders could have been Dio and this track would still have been a slog, because production-wise things are … ehhh … not so good. If you’d have told me the drums were tracked in an empty Hellofresh box I’d have believed you. They sound like they’ve been ripped onto a cassette from someone else’s album. The same goes for the incessant chanting backing vocals that conjure the image of the band being forced to sing them in the next room as a Covid protocol. Blind Guardian on a budget.
By second track ‘The Surge’ we learn that the answer lies in the power stone. I don’t know what that means but if me grabbing a sword and going on a quest to seek this stone means I don’t have to listen to this bollocks ever again then bring me a horse and some chain mail.
Not satisfied with plunging me into inconsolable despair in less time than it takes for Cult of Luna to complete the intro to a song, the band then launch into two keyboard solos literally happening at the same time. They’re doing it on purpose now.
Things do pick up (relatively speaking) on ‘Alter Of Power’, where the singing wisely shifts to a lower key and the backing vocals have a fun, jaunty quality that reminds me of The Village People, a comparison that should leave you in no doubt that my mind has unravelled beyond repair at this point; but still I didn’t hate this one.
The storyline (in the loosest possible definition) takes a dark turn in ‘Gargoyles of Black Steel’, as it is revealed that a race of subterranean demon boys hate this bullshit as much as I do and want to overthrow the kingdom or something like that. For the record I’m Team Gargoyle all the way from here on out.
Presumably, sensing a lull in my apoplectic rage, Veonity then decide to deliberately troll me by replacing all the ghastly Casio keyboard sounds that I’d just learned to tolerate, like an abscess on the back end of an antibiotics course and replace them with panpipes. The result of which sounds like a crack-addled Enya up against a deadline. Help me.
As the final track ‘Return to the Land of Light’ (could not be a more fitting description for this thing finally being over) crawls into view like the fourth nail of a crucifixion, the band seem to realise that they’ve got more story leftover than they have music (I’m genuinely not sure which is worse). This results in a jarring spoken word passage that tries to cram the rest of this nonsense in, delivered at the frantic pace of someone at a pay phone that’s about to run out of credit. Annnd breathe.
I must stress that I don’t enjoy giving someone’s hard work a kicking and some of these musings should be taken with a pinch of salt. I’m sure Veonity are a lovely bunch of chaps and this was a lot of fun for them to make; I just wish some of that fun made its way out of the speakers to me.
I’m fully aware that this is not in my wheelhouse, but I like to think I can tell when something hasn’t been executed to its full potential. There are parts when they get the formula right, such as the beefy guitar tone and some very impressive soloing, but these moments of competence are fleeting and the often pristine riffing is dragged down by demo-quality drums and vocals that make me want to issue a public apology for ever calling Rhapsody of Fire grating.
If you’re a fan of this style, there are multiple leather-clad LARPers that offer something that sticks the landing to a much higher standard and who aren’t hamstrung by a ‘will this do?’ production job.
As for myself, I need to take a little time out to consider my life choices. Where my Gargoyles at?
TRACKLISTING:
01. Beyond the Realm of Reality
02. The Surge
03. Altar Of Power
04. Elements of Power
05. Gargoyles of Black Steel
06. Dive into the Light
07. Facing the Water
08. Blood of the Beast
09. Curse of the Barren Plains
10. Return to the Land of Light
LINE-UP:
Anders Sköld – Vocals / Guitar
Samuel Lundström – Lead Guitar
Kristoffer Lidre – Bass
Joel Kollberg – Drums
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Rory Bentley and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
