Astral Kingdom - Power Metal Through The Universe

Published Nov. 04 2006

*=Staff's pick	So The Journey Begins… Power Metal Through The Universe The Wanderer* Ocean Sorrow

Genre	Power Metal	Robert Nilsson	Vocals
Tracks	4	Jacob Skimutis	Guitar
Runningtime	15 Min.	Jonas Havlik	Guitar
Label		Per Fredin	Bass
Release	25 Aug. 2006	Peter Fredin	Drums
Country	Sweden	Tor Olsson	Keyboards
Similar artists	Gamma Ray

Astral Kingdom originates from Västerås, and belongs to the third wave of power metal. That should (theoretically) be those who grew up with the second wave during the late 90s. They seem to be ambitious about their thing. Which other Swedish demo bands have a German version of their homepage, for example? But musically there is a lot of hard work left to make this happen.

The demo starts soft with The Journey Begins, an acoustic guitar intro. The title track Power Metal Through The Universe sparkle the more with heavy drums. The catchy riffs and melodies could almost have been stolen here and there and put together by Kai Hansen himself. The Wanderer is power metal according to the instruction book. It starts with a primal scream and ends with a pretty nice guitar solo and sing-along choirs.

In the power ballad Ocean Sorrow singer Robert Nilsson tries to show up a broader range in his voice. It sounds really awful in some parts, especially in the higher tones. Further the singer is too much in the front in the mixing. However, there is some talent to build on, especially in the songwriting. It is now up to the guys if they have the true will to do the dirty work that is needed.

See also review of: The Astral Kingdom , Into The Fire

Production	Vocals	Compositions
3	3	5

Summary
4 chalices of 10 - David