It was just the other day that I was discussing the dichotomy between Scandinavia’s knack for extreme metal and AOR: Two scenes I love despite being complete polar opposites. Much like the last album I reviewed, The Switch’s No Way Out, today’s album in review falls into the latter category, albeit with a metallic twist. Melodic mavens Stargazer have been cranking out metal that’s equal parts pomp and power since 2008 (technically 2001 if you include their initial run as F.R.I.E.N.D.). As their name suggests, these guys are big Rainbow fans (Who isn’t?), and it shows in spades on their latest album, Stone Cold Creature.
At the forefront of Stargazer are frontman Tore André Helgemo and guitarist William Ernstsen. Helgemo delivers a mighty midrange vocal attack, reminiscent of Dio and Dokken, while Ernstsen is a proud graduate of the University of Blackmore, peppering his riffs and solos with neoclassical intricacies, just like the Man in Black himself. Couple these tropes with atmospheric synths, earworm choruses, and short and sweet songs, and you’ve got a recipe for a pleasant old school melodic metal affair. Even if the approach becomes somewhat predictable, it doesn’t make the music that makes up Stone Cold Creature any less enjoyable.
Stone Cold Creature starts out strong, boasting a diverse array of heavy rockers that run the gamut of the classic metal spectrum. Headbangers like “Make a Deal with the Devil” and “Winter is Coming” showcase the band at their heaviest, boasting the type of metal melodrama one would expect from a release of this nature. More streamlined numbers like “Looking for a Star”, “Burning Up Inside”, and “Writings on the Wall” display a metallized AOR feel, in which hooks outweigh heaviness. Think along the lines of late ’80s/early ’90s era Yngwie Malmsteen, when the furious axe-slinger was making a conscious effort to burst into the American market.
Another band who comes to mind when listening to Stone Cold Creature are melodic metal masters, TNT. This is no coincidence. Classic era TNT bassist, Morty Black, was in Stargazer as recent as a couple years ago, and while he’s no longer in the fold, his influence (or rather his past band’s influence) is certainly felt in these songs. Come Stone Cold Creature‘s back half, we are confronted with some cuts that teeter on filler territory. A pair of back to back instrumentals in “The King’s Return” and “Ice Walker”, as well as the syrupy “I Need You Now (More Than Ever)” feel inoffensive at best and unnecessary at worst.
The swaggering “What Are You Waiting For” and rip-roaring “Riding Through the Night” close the album on a strong note, saving Stone Cold Creature from total filler fatigue. For all my fellow melodic metallists and AOR afficionados, Stone Cold Creature comes off like a throwback to one of those private press, turn of the century, ’80s guys navigating the late ’90s surprises one would stumble upon these days on a Goodwill CD rack, and I mean that in the best way possible. Stone Cold Creature is a stone cold rocker of an album!
7 out of 10
Label: Mighty Music
Genre: Melodic Heavy Metal
For fans of: Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen, TNT