Label: AFM Records
Genre: Melodic Metal
Release Date EU: August 25th, 2017
Tracklist:
- With A Tip of the Hat
- Binary
- Burn Witches Burn
- Lone Gunman Rule
- Now you’ll Never know
- I can Do Magic
- Magic
- Skeletons on Parade
- Mr. Nightmist
- The Witch of Caldwell town
- True Love is Blind
- Just Kill Me
- Newfound Freedom
- One Final Song
After having published the sophomore album “Mirrorworld” in 2016, Serious Black is back with a new longplayer. “Magic”, that’s the name of the album that comes with 14 songs, providing you with an hour of powerful metal music.
Serious Black’s newest strike is a concept album. It’s the story of Mr. Nightmist that’s told in several chapters, starting with the short intro “With a Tip of the Hat”. Full of fantasy and mystery, the entire concept is built around Mr. Nightmist and his relation with Caldwell Town; his hometown. Whatever you expect from such a story is in there – the witch, the curse, the hero, love, and despair.
When it comes to the music the album lives up to expectations. As with the earlier two releases also “Magic” includes metal songs that comprise well-done melodies and catchy hooks. Actually, there’s no chance to resist to this kind of music.
Towards the end things get even operatic, reminding of the TS. “One Final Song” is what the title states, the last song on the album. In eight minutes Serious Black rounds off things in a soulful and dramatic fashion. It could be the grand finale if the tune would be more surprising. Not that it’s a mediocre track, it’s more that we have heard this kind of numbers already several times. It’s a good rock song, but not more.
“Magic” is an album that comes with good melodic metal songs, taking the listener to a world of fantasy and imagination. Each of the tunes benefits from a powerful production, giving “Magic” a good dynamic and punch. The only thing that could have gotten more focus is the uniqueness. As mentioned earlier, the record lives up to expectation, which is per se nothing bad. The flip side though is, that it’s predictable with only some unforeseen twists. In the end, it’s like with your favorite dish. You know how it tastes and you still like it, even though it’s prepared by another chef.
Reviewer: Markus Wiedenmann
Rating: 7/10