Released By : King Records
Genre : Power Metal, Traditional Heavy Metal
Links : www.hibria.com
Tracklist:
01. Blind Ride
02. Noncomforming Minds
03. Welcome To The Horror Show
04. Shoot Me Down
05. Blinded By Faith
06. The Shelter’s On Fire
07. Beyond Regrets Of The Past
08. I Feel No Bliss
09. Sight Of Blindness
10. Tough Is The Way
11. Rotten Souls
12. I’m Gonna Live ‘Till I Die
For some reason Brazilian metal band HIBRIA have remained under a lot of people radars, but that may well be all set to change with their new album BLIND RIDE which is by far the best work the band have ever done and a very worthy addition to the collection of any power metal fans across the globe.
The first noticeable improvement over the band previous efforts is the level of skill in the songwriting. While HIBRIA’S previous two long players have had a fair handful of good songs, BLIND RIDE is filled with them and there’s truly only or two tunes here that aren’t as good as the rest. That leaves us with basically nine very good songs, which is more than what you get on a lot of the big name power metal albums these days. The other noticeable improvement, and a big reason as to why this album is so darn good is that vocalist Iuri Sanson really seems more comfortable than ever before. He has eliminated some of the higher pitched wailing that was found on earlier albums and has added a slight element of modernized vocals that have really opened up the band’s sound. This has led the band to have a bit of different sound than before, and whereas earlier albums are closer to the traditional heavy metal spectrum, Blind Ride is more of pure power metal album, but with a slight modern touch. I think what has happened here is that HIBRIA have found their true sound, it may have taken three albums to get there, but it has certainly been worth the wait.
While the album as a whole is worth your time, there is a few tracks that really stand out and show just how good HIBRIA have become. The first of these highlights is actually the first proper track of the album following the obligatory and redundant intro and is title NONCONFORMING MINDS. This track really encapsulates everything that is good about the album and is a great center point between traditional heavy metal and power metal. SHOOT ME DOWN is pure rolling power metal and would be an awesome tune live for sure. BLINDED BY FAITH has a slight modern feel to and features a poignant lyric that demands attention. HIBRIA also try their hat a slower paced tune in I FEEL NO BLISS and what do you know, once again they succeed. Now, if you manage to get your hands on the Japanese version, there is an interesting bonus track on the end which is actually a cover of I’M GONNA LIVE ‘TILL I DIE, originally penned and performed by the might Frank Sinatra. Obviously it takes nothing out of the original song except for the lyrics, but it worked amazingly well in this power metal format.
BLIND RIDE has all the makings of a hit as far as the power metal genre is concerned, and I hope that the album gets a bit more recognition than that of their previous work. HIBRIA have shown that they have everything it takes to a part of the elite so the least we could do is give them our recognition.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 9/10
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