Released by: Northpoint Productions
Release Date: October 28th, 2022
Genre: Progressive Metal
Links: https://royalhunt.com/
Line Up:
André Andersen – keyboards
DC Cooper – vocals
Andreas Passmark – bass
Jonas Larsen – guitars
Andreas HABO Johansson – drums
Tracklist:
01 Midway (resumption)
02 Thorn In My Heart
03 The Key Of Insanity
04 Live Another Day
05 The Purge
06 One More Shot
07 Scream Of Anger
08 Left In The Wind
09 Resurrection F451
Royal Hunt has been in the Progressive business a long time, for prog heads like myself such albums as “Moving Target” and “Paradox” are classics in the genre. The ladder is the reason I discovered the great American vocalist D.C. Cooper. Their music has always resonated with me, the symphonic flare influenced by touches of Melodic fusion and powerful arrangements have all been an uncanny staple of their sound through the years.
The band has had its share of adversity since its inception in 1989, mostly centered around the different eras of singers, from original singer Henrik Brockmann, to DC exiting, later bringing John West and the great Mark Boals at different times in their existence. This is to say that to this day they remain strong as ever after DC Cooper came back into the fold for the release of “Show Me How To Live”. Kudos to Andres Andersen for keeping the parts glued together and recognizing the lineup that worked the best over the years.
Dystopia Part 2 their now 16th studio album is as you guess a continuation of their last record Dystopia and a story that was inspired by Ray Bradbury´s classic novel “Fahrenheit 451”. Is an interesting dynamic and to recall the craziness of the last couple of years, what a fitting continuation in a way of some of the same themes we have witnessed recently.
That trademark sound of Royal Hunt, screaming keys, melodic guitars, and beating drums are all typical here on the first opener “Thorn In My Heart”. Up-tempo classic moves are all here featuring the thundering DC Cooper vocals we come to expect and enjoy. An 8-minute epic of various shifts and rhythms fulfills the sound you come to expect from the Hunt and the sound that long-time fans will always appreciate. “Live Another Day” their first single continues the groove and majestic keys that have always been predominantly filled in past Royal Hunt songs. Midway through, the pace slows down and Cooper reprises in all its prog glory, a nice change of pace.
If you know anything about Royal Hunt, is that they like to add instrumentals to their albums. Here we have another via “The Purge”, a cool piece that feels like a symphonic jam between Andre Andersen, keys vs guitars courtesy of outstanding axeman Jonas Larsen. This tune has a strong connection to “Black Butterflies” in Part I. Next, we have “One More Shot” featuring guest vocals of Mark Boals (Former Royal Hunt) and Henrik Brockmann(Original Royal Hunt vocalist) as they duet with DC Cooper on the song. The chorus trade-off compliments each vocalist to perfection. The steady pace features another tune that only Royal Hunt could deliver. Very cool to hear the previous vocalists duet on this one, well-done guys.
Is hard to review this one being unbias as the band will forever hold a special place among some of my favorite bands. To me most of their material is fantastic, it holds over very well over the years, even with the changing in vocalists, previous singers all did a great job in their own right. With Dystopia Part 2 you have a similar continuation to the last Dystopia, and in a way I give the guys credit for blending in the different singers, bringing something different to the table, and deciding to still make music after such a long back catalog of music. Royal Hunt has been making great music for a long time and chances are they fly under the radar all the time, no idea why but from a long-time fan of the band, they so deserve your attention. Don’t miss this one!!!
For Orders and Crowdfunding info go here: https://royalhunt.com/store/
Written by: Shadow Editor
Ratings: 8/10
About Author
- Symphonic Ryal Hunt
- Concept
- Arrangements
- DC Cooper
- 8
