Destination's Calling - Invisible walls 4.5/5
Reviewed: 3-30-07
Tracklist:
1. Intro
2. Fallen from grace
3. Sinthetic
4. Trapped in silence
5. Bleeding again
6. Prolog
7. Invisible walls
8. Disconnected
9. Sentenced
10. Turning away
11. Destination's calling
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In a time when a large amount power metal is all around me and some of the more popular bands in the genre are releasing their next CDs, Destination's Calling (from Germany) comes out of nowhere and hits me hard with their fantastic debut 'Invisible walls'. Surprisingly a self-release, the CD is melodic power metal that not only excites me in all areas, but also leaves a lasting impressing that's missing from a lot of releases these days.
As for the general style of Destination's Calling, they sit somewhere between the fast and exciting bands like Sonata Artica, Excalion, Twilightning, Nightscape, Cardiant, Stratovarius and Twilight Guardians, and bands like Burning Point, Black Majesty, Inner Wish, Ghost Machinery, Crimsonfire, Headstone Epitaph and maybe The Claymore. There are no keyboards on 'Invisible walls' however, and because of this, I'm reminded of Dawn of Silence and Destynation as well.
Now keep in mind, the many bands I've mentioned are all great (at least), and although Destination's Calling doesn't offer up anything new, there is something extra special with these guys and 'Invisible walls' truly rises above the frequently-assigned (for this style) 4/5 "excellent" rating. For one, the song variety is absolutely perfect for what they're trying to accomplish, as there are faster songs ("Turning away" for example, is awesome!), plenty of upbeat/catchy songs (I really like the opener "Fallen from grace", which follows the "Intro"), and some terrific slower moments too. In fact, the beautiful ballad "Disconnected" is probably the best of its kind from the last several months.
In addition to nailing the variety of tempos, the band provides some sweet lead guitar work, some very nice guitar solos, and they really excel in the melody department. If that's not enough, the vocals are extremely memorable and put the final touch on the CD. Christian Grater, who's clear and soaring voice comes off as a blend of Louie Gorgievski from Crimsonfire and Tim Benz from Headstone Epitaph, has a lot of passion in his voice, and Markus Goller provides some wonderful backing vocals that add yet another positive aspect to an amazing CD.
In the end, 'Invisible walls' is proof that bands like Sonata Arctica (who have gone down in quality recently, in my opinion) need to step it up, or new bands like Crimsonfire, Dawn of Silence, Nightscape and Destination's Calling are going to quickly pass them by. It doesn't matter that these new bands lack originality folks, it's all about songwriting, overall quality and our listening enjoyment at this point. Considering this, Destination's Calling is a spectacular new band and 'Invisible walls' comes with a very high recommendation!
CLINT
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