Heavenly - Sign of the Winner
Noise Records - 2001
by Nigel
French band Heavenly are one of the most impressive new acts to emerge from the European metal scene in quite a while. Its a pity, then, that such a promising group of musicians spend a great deal of time on their new album showing just how much of an influence their idols have really been.
Originality didnt seem to be among Heavenlys priorities when time came to write the material for their latest album, Sign of the Winner (their first album, Coming From The Sky, which I havent heard, came out in 2000). In fact, there were a couple of times when I had to check to make sure I wasnt actually listening to Keepers-era Helloween. Having your sound being influenced by a band is one thing, but being a carbon copy is another thing entirely. The intro to the last song, Until the End, sounds like a direct rip-off of Angras Evil Warning, and the rest of the album seems to be made up of sound-bites from the aforementioned Helloween, with a smattering of Stratovarius thrown in for good measure. Vocalist Ben Sotto is an excellent singer, but his impersonations of Michael Kiske and Andre Matos (sometimes switching between both singers in the same line!), while spot-on, soon grow tiring.
Despite this, Sign of a Winner is a very entertaining album. There really isnt a dud track amongst the ten on offer, and the four band members Sotto (who wrote all of the songs), Maxence Pilo (drums), Pierre-Emmanuel Pellison (bass) and Frederic Leclercq (guitars) all acquit themselves admirably. These four guys have all the potential in the world, and with a bit more imagination when writing their material they should be able to reach their potential without a problem.
Heavenly is a lot of fun to listen to, despite the lack of a unique sound. Turn a blind eye to the musical similarities to the best bands in the genre, and you have a very talented group of musicians. However, considering the obvious talent that the band has, I cant help but think how successful they could be and they could be very successful indeed - if they just showed some originality. Ill be keeping an eye out for their third album with great interest.
www.noiserecords.com
Noise Records - 2001
by Nigel
French band Heavenly are one of the most impressive new acts to emerge from the European metal scene in quite a while. Its a pity, then, that such a promising group of musicians spend a great deal of time on their new album showing just how much of an influence their idols have really been.
Originality didnt seem to be among Heavenlys priorities when time came to write the material for their latest album, Sign of the Winner (their first album, Coming From The Sky, which I havent heard, came out in 2000). In fact, there were a couple of times when I had to check to make sure I wasnt actually listening to Keepers-era Helloween. Having your sound being influenced by a band is one thing, but being a carbon copy is another thing entirely. The intro to the last song, Until the End, sounds like a direct rip-off of Angras Evil Warning, and the rest of the album seems to be made up of sound-bites from the aforementioned Helloween, with a smattering of Stratovarius thrown in for good measure. Vocalist Ben Sotto is an excellent singer, but his impersonations of Michael Kiske and Andre Matos (sometimes switching between both singers in the same line!), while spot-on, soon grow tiring.
Despite this, Sign of a Winner is a very entertaining album. There really isnt a dud track amongst the ten on offer, and the four band members Sotto (who wrote all of the songs), Maxence Pilo (drums), Pierre-Emmanuel Pellison (bass) and Frederic Leclercq (guitars) all acquit themselves admirably. These four guys have all the potential in the world, and with a bit more imagination when writing their material they should be able to reach their potential without a problem.
Heavenly is a lot of fun to listen to, despite the lack of a unique sound. Turn a blind eye to the musical similarities to the best bands in the genre, and you have a very talented group of musicians. However, considering the obvious talent that the band has, I cant help but think how successful they could be and they could be very successful indeed - if they just showed some originality. Ill be keeping an eye out for their third album with great interest.
www.noiserecords.com
