Pentakill's first outing was somewhat confusing to many. The first half of the album was pretty standard power metal, with the mighty voices of Jorn Lande and ZP Theart of Masterplan and Dragonforce lending the project some credibility. The second half, in contrast, was a much weaker attempt at experimental electro-metal fusion, and drug the album's overall potential down, so when the first singles were released for 'Pentakill II: Grasp of the Undying' I was cautiously optimistic, but it turns out they learnt a lot from that first album. Grasp of the Undying starts off immediately with some of its strongest tracks. The opening track 'Cull' sets the mood just right before 'Mortal Reminder' assaults everyone in range with pure, raw, heavy metal. Easily the stand out track of the album and arguably the most catchy, likely why it was also released as Pentakill's first animated music video. The next tracks see Noora Louhimo of Battle Beast and Per Johansson of Ureas join Jorn Lande as the main vocalists, and personally, I couldn't be happier. Although sad that ZP Theart is no longer singing, Noora's voice lends this album some much-appreciated femininity, and Per's performance is absolutely aggressive and perfectly balances Jorn's more melodic style. As the album continues, it does so much more consistently than 'Smite & Ignite' did, delivering heavy riffs, punchy bass and more heavy riffs until we hit the oddball track 'The Hex Core Mk-2.' I honestly don't know why this song is on this album. Just like the original 'The Hex Core' the sudden shift to more electronic nu-metal sound breaks the flow the album spent the last 20 minutes building. But unlike the first album, this time I can say the annoying interruption only happens this once, then the album remembers what it is and the pace picks back up for 'The Bloodthirster' and 'Rapid Firecannon' before closing on a 7 minute instrumental that kicks all kinds of ass. In short, an incredible improvement over the debut, and an absolutely killer album in total, and if the next album continues this way, we will have quite a treat in store for us. Pentakill is slowly proving their worth and evolving from a video game themed side project into a legit power metal act the way Elite Tauren Chieftain never could. ..Oh, and did I mention that as was the case with 'Smite & Ignite,' this album is free on Pentakill's website. You're welcome I might be impressed with this album if I hadn’t already been a metal head for three years. On the surface it sounds like Iron Maiden with the singer of Avantasia, all wrapped up in prog. I can understand if someone enjoys it, but as someone who knows what they’re hearing, I can tell it’s 60% Progressive metal, 10% Heavy Metal, and 30% advertisement. The Progressive MetalWhoever wrote this was clearly into the prog side of things. Prog is very hit-or miss. For example, Maiden only touches on it, using it as fuel for their music, rather than a base. The other side of prog is the one that gives the genre its bad name. It’s the gaudy, arrogant sound. This album falls into the second category. Just listen to the repulsive seven minute “Blade of the Ruined King” and tell me how you feel afterwards. The Heavy MetalIt’s okay, but honestly the guatar solos are rock tier. That’s not bad, but Metal solos tell a story and are irreplaceable. Rock solos sound cool and change all the time during live performance. These solos are rock, not metal. The AdvertisementThis is basically the same as most pop songs. At the core, this album was made to sell skins in League of Legends and make its audience go “wow! I can’t believe they made a whole album!” Seeing as I did not react this way, I guess I lie outside the target market, as will most other metalheads. Verdict6/10 In fact, if you liked Pentakill, go check out Far From Reality, you’d love it! Here’s a link: https://farfromreality1.bandcamp.com/album/reminiscence |
