| Musical Style: Heavy Metal | Produced By: |
| Record Label: No Dust Records | Country Of Origin: Netherlands |
| Year Released: 2022 | Artist Website: Angelic Forces |
| Tracks: 9 | Rating: 80% |
| Running Time: 33:58 |
On its December of 2022 No Dust Records debut full length Arise, Angelic Forces remains true to its traditional metal heritage by underscoring ‘screaming solos, twin guitar harmonies and high pitched vocals’ with the goal to create ‘powerful songs (with) catchy hooks’ (quoting its press material either way). Hailing from the Netherlands, Angelic Forces traces to 2015 when founding member’s bassist Wilco van der Meij and lead vocalist and guitarist Harold de Vries recruited drummer Rudie Kingma and second guitarist Maurice Gijsman ahead of recording its first single “Angelic Forces”. The newly formed four-piece proceeded to record two additional tracks in “Thunder & Lightning” and “Never Fade” to go alongside “Angelic Forces” to make up the track listing to its independent three-song self-titled debut EP from 2018.
Fast forward to 2022 and having spent the pandemic working on new material, the group entered Audioshape studio with new bassist Tjaard Walstra to begin work on Arise. What I hear on Arise is old school heavy metal with an eighties edge drawing upon the groups influences, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. That said, I can see those into Saint, Barren Cross and eighties era Bride embracing Angelic Forces not to mention heavier melodic metal acts to also feature a twin guitar attack such as Stryper (Soldiers Under Command era) and Rage Of Angels.
Album opens to a pair of tracks to go in hand in “Rapture” and “Armageddon”. First is a thirty-second interlude made up of offbeat sound effects (explosions, screams and wailing sirens) and second a full-length piece full of fiery venom to accent the group’s traditional metal proclivity: hard charging riffs, double kick drum and heated duel lead guitar. Vocally, I would hesitate to label de Vries ‘high pitched’ (in similar sense as Rey Parra or Eli Prinsen) but rather a classic tenor with an equal bent for the gritty and occasional falsetto. No doubt, he is very good regardless of classification.
“Through The Fire” further ups energy with its speed metal leanings. With nothing less an unrelenting tempo, song stomps its span to double bass and crunch-filled guitar to set a heavy hitting tone but without forsaking melody, as found in the understated hooks gracing the vivid refrain. I love the extended lead guitar aligning with the songs furious abandon.
“Against” extends into mid-tempo territory as Walstra’s muscular bass leads the way alongside galloping momentum giving prominence to the groups Iron Maiden influence. Song also pinpoints cool vocal variances, ranging from lightly done vocal melodies to shouted backing vocals to lower register angst touching upon the extreme.
Albums title track comes across in the form of a Christian metal battle anthem. “Arise” bursts of unremitting flair from the start, manifesting abundant duel leads (ranging from melodic to heated), double bass (of a power metal quality) and added harsh backing vocals (for the curt refrain). Appreciate how de Vries nails several well-placed falsettos.
“Mission To Hell” brings an old school metal vibe ala True Strength. In tempering momentum, the song proves no less able or durable with its youthful verve as it speaks of a ‘Mission to hell / The enemy defeated/ He claims His rightful heir’. Over the final minute and half it abruptly slows to a trenchant doom-like romp only to pick up pace at once for its heightened instrumental run.
“Repent Or Die” is only song to come into question. It has nothing to do with music, as “Repent Or Die” is a ripper with high octane focus and all the catchy impetus you could ask- refrain is so engaging it refuses to depart with repeat listen (I almost detect a slight thrash underpinning). Area of concern, and please forgive if I am nitpicking, but does the ‘repent or die’ themes come across a tad heavy handed? Again, I do not intend to overreact, but it would potentially clear things up if I had a lyric sheet to comment further on specifics.
I identify with “Religion Is A Lie” as a companion track to “Repent Or Die” in that the two share somewhat similar melodies. I am not suggesting this is intentional, but the resemblance is striking. There are differences, however, in that “Religion Is A Lie” moves at the slower tempo and extends an extra minute. What one cannot deny is that musically the two are fantastic, although I gravitate to latter with a somewhat less forceful demeanor.
“Fear No Evil” is another favorite due to separating from the pack with a bluesy mixed with Psalm 23 metal ballad vibe. Confused? No need for concern in that the guys pull it off without a hitch. Song starts slow and wondrous to acoustic guitar, keyboards and bluesy guitar, setting an emotional tone moving ahead as de Vries lowers his register to extent an almost Alice Cooper like vibe prevails. Albums strongest melody rises to the surface accordingly as some of those melodic metal influences strategically play out.
With just eight songs and a single short interlude, Arise feels more like an extended EP as opposed to a full-length album. That said, and approaching from a different point of view, several albums have seen release this year suffering from what I like to refer to as ‘track list bloat’ to include up to 13 to 14 songs and some filler in the process. Goal obviously is to strike the perfect track listing balance - an album length Goldilocks zone if you will - in terms of minimum and maximum number of songs with 10 or 11 ‘just right’ (in my opinion) to capture the artists best material without testing the time and attention span of listeners in the process.
All aspects of Arise are otherwise extremely well performed and composed, with songwriting in particular standing out. Specifically, Angelic Forces shines from a musicianship standpoint in reference to the dual guitar leads, timekeeping and energetic vocals, with the next to perfect production allowing all aspects of band performance to shine. I afford equal appreciation to the group for its dedication to a traditional metal sound while also yielding power and melodic metal aspects. I look forward to hearing more from this talented group.
Review by Andrew Rockwell
Track Listing: “Rapture” (:31), “Armageddon” (4:18), “Through The Fire” (3:47), “Against” (4:17), “Arise” (4:11), “Mission To Hell” (4:33), “Repent Or Die” (3:29), “Religion Is Lie” (4:22), “Fear No Evil” (4:22)
Musicians
Harold de Vries - Lead Vocals & Guitars
Maurice Gijsman - Guitars
Tjaard Walstra - Bass
Rudie Kingma - Drums
