The Storyteller dissapoint with latest offering 'Underworld'
Ahh, Scandinavia! Any self-respecting fan of euro metal will have at least a handful of favourite bands hailing from this triumvirate of metal; Norway, Sweden and Finland. However it is important not to get too carried away and one must never forget that while many quality and influential metal bands hail from Scandinavia, so does a lot of generic rubbish. It would be unfair to label The Storyteller and their latest release 'Underworld' so, it certainly proves again you cannot take any countrys output for granted.
On this record all the way from opener mid-tempo 'Changeling' to the slow intricate guitar work of 'Shine On' it is obvious that The Storyteller know what they are doing - the song writing follows the classic if somewhat typical formula. The vocals are melodic if a bit grating at times, the guitars are chunky and the solos intricate, the drums are crashing and I kept on telling myself "You should really be enjoying this".
Yet there is something lacking, there is a sense that I've heard it before, and indeed any listener will have heard it before if they have given a listen to such bands as Helloween whose influence and fingerprints are all over this record from the speedy guitars of 'Eyes Of The Dead' to the rather enjoyably solo on 'Beauty Is The Beast'. Nothing really sets The Storyteller apart from their influences on this record which is a shame, as they are clearly a band who are not lacking in the talent departments, they simply need to strike out and find their own identity. However, saying that, the track 'The Fiddler' which appropriately enough has an enjoyable violence section is different enough from the rest to stand out as a highlight but it is telling that what would simply be an interesting touch from many other bands ends up being so unique on this record. Whilst 'generic' is a horrifically overused word, it is hard to avoid labelling this album as such which is a shame when it flies in the face of the bands obvious latent talent and potential.
One thing the album can not be faulted for is its productions - the drums occupy a perfect position in the mix, something many bands of this ilk often neglect to pay attention to whilst the guitars are suitably chunky and distorted without drowning out the vocals. Whilst of course good production like this can't help a band that fails to exploit their potential, it certainly is not unappreciated!
Ending off with a highly enjoyably but bizarrely out of place and jarring rendition of 'Ace Of Spades' I am left not sure quite where I stand with 'Underworld' by Storyteller - On one hand they are clearly decent at what they do but on the other what they are doing isn't enough to excite in a scene that is saturated at the moment with samey-samey Power Metal bands. This is a good album but unless you live, breathe, eat and sleep power metal then you can probably afford to give this one a miss.