On paper this constellation seemed like a hit. With guitarist and song writer Magnus Karlsson of Primal Fear (and a million other projects) fame, singer Ronnie Romero (Rainbow, Lords Of Black, Vandenberg, CoreLeoni, MSG) and drummer Mike Terrana (Yngwie Malmsteen, Axel Rudi Pell, Beau Nasty, Masterplan, Hardline), it was a done deal, right? Well, for me it wasn’t. The self-titled debut from 2017 was an ok effort, an album I really enjoyed listening to but is unfortunately easily forgotten and the follow-up A New Evil (2019) didn’t rock my world either. None of the albums were bad but I had hoped they would be so much better.
Apparently the record company, Frontiers in The Ferrymen’s case, thought the records were successful enough for a third effort. With Magnus Karlsson holding song writing duties for this album as well I wasn’t too sure of the outcome here. I think Karlsson is a good, competent song writer with many good albums on his CV but as of lately he has been releasing records in a real fast pace, too fast as many of the releases have been underwhelming and uneven. Free Fall, Heart Healer, Starbreaker, Anette Olzon, Allen/Olzon are all projects of lately that showed more quantity than quality – for my taste at least.
Opener and lead-off single “One Word” takes me a bit off guard, to be honest. Without being the least revolutionary musically, this upbeat and uptempo Metal meets Hard Rock cruncher strikes hard with edgy riffage and glistening vocal-melodies. It’s a powerful rocker that has the band firing on all cylinders. It sounds pretty much like the rest of this band’s records albeit much better. A striking chorus is the icing on an already tasty cake. Very good. The second single “The Last Wave” comes in a slower pace but has Terrana going bananas on the drums, kicking and smattering with a hard punch. It’s a heavy number but the vocal-melodies throws in some prominent pop-hooks and again the chorus is immense and sticks right from go. Good one.
“Shut It Out” comes on more held-back with slower verses albeit inside a big musical landscape with some quite atmospheric arrangements. The song isn’t as direct with the intense catchiness but more of a deep track that will take a few listens. It’s a pretty heavy number with some melodic Rock laden vocal melodies, a decent tune. “City Of Hate” on the other hand is a dark, heavy and robust Metal-kicker with rowdy rhythms, fierce guitar riffing on a faster pace. The chorus slows the pace down some and creates a headbang friendly atmosphere. It’s a powerhouse of a song and quite distinct but it doesn’t really stick. It’s ok, though.
The 6 minute + title-track is of the epic kind – dark, heavy, desolate and a bit symphonic from the orchestral arrangements and the choir-like backing vocals. It’s an immense tune with edgy and crunchy guitars on a stompy and beefy rhythm but also very melodic with Romero’s contagious vocal-melodies. The chorus is very memorable but it’s as far from radio-friendly as it gets. Probably the best song this lot has ever recorded, in my book. “Morning Star” starts out with a soft and stripped intro but continues slow and heavy where the verses are all drums, bass and vocals – very Sabbath-y. It then takes on a more Classic Rock route, albeit still heavy, in a 70’s Rainbow way with pounding rhythms and a fat chorus with a direct melody-hook. Another brilliant number.
“Hunt Me To The End Of The World” is another belter, heavy, hard and pounding that lands in the doorway between Heavy Metal and classic Hard Rock. It’s pretty much a straight ahead rocker that will work like a charm if they ever decide to play live. It might not be a hit and it might qualify more as good than great but it do sport a memorable main melody and a catchy enough refrain. “Bringers Of The Dark” is a ballsy metal-stomper – heavy and beefy with some crunchy, staccato riffage with rough edges and thunderous rhythms. It’s a bombastic tune with piano-lines and big backing vocals and some raw guitar-work. The chorus might not be hit-laden but it’s in-your-face and very melodic. Very good.
“The Other Side” starts out hard and heavy on a faster note but slows down into a more laid-back mode when the verses starts yet on a tough beat and a prominent piano. Both pre-chorus and chorus takes on a rougher edge with some ghostly keyboards involved but it also holds a very melodic vocal-melody whereas “The Last Ship” goes on straight forward with classic Metal chug-riffing and a rowdy guitar sound. It’s direct with no squiggles, just bang-on-target. It’s ok but also quite forgettable. Closing track “The Passenger” is another powerhouse rocker that starts with a stone-hard, heavy riff and continues upbeat on a steady foundation on a slower note, even down-beat but later kicks off into a real belter with more fat, staccato riffing with another shining main melody and a refrain that holds water without a doubt. Good stuff.
Style-wise this album is no different than the first two. What’s different with this one is that the songs are so much better here and it’s easily their best album to date. Fact is, I’d like to say it’s Magnus Karlsson’s best effort in a very long time. On the minus side is that it contains a few fillers, that the production is too thick and compressed and that the songs comes off as bit samey after a while. The album could have benefitted from a big ballad or a Melodic Rock track or maybe some outside co-writing or something just to change the scenery a bit. That said, this is still a highly enjoyable album with a whole bunch of really good songs and no bad ones.
7/10
More The Ferrymen reviews:
Tracklist:
1. One Word
2. The Last Wave
3. Shut It Out
4. City Of Hate
5. One More River To Cross
6. Morning Star
7. Hunt Me To The End Of The World
8. Bringers Of The Dark
9. The Other Side
10. The Last Ship
11. The Passenger
CD & Festival reviews 