Dynazty is a band that have managed in a relative short time (if fifteen years can be called that – well in light of bands with fifty year careers, I guess it can), through hard work, determination and due to their undeniable talent to make quite a mark in the frankly overcrowded and rather stale and banal modern power metal scene… a scene more preoccupied these days with things peripheral to the music and more focused on show, rather than songcraft and musicianship.
On a seemingly endless streak of form – the band keeps on churning out, high energy and very melodic metal, that isn’t whimpy, despite it being quite fancy and orchestrated with keyboards that are lush as they’re loud, while in the past weren’t so. They key is… having to keep their two talented guitarists happy, which means that biting riffs, beautiful cadenzas and fiery solos are included a plenty in their songs, along with a rhythm section that is in perfect sync with each other and drives the band along in a way that manages to take them on a road where their name should be the next one to be remembered after Helloween, Blind Guardian, Stratovarius and Heaven’s Gate, maybe up there with early Edguy, Europe, Treat and… Yngwie, before his ego f@cked his career dead on its tracks. We’re talking about that level of quality and brilliance, without being third rate copycats of other bands. And I guess Nils airs and graces have been sufficiently sung, by this point in both Dynazty and Amaranthe, marking him as one of the premiere, if not the best vocalist of this era, blessed not only with a beautiful tone and timbre, but also with an impressive range, making him quite indeed.
“Power of Will” opens the album in an inimitable take no prisoners style, with the band hitting hard and fast, managing to groove like crazy, while maintaining their finesse and sounding as explosive as ever…. it feels like a powerful blast of colors that is simply phantasmagoric.
“Advent” for some reason didn’t sit well with me as a single, when I first heard it… while it should… I thought it was way to rhythmical… silly Dimi, I ended up loving it! Let the world know who you really are! Indeed! And let the world revel in its excellent solo and all that good stuff.
“Yours” is a ballad that starts in a measured manner before it expands with a powerful vocal display into so much more. As someone infamous and unknown’d say: Breathtaking!
“Natural Born Killer” is a sharper, almost danceable number that lyrically explores the danger of overlying and almost obsessing on others and the dangers that lie there in.
“All the Devils Are Here” manages to sound half shanty like, not really ever picking much wind under its sail, but managing to maintain its initial charm throughout an art lost on many seafaring metallians these days.
“The White” is the last part of an atypical trilogy (along with “The Grey” and “The Black”) and while basing it largely on an variation of “The Grey’s” main riff’s motif, comes with its challenges and pitfalls, the band does a brilliant job of it… beautiful lyrics and a brilliant positive outlook, don’t go without a notice.
“Instinct” amply showcases the band’s ability to assimilate whatever the hell they want, from danceable beats, to 80s Judas Priest, Pop, neoclassical and whatnot, spitting it out as something that bears their signature sound, without sounding generic and homogenized.
Something that “Heart of Darkness” doesn’t manage to do, as here they almost self-reference themselves with an almost inversion of “Heartless Madness”. A little too soon, a little too late in the album?
“Achilles Heel” manages to be anything but a weak spot, with its slow eastern almost Rainbowesque atmosphere lending the album a variety that’s most welcome and almost feels preordained… and a direction, I’d really like to see the band exploring… while this ain’t “Stargazer”, it’s probably gazing towards the same constellation.
“Power of Now” is another blasting number of euphoric metal that ends the album in a celebratory way…. that feels very fitting.
The “Final Advent” is indeed a truly distilled version of Dynazty. Not sure if it’s their best release to date… that probably will need some time to be decided, but it’s another brilliant entry in a career that seems to be on the up and up, hopefully for years to come.
