Valery Records
2009
1. Journey Through the Stars
2. The Lone
3. Choose the Truth
4. The Pain of Sight
5. Sheer Hate
6. Back to My Dreams
7. Step Aside
8. Closure
9. Word to the Wise
10. Hallowed be Thy Name (Iron Maiden cover)
An Iron Maiden cover band gets some notice with guest vocalists from various metal singers coming to work with them, etc and thus we end up with The Clairvoyants making their first original album. Really, I ask who could not predict the results of an album made by an Iron Maiden cover band? Still... they did a pretty decent job covering the mighty Maiden so I was at least a little curious. There are worse bands to base yourself on than Iron Maiden after all.
The first thing that struck me after listening to this album is that the band was more interesting with guest vocal help. Their own vocalist is not bad, but not incredibly standout and can't really compare to covers I've heard from the band with Timo Kotipelto, Jorn Lande, etc. One such cover is included here as Andre Matos of Angra fame takes over vocal duties on Hallowed Be Thy Name. Not a bad cover, but as far as recording a cover of Hallowed Be Thy Name rather than just performing one, I question what one could hope to accomplish. I know it was probably fun for them and an Iron Maiden cover was to be expected, but this is simply one of those untouchable songs that nobody could hope to improve upon or make noteworthy. I just can't be impressed based on the original.
As for their original material... you've heard something like it before I'm sure. Power metal with a strong influence from Maiden is hardly unknown and the songwriting doesn't make this one stand out for me either. I've heard bands like Machine Men and Wolf take heavily from the Maiden sound and come out with better results. Basically, this is some of the ideas of Maiden put into a fairly average power metal band and not a lot more. Not even sure what more there is to say than that.
I didn't dislike anything about this album in particular, but I didn't find the songs sticking with me either. To put it plainly this is just a very average power metal release with no big standouts. If you like Maiden worshiping power metal than maybe this is worth a listen, but I doubt if you'll come away with much other than an ok tribute of sorts. I did like Journey Through The Stars and Step Aside alright, but they lacked that certain something. I guess you might call that something originality in this case.
Highlights: Journey Through The Stars, Step Aside
Rating - 2.5/5
2. The Lone
3. Choose the Truth
4. The Pain of Sight
5. Sheer Hate
6. Back to My Dreams
7. Step Aside
8. Closure
9. Word to the Wise
10. Hallowed be Thy Name (Iron Maiden cover)
An Iron Maiden cover band gets some notice with guest vocalists from various metal singers coming to work with them, etc and thus we end up with The Clairvoyants making their first original album. Really, I ask who could not predict the results of an album made by an Iron Maiden cover band? Still... they did a pretty decent job covering the mighty Maiden so I was at least a little curious. There are worse bands to base yourself on than Iron Maiden after all.
The first thing that struck me after listening to this album is that the band was more interesting with guest vocal help. Their own vocalist is not bad, but not incredibly standout and can't really compare to covers I've heard from the band with Timo Kotipelto, Jorn Lande, etc. One such cover is included here as Andre Matos of Angra fame takes over vocal duties on Hallowed Be Thy Name. Not a bad cover, but as far as recording a cover of Hallowed Be Thy Name rather than just performing one, I question what one could hope to accomplish. I know it was probably fun for them and an Iron Maiden cover was to be expected, but this is simply one of those untouchable songs that nobody could hope to improve upon or make noteworthy. I just can't be impressed based on the original.
As for their original material... you've heard something like it before I'm sure. Power metal with a strong influence from Maiden is hardly unknown and the songwriting doesn't make this one stand out for me either. I've heard bands like Machine Men and Wolf take heavily from the Maiden sound and come out with better results. Basically, this is some of the ideas of Maiden put into a fairly average power metal band and not a lot more. Not even sure what more there is to say than that.
I didn't dislike anything about this album in particular, but I didn't find the songs sticking with me either. To put it plainly this is just a very average power metal release with no big standouts. If you like Maiden worshiping power metal than maybe this is worth a listen, but I doubt if you'll come away with much other than an ok tribute of sorts. I did like Journey Through The Stars and Step Aside alright, but they lacked that certain something. I guess you might call that something originality in this case.
Highlights: Journey Through The Stars, Step Aside
Rating - 2.5/5
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