Tad Morose - Revenant

Power Metal
Despotz Records
2013








1. Beneath A Veil Of Crying Souls
2. Follow
3. Babylon
4. Within A Dream
5. Ares
6. Absence Of Light
7. Death Embrace
8. Dance Of The Damned
9. Spirit World
10. Timeless Dreaming
11. Millenium Lie
12. Gypsy

It's been a good long decade since Tad Morose has put out any music. I have memories of listening to this band in my high school and college years. It's weird to see them finally return really. When any band is gone that long it begs the question... Can they come back? The question mark just gets bigger when you throw in the fact that they have a new vocalist. Replacing Urban Breed... that's some big shoes to fill. The guy is one of the best in power metal in my book. I had to approach this one with a lot of skepticism.

Well, this sounds like Tad Morose in essence. Aggressive power metal with a slight dark flare about it. The guitar is familiar with basically the same tone as they were doing a decade ago. The problem is... it's too close. This sounds like leftovers or like they're trying way too hard to be the band they used to be. Like instead of going for anything new, any slight tweak, or anything fresh they were content go go... yup... we're still Tad Morose. It sounds like a half remembered idea of what they sort of recall they used to be and it doesn't cut it.

Let's talk about the vocals for a minute though because they are the nail in the coffin. It seems like new singer Ronny Hemlin tried to mimic the slightly harsh vocals of Urban Breed. That sort of lightly growled, but powerful style. The problem is he's nowhere Near as powerful and does not have the same melodic sense. Everything sounds sort of yelped out rather than smoothly rolling over the music. I actually find the vocals here incredibly irritating for some reason. I guess because it sounds like I'm being barked at or something. The vocalist change here kind of reminds me of when Steel Prophet did an album with Nadir D'Priest. The drop off in quality is equally severe.

Well, add together what sounds like mediocre leftovers and a vocalist who actively annoyed me listening to him and you don't have much of an album. If this didn't have the name Tad Morose on it, I wouldn't have even bothered to review it probably. This is the essence of a mediocre power metal. All the songs just blended together in a blur of uninspired riffs, none of the melodies stick, and you just end up with a totally forgettable album. The only thing that stuck was the memory of shitty vocals. The name of the album, Revenant is oddly appropriate though. This is a ghost of the band that used to be.

Highlights: No

Rating - 1.5/5