Veonity – The Final Element

Veonity
The Final Element
Label: Scarlet Records
Out: October 18^th, 2024
Playing time: 44:08

Defenders of the Power Metal faith

That’s the first phrase in the email message. The last album to date, ‘Elements of Power’, was released two years ago. A good album, but with the slight criticism of monotony. Live, however, the Swedes were able to convince me completely. In the meantime, the band has grown into a quintet. Anders Sköld now concentrates exclusively on playing guitar. Newcomer Isak Stenvall takes over the vocal part. Will this also have an effect on the quality of the music?

The intro ‘Premonition’ is uncharacteristically calm. Synth staccatos underlay a polyphonic chorus. But the first regular song, ‘Chains Of Tyranny’, is already ‘Ultra-Power-Metal’ as usual. This term was given to earlier albums in press releases. The voice of singer Isak Stenvall fits in with this. And it continues in exactly the same way on ‘Horsemen Of The Dark’. The guitar riffs are fired off almost every second, driven by the high tempo of the drums. ‘Carry On’ is introduced by a short solo passage from the drums. This is accompanied by high Metal screams from the singer. A wonderful polyphonic chorus is the crowning glory here. But then, with the anthem ‘Riders Of The Revolution’, the tempo is reduced for the first time. A more than pleasant change! One of the highlights of the album for me. But ‘Warriors Code’ takes us back into high-speed realms. Veonity try to set new speed records with ‘Powerstone’. ‘Heart Of A Warrior’ is the next Metal anthem. You can also enjoy epic choruses. On the last two songs of the album – ‘Kings Of Dreamland’ and ‘The Fifth Element’ – the Swedes take no prisoners. Fortunately, they don’t just blast away non-stop. No, the tempo is varied, sometimes with anthemic passages.

In my opinion, ‘The Final Element’ is the Swedes’ best and most mature album to date. Yes, it still celebrates high-speed Power Metal par excellence. But it is probably Veonity’s most musically varied album. There are anthemic moments and a variety of polyphonic epic choruses. And the singer is a real stroke of luck. Coming back to the opening quote. This is Power Metal without ifs and buts. Hard, fast and not covered in keyboards.

Veonity – The Fifth Element (Lyric Video): https://youtu.be/wI3JKrSCA_c?si=AOw-z2-stkB4ZNK7

Lineup:

Isak Stenvall – Vocals
Anders Sköld – Guitar
Samuel Lundström – Guitar
Kristoffer Lidre – Bass
Joel Kollberg – Drums

Track list:

• Premonition
• Chains Of Tyranny
• Horsemen Of The Dark
• Carry On
• Riders Of The Revolution
• Warriors Cod
• Powerstone
• Heart Of A Warrior
• Kings Of Dreamland
• The Fifth Element