Beast In Black – Berserker
Album Review by Adam McCann
Band : Beast In Black
Album : Berserker
Nuclear Blast 2017
Following the departure of the creative department in Battle Beast; Anton Kabanen joined forces with fellow band mate from Wisdom Máté Molnár and using their power of lycanthropy formed Beast In Black, releasing their debut album ‘Berserker’ in 2017.
Beast In Black actually struck second in the battle of the beasts with Battle Beast releasing their catchy ‘Bringer of Pain’ album earlier in year. However, that album as annoyingly catchy as it was, seemed to be missing that one integral component. Anton Kabanen.
‘Berserker’ does little to break away from the mould set out by Kabanen on the earlier Battle Beast albums, but what it does add is the orchestration and guile of Wisdom giving Beast in Black that added edge of integrity that is debatably missing with the Battle Beast albums. However, there is still that element of almost Europop which made Battle Beast so fun, from the Sabaton style synth bopping tones of ‘Blood of a Lion’, ‘Eternal Fire’ and ‘Crazy, Mad, Insane’ to the beautiful closing ballad ‘Ghost in the Rain’, ‘Berserker’ is actually highly infectious, demanding another play in all its head bobbing and foot tapping glory.
There isn’t anything on ‘Berserker’ that you haven’t heard before, Yannis Papadopoulos gives an absolutely stellar performance showing the pure versatility in his voice seamlessly changing from a Russell Allen and Joakim Brodén bark to a piercing howl on par with Ralf Scheepers and a beautifully melodic Tony Kakko impression providing the almost perfect power metal wet dream. However, there is little sustenance here, but when the melodies are this catchy and fun, who actually cares?
So, who won the battle of the beasts? Well, its ‘Berserker’, hands down, no contest.
Rating : 82/100
MHF Magazine/Adam McCann
