Album Review: Starbreaker - Dysphoria

Magnus Karlsson has written a lot of music over the years, maybe too much. When I first encountered his work, there were a string of albums I thought were great. The first two Allen/Lande albums were both great, and Bob Catley's "Immortal" is one of my favorite albums of all time. But as time went on, and Magnus kept putting out more and more material, I found myself growing numb to each new release. Keeping himself ensconced in Primal Fear for a few years helped matters, but even when The Ferrymen came out, I couldn't get as excited as I should have been, even though the record was good. There is just so much Magnus-penned material out there, and it all sounds so similar, nothing but the absolute best can cut through the chaff.

Starbreaker has always been one of those projects I didn't get into. It's not that the first two records were bad, or that they didn't have great songs ("End Of Alone" and "Days Of Confusion" were awesome), but the records paled in comparison to what I knew Magnus was capable of. So their return, in the wake of yet more TNT drama, wasn't going to get me overly excited. And when the first single, "Pure Evil" came out, and Tony Harnell's vocals were rougher than ever when he tried to belt high notes, I was worried about what a full record would have in store for us.

That song is the most obvious attempt to make something heavy and aggressive, and it's where Starbreaker doesn't work, because Tony's voice isn't 'heavy'. After that leads off the record, we get two songs in "Wild Butterflies" and "Last December" that are more mid-tempo, and those riffs not only sound heavier than the thrashier picking in the opener, but these songs are able to fit Tony's voice better, allowing him to stay in the best part of his range, and giving more room for the melody to shine. They're both very good examples of why Starbreaker made an impact when they first came on the scene.

The ballad "Beautiful One" tests our patience more than most. It goes through the first two verses and choruses as a very soft piano ballad, before the band kicks in behind one of Magnus' most expressive guitar solos. Tony follows that up with one more chorus at the top of his range, which isn't nearly as effective as he thinks it is. His gets shrill, and the lyric gets washed out by his wailing. What was supposed to sound powerful instead comes across weak. He doesn't slip into it all that often, but so many singers who have (or had) high ranges can't resist showing it off, even when the middle of what they're capable of sounds much better.

The majority of the record is the solid melodic metal that Magnus Karlsson has been pumping out for years. If you know his style, you already know whether or not this record is for you. What changes from record to record is the degree to which the blade is sharpened. For me, he hasn't matched those early records in recent years, but things seem to be turning around. I enjoyed The Ferrymen's album more than his work in Primal Fear, and more than the majority of his solo albums (though he did write one hell of a Sabbath tune for Tony Martin), and this new Starbreaker album is right in that line.

I wouldn't say the highs are quite as high as they were on the first two Starbreaker records, but I enjoyed this one throughout more than I did those. "Dysphoria" is a fine album that not only acquits itself nicely, but it also shows Tony was right to escape TNT, given how awful their latest record without him was. Score: Tony & Starbreaker - 1, TNT - 0.