Singles Roundup: Emerson Hart, Allen/Olzon, Avantasia, & Megadeth

Let's see if you can spot the theme for this week's collection of new singles.

Emerson Hart – I Look For You

Across Emerson's solo work, a trend has been developing. With each release, his songs have been getting more subdued and more subtle. As he has further differentiated between his solo work and Tonic, it has gotten a bit more difficult to embrace them both. This song is an example of that, as it sounds like a classic Emerson Hart song, until you stop and realize the chorus of the song is the quiet part, the bridge is the only bit with some energy, and the song's biggest hook is the instrumental bit. It isn't a song that hooks you in at all, proving to be maybe a bit too subtle, at least as the first single promoting a new EP is concerned. I still enjoy it, but it doesn't have the power "To Be Loved" had last year.

Allen/Olzon – Army Of Dreamers

Following an album that came in at #2 on my list (though it should have been #3 in retrospect) isn't easy, and this song proves it. It's classic Magnus Karlsson songwriting, and both Russell and Anette sound great, but does it measure up to their first album? Honestly, no, and that's mainly because the mix fails on what was the best thing about this project. This song is one of the duets, but Anette's voice is put so much higher than Russell's in the chorus that we're missing the blend that was so magical. Just righting that little wrong would make this so much better.

Avantasia – The Moonflower Society

I wasn't all that fond of the first single Avantasia released, and I'm not sure how fond I am of this one either. It's certainly better, as it leans less heavily on the power metal cliches, but there's an overpowering feeling of familiarity that is bothering me. There are at least three bits in the song that feel more than reminiscent of past songs Tobi has written. It almost feels like an intentional reel of some favorite old moments, but I know that's not what was going on. It may be a sign of a creative malasise (which we all go through), and that's very worrying.

Megadeth – We'll Be Back

I've never been much of a Megadeth fan, and this song reminds me of why. Fans will absolutely love it, but not me. He thrashes through guitar riffs, and snarls his trademark vocals (for whatever they're worth), but it's not much of a song. The chorus of the song is incredibly flat, and rather boring, followed up by the song stopping entirely for a second before it jets off in another direction. Even if I liked the pieces, it feels like lazy songwriting to not have some sort of transition there. But that's sort of what Megadeth always was. It's always been a band about guitar playing, where Dave lucked his way into a couple of good melodies over the decades. Now that he doesn't have those anymore, the band has almost no appeal to me.