What exactly is an album? It's something we don't necessarily have to think about, since these days we consume our music in every which way. It really doesn't matter what we call music when we're going to Spotify and hitting the play button. But for the purposes of organizing our thoughts, I still like to have categories to place things in, so I'm not trying to compare apple to oranges. It isn't a perfect system, but I definitely think there is more room for leeway if we're talking about an album versus an EP. If you choose to only give us a small dose, it had better be fantastic. That's my take, at least.
That came to mind because as I sat down to listen to Rexoria's new album, the ten tracks feature only one that reaches the four-minute mark, meaning the album comes in at a very tight and tidy running time. There are great albums that clock in somewhere in the thirty-odd minute range, but when albums get to be too short, they start to feel more like long EPs, and I'm less forgiving if there is a song or two that doesn't measure up.
Rexoria doesn't give us much of an opportunity for a lull to occur, as these songs are full-on all the way through. There is almost no let-up, with the band roaring from start to finish. Their power metal fills every corner of the sonic space with guitars and keys, and yet Frida Ohlin's vocals are still able to rise above it all. Her voice has just the right amount of grit and bite to compete with the music. There are no compromises made to their rocking nature.
That does have a downside, though. Even though the record is short, I was finding myself wanting some more dynamics to the mix. With the guitars and keyboards as loud and omnipresent as they are, there isn't really any space in the compositions to let your ears breathe. The record is a wall of sound pretty much non-stop, and maybe it's just that I've been listening to less metal in recent times, but I find it harder and harder to handle records that are nothing but loud.
In better news, the band writes some really good songs. The combination of "Fading Rose" and "Light Up The Sky" in the middle of the record is glorious stuff, and reminds me of how power metal is what got me into a lot of heavier stuff twenty years ago. Sometimes, there's nothing better than metal that wants to have a little bit of fun. That's what Rexoria does best, and there isn't a time when they falter in that regard.
The more I listened to the record, the more the songs burrowed into my head. It didn't take long before this album was firmly cemented as a fantastic sing-along, with every chorus rousing enough to stir a silent nod-along when polite company wouldn't be expecting anything more aggressive. There is accessible music, and then there is memorable music. Rexoria not only writes melodic power metal, but the kind with hooks that don't let go. The big names of the genre haven't been able to do it this well in many years.
So what we have in "Imperial Dawn" is a super-concentrated dose of power metal. It might come on a bit strong, but the flavor is right. The band delivers good songs, great vocals, and a fun time. Power metal is a stagnant genre, but Rexoria is doing it well enough none of that matters.
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