Album Review: Ray Alder - II

It's an age old question that doesn't have a definitive answer, and yet we keep asking it anyway; Does the singer make the band? Of course, we know that depends on how much importance you place on the vocals and the melodies, as opposed to the music the rest of the band is playing. If you're like me, and the vocal line is 90% of the song to you, the singer absolutely makes the band. Changing singers doesn't just change the tone of the voice, it changes everything about the way melodies are written, delivered, and heard.

When Ray Alder left Redemption, the result was a complete collapse in my interest in that band. Tom Englund's voice is heard by many people as being in the same emotional realm, but not to me. They became something completely different, and something I haven't given a second of thought other than the reviews I have written. Ray, however, put out a solo album called "What The Water Wants" that perfectly blended his time in both Redemption and Fates Warning, and sounded more like those bands than much of their own material.

Coincidentally, just weeks after Redemption released their latest effort, Ray is back with his second solo album. While the title "II" is as weak as it gets, the contrast between the results proves everything I've always thought about my own mentality.

When the chorus of the opening "This Hollow Shell" hits, and Ray's voice explodes through the speakers, there is an anguish and melancholy imbued in his voice that sounds unlike nearly any other singer. Heck, it doesn't even sound like the younger version of himself. It's something he found later in his career, and is what makes this album's shift into darker territory sound so comfortable. Listening to him, I believe the emotion is real, not something put on as a stage effect. He is emotional, not emoting, to draw a fine distinction.

In a bit of an ironic twist, while Tom is now in Redemption, "My Oblivion" borrows the seven-string chunkiness of mid-period Evergrey. Ray's voice lacks the bass of Tom's, and that is the difference between the melody blending in with the guitars versus soaring above them. There is just enough light in Ray's voice to give the song a soothing feeling, even though it is a crushing wall.

"II" is a very different record than "What The Water Wants", drawing more from the heavier parts of metal. Both records are somber affairs, littered with uplifting choruses to balance the tide, but this time the guitars are thicker, heavier, and less inclined to swirl in atmospheric backgrounds. The songs are a bit longer, but they hit harder. They give Ray more time to work with, and he delivers choruses among the best work of his career. Seriously, why has there never been a Fates Warning album with this much great melody?

That being said, the second half of the album does fall off a bit. As the three consecutive songs clocking in at 5:51 unfold, the melodies get toned down just a bit, as the hard-hitting metal recedes to a softer dynamic. I know the record needs to have ebb and flow, but the first half establishes so much momentum, I wish the second half could keep it going. Even if the record was more monotone for it, I think it would have been the best kind of getting your ass kicked.

So what do we make of "II"? It's a bit of a tough album to put in perspective, because it fits into that category of being both a step up and a step down, where the highs are higher but the lows are lower. The heaviness blended with melody on the album's best songs are fantastic, and I absolutely love it. The more expansive bits don't work as well for me here as they did on "What The Water Wants". This record is just as good, but in a different way. What I can say with certainty, though, is that Ray's two solo albums are far more interesting to my ears than either of the albums Redemption has made without him. The voice really is the key, and Ray's unlocks plenty of great music here.