Singles Roundup: Charlotte Wessels, Powerwolf, Orden Ogan, & Nightwish

The grab bag was overflowing, so we'll cover a few today, and we'll have plenty more for next week as well.

Charlotte Wessels – The Exorcism

The album doesn't come out until September, but we already have our first taste. I wasn't overly fond of her first solo album and it's off-the-beaten-path approach, but I would much rather listen to that again than endure this song a dozen times, if that's what the album is going to be. Charlotte wants to embrace her heavy side, with an artistic flourish, but I don't think it comes together as a song at all. The harshest bits don't fit with her vocal tone at all, nor do they feel entirely organic with the softer verses. There's a bit of a shoe-horning going on, and the glue that holds experimentation together isn't there; the song. Charlotte doesn't give her voice a solid melody to sing, and that derails the entire effort. It's a list of ideas that might be interesting, but they need to be the color, not the canvas. Man, that entire European symphonic metal scene really never did much for me, did it?

Powerwolf – 1589

With a new album on the horizon, it makes me wonder why Powerwolf put out their last effort, which was a half-and-half mix of new and old songs. It was a fine stopgap, but that's all it was, and now I worry it will further dilute my interest in the full-length. Case in point; this track, which is so Powerwolf there's almost nothing to say about it. Atilla sounds great, the chorus has the typical bounce and sway, and... it's nearly identical to every other up-tempo Powerwolf song. They have mastered a single style so well that everything starts to blend together. The only songs I can pick out from each other are their slower, more epic numbers. I keep waiting for them to lean into that side, but they never do. I enjoy this song like all the others, but it's difficult to say I'm genuinely excited at the prospect of more of the same exact thing.

Orden Ogan – Moon Fire

Speaking of the same exact thing, we have Orden Ogan. They also have found a formula, and they crank out albums with minor lyrical themes to differentiate them. I loved them early on, and have grown more and more disinterested as the albums pile up and I can't tell them apart. This album might be a bit different, at least judging by this song, which is among their weakest ever. It has the right trademarks in the chugging riffs and the layered choirs, but the chorus of this one is lacking any energy at all. I won't say it sounds lazy, but there is no passion, no fire, and it sounds pillowy soft, which cannot be what they wanted. This one is a swing and a miss.

Nightwish - Perfume Of The Timeless

It's always an event when Nightwish releases an album, although I can say I have never once been among those excited. I was easier to explain when Tarja was in the band, but these days it's hard for someone to say they don't think a 'genius' like Tuomas is actually that good of a songwriter. I say even worse things about Arjen Lucassen, but we don't need to get into that right now.

Strike one; it takes over two minutes to get to the first vocal, and that time is not spent building interesting motifs. It's a waste of my time. Strike two; Floor's voice is conspicuously low in the mix. I don't know if I'm alone amongst listeners, but I would rather hear the fantastic singer than the mediocre strings at the front of the mix. The chorus is completely indecipherable because of this. I don't really need a third strike. This song actually has a good hook to it, but those first two strikes make it not nearly enough to justify the bloat of the rest of the song. As a four minute rocker, it would be cool. As an eight minute extravaganza, it tests my patience too much.