Vengeance – Soul Collector

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This is Vengeance’s second album since their “comeback” in 2006 with Back In The Ring, and although they are increasingly becoming known as “the band Arjen Lucassen was in” the quality of the songs here show they deserve far more recognition in their current state than they’re perhaps being afforded. Songs like opener Cross In The Rain, Dance, Samurai, the title track and So Many Times are built around heavy, groove riffs and Leon Goewie’s trademark wail. Other tracks, like What The Hell and I Never Felt This Way Before, are a little lighter and draw comparison to Tobias Sammet’s recent Avantasia album The Scarecrow. The album is let down in three places. Firstly MySpace Freak, although amusing, is a weak track. Rock And Roll Band could come from the generic part of Gotthard’s catalogue, and over-emotive closing power ballad Lean On Me trails the album off with a bit of a whimper. So, not a perfect album, but still a good, solid rock album with some real stand-out tracks. One of the band’s best.

Written by Andy Lye
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