Borealis – Fall From Grace

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There’s something a little odd about describing a band as power metal one minute, and then describing them as sounding like Evergrey the next. This is the case with Canadian metal band Borealis. The band can only be described as being power metal for lack of a more appropriate genre tag. Like the aforementioned Evergrey, as well as fellow progressive metallers Symphony X, Borealis have a strong, emotional singer in Matt Marinelli. This is where the comparisons are at their strongest, Matt having a similar warm, reaching tone to Tom Englund. These comparisons might end there, if Fall From Grace didn’t sound like it could well have been the latest Evergrey album. There is the addition of some backing growls, but for the most part the similarities are fairly clear to see – melodic, slightly progressive metal with some good tunes. This works in the bands favour – after all, it is always good to see a band differ from the generic power metal template even if it sounds very much like a more established band. The obvious reference point also makes the album easy to get into, with a familiar and enjoyable sound. Where the album struggles though is it does fail to hold interest; for the first songs, the album is refreshing and highly enjoyable, but it quickly loses steam and gets slightly stale by the album’s end. It also lacks any new ideas, and can come across as more of the same at times. Still, it is a lot better than most of the power metal pack, and a reasonably good album for what it is.

Written by James Donovan
More: 2011, Albums, Power Metal, Quick.Play Reviews, Borealis