So the beginning of a new year is weird for music. Usually December is a mostly barren wasteland, and January takes a few weeks to find something interesting. This week I had options, and decided to stick in my favorite vein of music; Heavy Metal. A more classic/power flavored band out of Sweden caught my attention.

The name of the band may be meme-worthy (hence why it caught my eye), but they seem to have a solid sounds. Clean vocals, classic riffing and a generally palatable display of their talents. I’ve only heard a smattering of things before coming into this album, so lets get things started!

Screamer is: Henrik Petersson (Drums), Dejan Rosic (Guitar), Andreas Wikstrom (Vocals), Fredrick Svensson Carlstrom (Bass), Jonathan Mortensen (Guitar)

• Artist: Screamer
• Album: Kingmaker (2023)
• Label: Steamhammer
• Total Track Time: 39:41

Kingmaker guitar tone and the general tone of the vocals reminds me heavily of En Force era Queensryche. Though not showing off a Geoff Tate level of vocal range, the control and harmony with the guitars and some mob vocal effects still sounds good. Rise Above this song shows a little more Iron Maiden flair with the dual guitar harmonies, a little bit of a gallop on the rhythm section and a driving rocking song. Very solid song about rising above society to become a new foundation for something. The Traveler really steers into the 80s sound with what sounds like a little chiming synth effect on the guitar part during the verses. I feel like watching Night Rider or…something with David Hasselhoff. Lyrically its surprisingly deep while grooving and rocking as it paints the picture of someone being the lonely traveler doing his job for someone else. Could be an allegory for being a rock band, doing it for the fans; or a more country aspect of doing it for someone back home. Not overly clear, but the different paths makes it a more fun song.

Hellfire fairly simple song about hell fire cleansing liars. It kinda just happened, felt like a filler song honestly. Not offensive but nothing noteworthy either. Chasing the Rainbow hits the correct notes with a name like this. The vocal harmonies with the guitars, rhythm driven verses and general sound gives me the Dio vibes they were probably going for. Lyrics are in the fantasy realm, so not worth noting, but its a cool song. Ashes and Fire now this already catches my attention because its a slower tempo with a nice audible bass line. The song reminds me a bit of Dead London off that Jorn album I loved last year. Burn it Down picks the pace back up, and we’ve got a bit of Maiden mixed with a King Diamond style chorus line. The singer finally shows a King style falsetto, and now I want to hear him use it more. This song splices tempo shifts well and finally unveiling that falsetto makes this unique in a great way.

Fall of a Common Man this has a little more of a Quiet Riot or Twisted Sister vibe with being a little slower, simple and a very fist up while headbanging gang vocal on the chorus. Not a bad song, just very basic and very 80s bar banger. Sounds of the Night seems to be a song, about exactly what you think it is. While trying to cloud the plot with a few fantasy elements, there’s one line, something to the effect of; “In the sounds of the night, you’re as soft as a kiss, in the sounds of the night, you’re still louder than hell”. So I don’t think spells and werewolf imagery can really distract from what exactly you’re under the “spell” of. Renegade is not a song about the knock-off WCW Ultimate Warrior or Lorenzo Lamas. Actually…nope…definitely not either of them.

I mentioned it earlier, so we all know I enjoy classic style heavy metal; Jorn was my number one album last year by a solid margin. However, this misses the mark a little. The singer is good, but rarely showing any range hurts the soaring and epic vibes of fantasy elements and guitar driven music. The fact it just gets sprinkled in at the tail end of Renegade and during Burn it Down; its more like an irritating tease than trying not to spoil the listener.

The album is solid, and starts the year off more positively than what I picked for 2022. Its not amazing, but its a solid rocking listen and at just under 40 minutes; it never wears out its welcome.

Final Judgment: 7.3/10