Astral Doors - Of the Son and the Father (2003)Release ID: 21217
Astral Doors is a band that made it big in the heavy/power metal realms but not quite elsewhere. With their 2003 debut Of the Son and the Father, they set a path that their subsequent albums would take. However, I don't feel the memorable flame of glory that I once had from other power metal bands. Still this takes me lightyears beyond this world into a realm of astral fantasy... Of the Son and the Father is quite a Dio-inspired album. I have listened to some of the late Dio's material including his 3 albums with Rainbow and a few anthems from this solo work, so I'm familiar with the themes of magic and sorcery. There are hooks with lots of power, but the power doesn't last long. Those Dio songs are quite anthemic and more sticky to your mind, something a little hard to achieve in this album.
So what are the things that make this otherwise solid album lack eventfulness? There are melodic chords, but the riffing sounds too traditional. We have well-done leads to enjoy, though could've been more remarkable. The band can make catchy guitar grooves worth headbanging to. The keyboard work doesn't have much power metal cheese, instead closer to the jazz organ used by Deep Purple and Rainbow. The keyboards cover pretty much 99% of the album's length! They fit perfectly well with the guitars in some places, though when they have one of their alternating battles, it's more playful than serious. The drums have standard kicks that also work greatly with the guitar riffing. The bass isn't so audible, but it shines when it's slow and thick. The member who really stands out is vocalist Nils Patrik Johansson who's also in epic progressive power metallers Wuthering Heights. He has a rawer and slightly whiny voice compared to mighty Dio in the verses, whereas the chorus show his energetic delivery.
"Cloudbreaker" is an amazing opening track with catchy hooks, showing the impressive songwriting not too far off from other bands reviving the classic heavy metal of Dio. The album is actually titled Cloudbreaker in Japan, as the band's Japanese label objected to the original album title and cover art that shows crucified priests. However, the reduction of memorability starts with the original album's title track. The chorus tries to sound catchy but ends up forgettable. Same with "Hungry People", enough said. "Slay the Dragon" is quite catchy, like how metalcore bands like Trivium, August Burns Red, and Shai Hulud are catchy for me while in a whole different genre.
"Ocean of Sand" continues that kind of catchiness. However, "In Prison for Life" has too much of a Thin Lizzy-infused hard rock thing going on. It sounds far more miserable than epic throughout those 4 minutes. I suppose despite that and the mundane verse-chorus style, they didn't want to feel too pompous. "The Trojan Horse" isn't that great either. Their attempt at a slow dirge crawls in a painful way.
Approaching greater fury is "Burn Down the Wheel", driving through lead/rhythm intensity. Another cool highlight is "Night on the Witch". My favorite track here in the album is "Rainbow in Your Mind", with mighty strength to love. "Man on the Rock" has grittier power metal riffing to foreshadow that of Amaranthe (ONLY the riffing is similar).
Of the Son and the Father marks the band's solid entrance into the scene with mostly amazing tracks. However, a few of them are a bit dull and iffy and could've been improved to bring the album to perfect glory. This is Dio-inspired classic heavy metal right here! I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys the catchy anthems of Dio's heavy metal sound. Just don't take the lower-quality tracks too seriously....
Favorites: "Cloudbreaker", "Slay the Dragon", "Ocean of Sand", "Burn Down the Wheel", "Night on the Witch", "Rainbow in Your Mind"
