THIS WEEK I’M LISTENING TO...METALITE – Expedition One (AFM)

Metalite’s fourth album sees the Swedish five-piece creating a narrative concerning dystopian life on Earth in 2055 and a group of rebels planning to escape to other far-off worlds. I think. But if concept albums fill you with Tales Of Topographic dread, relax: it’s the songs, rather than the story, that drive the album, with the story itself buried deep within the album’s sixteen tracks rather than dominating them.

Metalite

‘Expedition One’ is Eurometal at its best. It’s not an original thought to point out that Sweden has been the birthplace of some of the greatest metal acts as well as some of the most commercially successful pop acts, and in Metalite – well, the clue is in the name – vocalist Erica Ohlsson, guitarists Edwin Premberg and Robert Örnesved, bassist Robert Majd and drummer Lea Larsson have blended the genres to create music that’s heavy but ultimately extremely accessible. With strong, melodic choruses, immersive grooves with programmed keys and more hooks than a fishing competition combined with a driving backbeat and neatly crafted riffs their compositions cross genres and are the perfect pop metal outings: radio friendly for mass consumption, but heavy enough onstage to keep the metalheads happy. The production is fabulous and, topped off by the powerful vocals of Erica Ohlsson and some tasty lead runs from Premberg and Örnesved, the material is strong enough to stand its ground while at the same time being wholly innocuous.

If there is a criticism it’s that, with sixteen tracks clocking in at nearly sixty-eight minutes, the album is a tad too long. Whereas the likes of ‘Blazing Skies’ and ‘Aurora’ are well written and deftly executed there’s very little variation in proceedings. It’s a good album, no doubt about that, and the inclusion of the instrumental ‘Utopia’ – albeit quite late in the running order – does break things up a bit and add a little more depth to the album, but after a while it does all blur into one. Less is more, as the adage goes, and a trim here and there would give ‘Expedition One’ a lot more punch.

Video Clips:
‘Blazing Skies’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhD5GO9KAtA
‘New Generation’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqhx1e1vzh8
‘Aurora’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IPtUMRYheU