Just a couple of songs into No More Hollywood Endings (Nuclear Blast), the new album by Finnish Power Metal act Battle Beast, and it’s already becoming evident that something is a little different this time. Not in a bad way; the songs are still hook-laden monsters that will take forever to leave your head, the musicianship is reliably outstanding, and singer Noora Louhimo‘s voice is still as strident and muscular as ever as she turns in one of her best performances to date.
No, it’s the mood of the album which has changed in some noticeable measure this time. Whereas before, almost every non-ballad Battle Beast song was a powerful, anthemic call to arms or a joyous explosion of eighties Eurovision retro Pop, the songs on their fifth full-length release are a little more, well… serious. That’s not to say that NMHE is muted or somber, though.
With the sheer amount of epic choruses and finger-shredding soloing on display, that’s clearly not the case. However, the band do seem to be aiming for a more dramatic approach this time rather than the ludicrous Heavy Metal glitterball party where The Bee Gees used to explode regularly all over Jean-Claude Van Damme and Judas Priest. And that’s a picture which isn’t leaving your head any time soon.
‘Unbroken’ is a pleasingly strong opener (even with its rather sudden ending), but it’s the album’s title track that really grabs the attention with its neoclassical guitar work, stirring bridge section and melodramatic chorus. ‘Eden’ and ‘Unfairy Tales’ are a little more lightweight, while ‘Endless Summer’ sits firmly in retro-Pop Rock territory, sort of like something that would play over the end credits of a romantic teen comedy from the mid-eighties.
Despite pushing all the right buttons, ‘The Hero’, and the harder-edged ‘Piece Of Me’ lack a killer punch as the arresting balladry of ‘I Wish’ stands above them with expressive, sweeping strings and an impassioned vocal delivery, while the rousing ‘Raise Your Fists’ and the remaining clutch of songs round off the album on similarly pleasing terms, the uplifting ‘World On Fire’ not landing too far away from Nightwish territory.
Living up to its rather downbeat name, No More Hollywood Endings may not sound as exuberant or effervescent as their earlier releases but the band are still as bombastic as ever, and certainly, still know how to write striking choruses and dynamic riffs. The solos will happily tie the fingers of many an air guitarist into knots, and the overworked rhythm section pounds along relentlessly as each song is urged forward with the help of some striking orchestration. Once again though, it’s Noora who takes center stage, her immense voice the driving force which adds that extra emotional depth to each and every track.
7 / 10
GARY ALCOCK