Power of Metal.dk Review

Now Or Never
Now Or Never
Rating
Style: Heavy Metal
Release date: 15 November, 2013
Playing time: 52:10
 


Two guys with former membership in Denmark's battleship in Heavy Metal: Pretty Maids have create a new metal band called Now Or Neve'. Ricky Marx (between 1988 until 1991) and Kenn Jackson (from 1991 until 2010) together with Jo Amore, who is also the vocalist in the French metal band Nightmare. The fourth member is the experienced drummer Ranzo (Nightmare), he is also the main writer of the lyrics on this album.

Now Or Never plays in the raw, classical heavy metal genre (if I have to put it in a specific folder), but they have spiced it up pretty much with some big portions of aggressive modern metal.

A pleasant and interesting sound, which have Pretty Maids' classical metal blended with an ounce of Malrun, if I have to stay with Danish metal bands. A high technical level in the guitar playing and the keyboards give them a fat and thick sound.

Jo Amore on vocals has a strong powerful voice and also a worn and a raspy one, which is perfect tuned to fit the different metal songs that are served on this nice disc. He must have be born with very big vocal chord because I have, for a long time, not heard a singer, who can keep the tone for as long and strong as Jo. He has a history as a drummer and he sweeps the floor with many of the vocal pro's. A brilliant change of position.

A surprisingly strong debut with strong colors from the old-school metal, but I must highlight the tracks with more of the progressive elements. The two ballads 'An Angel By My Side' and 'Something's Missing' are nice complements to the harsher metal tracks. 'Brothers' sounds almost like a song by Disturbed and 'Reach Out for the Sky' and 'Princess of Undiscovered Land' tastes very similar to Masterplan. The width in their metal sound makes this very alive and potent. The album has a perfect production and this powerful metal album deliver not any earthshaking news that could shatter my bones, head or spine, just an excellent and damn good piece of musical art.

My overall impression is: A splendid debut album from these rock veterans in a new fresh shape. Twelve tracks with different moods and sensitivity, which disables this to be a boring and standardized metal album. My thumbs are up!

Absolutely something you have to check if you are a fan of classic heavy metal.


Tracklist
01. Reach Out For The Sky
02.
Now Or Never
03.
Wind of freedom
04.
Brothers
05.
Hardened Steel
06.
Princess Of Undiscovered Land
07.
An Angel By My Side
08.
How Do You Feel
09.
Dying For You
10.
Who's In The Mirror
11. Something's Missing
12. Weirdo Lullaby
Label: Mausoleum Records
Distribution: Rock 'n' Growl PR
Artwork rating: 89/100
Reviewed by: Patrik Skoglund
Date: 9 November, 2013
Website: www.now-or-never.ch