Their debut album 'Dreaming Awake' (2003) is one I still like very much. Their
second (2008) album 'Chapter II' got a high rating on our site and now 6 years
later their third album is being released. I'm not familiar with their second release,
but I can say for certain that this one tops their debut album. With new singer
Daniel Heiman (Lost Horizon) they have again found a singer that sticks perfectly to
the music.
The mix of (power) metal, melody, some neo-classical elements and a progressive
touch is still their trade mark. The songs have a lot of variation and the
production is very clear and powerful. With producer Fredrik Nordstöm behind the
buttons this isn't a surprise of course. This is one of the better melodic metal
albums this year and should be checked out for certain. Besides some very
impressive slower melodic songs there are also some up tempo hammers. "Crown Me
King" is one of them and the combination of the guitars and keyboard lines works
out very fine. "Bloodbound" is yet another uptempo song with guitar soli in a
kind of Yngwie Malmsteen style. Another heavy song is "Hands of Time" with a
very strong refrain and some fine bass lines. "Son of the Morning" is a song
with Eastern influences a rather complex song with beautiful eastern chords. The
title track and "You Are" are songs with mighty orchestral parts and the track "What
If" is a rather commercial strong song with a nice refrain, piano parts and
strings.
Markus Sigridsson shows that he is an excellent guitar player and the harmonic
backing vocals on the album create sometimes a rather melancholy atmosphere.
With "You Are" the band has written one of the better ballads I've
heard this year. The piano parts are great and sometimes the song made me think
of the softer parts of the band Dream Theater. "In Search Of" is a song that
makes me think a lot of the debut album and sees to a very strong end to this excellent melodic variable
album. With six years in between albums, Harmony shows that they are better than
ever and sure a band we have to reckon with.
Fans of melodic power metal with classical influences surely have something to
look forward to and to invest in.
