Eye Witness is Royal Hunt´s seventh studio
album since their 1992 debut and their third full album with
John West handling vocal duties. The previous album (The Mission)
garnered considerable critical acclaim and the accompanying
tour undoubtedly gained the Huntsters some new fans. The question
is, can Eye Witness meet the expectations of fans both new
and old, without resorting to self-plagarism as is so often
the case?
The reply is simply a resounding "yes". Eye Witness
is a rare beast indeed. It represents a band who is comfortable
with its identity but that is willing to push the boundaries
and take chances. For that alone, Royal Hunt are to be acclaimed.
Musically, this collection of songs represents the widest
range of influences ever manifested by the band. When they
rock, they rock HARD - the guitar sound throughout is the
grittiest I have ever heard used by the band but still retains
a sharpness and clarity that has been characteristic of Jakob
Kjærs style for many years. Wisely, the album opens
up with a couple of songs that are quite typical of the Royal
Hunt style - melodic, powerful, but with some interesting
and well-conceived twists and turns. Hunted begins in dramatic
style, including a slow guitar intro before launching into
a riff to die for - the bastard son of "Lies" from
their "Fear" album. Suddenly we´re into double
bass drum territory, West joins the team with one of his tradmark
wails and we are into a very solid opening number with a rousing
chorus guaranteed to have the audience singing along even
if they´ve never heard it before. Can´t Let Go
continues the mood; if they play this live on tour (please,please,
please...!) I guarantee there will not be a still head in
the place. A relentness, mid-paced number with malevolent
vocals and words to match ("Educating with fire/liberating
with steel/pushing repatriation/do we care how they feel?")
and a great guitar solo to boot.
From here, one can sense the push for progress in the Royal
Hunt ranks. Those wanting more relentness metal numbers will
indeed be rewarded - Game Of Fear is blistering and will have
you hooked as soon as "The John West Scream" (patent
applied for!) kicks in. Burning The Sun is no slouch either!
But the true wonder in Eye Witness is the range of styles
that have been embraced by the band. The Prayer for example
features only Andre Andersen (keys) playing a melody inspired
by church organ music, accompanied only by John. Wicked Lounge
has a lazy, jazzy feel, but works wonderfully as a laid-back
(and rather amusing) interlude before the hard-hitting instrumental
5th Element. The title track itself ends the standard issue
of the album, and lulls you into a false sense of security
with its acoustic guitar and almost Sinatra-like vibe, before
suddenly we´re into heavy metal heaven again and the
epic nature of the track becomes evident. The Japan-only track
Day Is Dawning demands comment too: a gospel-like piece, starting
with vocals and harmonies only, before a gentle, haunting
piano fades in to give the song genuine power. Another staple
of the band has not been neglected either, and the choruses
of both Edge Of The World and Help Me God are highly melodic
and memorable. The arrangements on all the songs are, as ever,
intelligent and complex, yet with instantly memorable parts
that will make you want to listen to them over and over again.
The songs are themed around the media and its influence on
the world today. This allows for plenty of scope since some
of the songs are about the media generally, others about particular
stories and how they are portrayed in the press. The lyrics
are of a very high standard. Several are very touching and
others deal with some very difficult issues (religion, terrorism,
child abuse) in a very intelligent way and - crucially - without
preaching. This is aided greatly by the standard of the vocal
melodies and indeed by the performance of the singer. John
West fans will be in rapture: Eye Witness is his finest hour,
demonstrating all aspects of his abilities, from earthy, gravelly
lows to his trademark scream that is almost invariably used
as another instrument that fully emphasises the music. This
album also emphasises another point: John West is without
question the finest rock/metal vocalist today - but he sings
best with Royal Hunt. Compare his performance on Eye Witness
to that on Artension´s "New Discovery" album
released just five months ago (and, in itself, a very good
album) and it becomes clear that John has a chemistry with
the Huntsters that is a huge asset to all parties.
Eye Witness isn´t perfect. Game Of Fear simply begs
for a frantic guitar/keyboard solo battle and the title track
itself could do with a solo - period! Burning The Sun begins
with a stupendous Kashmir-style groove that could have set
the song up as a truly outstanding epic, but the transition
to fast-paced rocker just seems a little too hurried. And
I do wish Andre and Jakob would show off a bit more sometimes!
But this is nitpicking. Eye Witness is a testament to the
temerity of Royal Hunt, and in particular to the principal
songwriter Andre Andersen, who simply set out to make an album
they wanted to make, and in doing so push their musical boundaries
just that little bit further. The result is an album of intelligent,
progressive and melodic rock that will demand your attention
over and over again.
Review by Stephen Leon
