Review Summary: Attention all power metal fans; here you have the supergroup of your dreams.
Supergroups are an idea that seems great and fantastic in theory, but is in practice when rarely one of these much-awaited projects offers final results that satisfy a majority. Few are the supergroups that fulfill people’s expectations and even with those bands sometimes there can’t be an established general consensus. While some love them with passion, others hate them like crazy, as is the case of ELP. I think the only supergroup we all can agree that is great and didn’t disappoint is Cream, but that’s another story.
The Ferrymen is an interesting project formed by guitarist Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear), drummer Mike Terrana (Masterplan, Tarja Turunen, Rage, etc) and vocalist Ronnie Romero (Lords of Black, Rainbow). Three respectable musicians, a combination intended to success, of course. Special mention to singer Ronnie Romero, whose powerful voice, as some fans say, is strongly reminiscent of Dio; in a short time this guy has become an outstanding voice in the current metal scene. There’s no doubt his singing sometimes can remind us of the legendary vocalist who shone in iconic bands such as Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven and Hell. Not for nothing the great guitarist Ritchie Blackmore chose him for Rainbow’s last year reunion. Karlsson and Terrana have done incredible works with their bands as well, being beloved and respected for their technique and creativity among the power metal crowd. We’ve got a very promising line-up, no doubt. So… what was the end result? Prepare your forks for the cheese.
I don’t know if it’s me, a listener who had high expectations with this work, someone who expected something more epic, but the case is that
The Ferrymen, the album, although not a bad or horrendous thing, is an alchemy of heavy, power metal and melodic hard rock, but with a bit more emphasis on the latter. Melodic hard rock, similar to the sound of bands belonging to the hard rock revival that has been giving in these years, like Inglorious, Last Autumn’s Dream or Hardline, mixed with some typical power arrangements like the ominous and epic sounding keyboards, medieval atmospheres, shredding solos and a mystical album cover. Well done but not original or a breath of fresh air, personally I think they could do something better. Given that the disc lasts almost an hour and almost every song here is mid tempo and follows a somewhat established formula, it can get boring at times. There’s so many ways to rewrite ''this has great guitar playing, an outstanding Ronnie’s vocal performance and lots of energy produced by the players''.
Still, I do have my favorites. I think the stronger tracks are at the beginning. ''Ferryman'' eventually has become my favorite of the album, with its elegant introduction, an attractive melody in the pre-chorus and its prominent orchestral arrangements. ''Fool You All'' is possibly the track that bets more for a classic rock sound than any other, with a catchy main riff and possibly the album’s best chorus, with a wild Ronnie’s performance. The opening ''End of the Road'' shows a lot of promise, it contains an amusing keyboard riff popping out from time to time, a spectacular Karlsson’s solo in the middle and another strong chorus, while the closing track ''Welcome to My Show'', with its heavy attitude, is fairly decent. And finally, ''Eternal Night'' is one of the tunes that try to break the mold of the album as it’s more of a power ballad with a good melody, a memorable and anthemic chorus, another respectable solo and some bits of nice piano, adding some instrumental diversity to the song. I’m not so much of an adept to power ballads, but I would be lying if I said this song is bad.
The Ferrymen is more an adequate option to nostalgic metalheads or someone who’s attracted to simple, relaxing and entertaining rock bands like Hardline or The Nights. If you don’t mind about music not being risky or innovative, you’ll have no problem with the album. Somebody who considers themselves a hardcore power metal fan can buy this safely too. For the rest, this’ll be a decent effort and not much more.
