Review by Lynxie on July 19, 2022.

So far this year, I had not been exactly satisfied with the power metal releases coming out of the Swedish scene. Sabaton was verily traumatic, being the ultimate insult to the genre they are. Hammerfall was acceptable. Veonity was enjoyable enough, but unfortunately still more of a miss than hit for me. I'll leave Freaks And Clowns out of this discussion since they work on a slightly different style then the aforementioned bands. Well, my dissatisfaction ends here - Palantír's latest release not only kept up the reputation they had established on their debut, but also reached that level of greatness by my standards. Yes, this is the pure blooded EUPM that I had been looking for this year. Honestly, this might just stay on the top of my AotY list. My only complaint is the length - the 40 minutes had simply flew by.

What more should I ask for? The guitar works are fast and melodic, yet the verses on 'Astral Prison' also got that slightly darker and rougher tone to it. The rhythms are punchy enough but not nearing the more AOR-tinged side of power metal. The solos are the unlimate shredfest and the drums kicked on with energy not quite unlike that of Dan Zimmerman. Now, the keyboard here actually got a stronger role than their debut, giving them more of a Stratovarius-ish sound rather than the Rhapsody Of Fire tendency they used to have. More on that later. I had, of course, always enjoyed Marcus S. Olkerud's vocal works - he's a pleasant mix of Michael Kiske on the higher notes and Fabio Lione on the lower ranges, with a bit of Timo Koltipelto thrown in for good measure. The lyrics this time still touches upon various subjects, though I definitely recall several sci-fi themed song, namely 'Astral Prison' and 'Transcesion'.

Personally, I find that the recruitment of the keyboard wizard Johannes Frykholm was one of their crucial steps towards greatness. Mind you, I'm not always on the best terms with keyboards. However, Frykholm's performances here are truly outstanding whereas their former keyboardist Joel Sjöqvist was merely serviceable. The orchestra adds perfectly to the dynamic of the riffs, often in remembrance of melodic power metal gods like Freedom Call and Power Quest. Occasional synth works on songs like 'Where I Belong' brings out the best of Stratovarius. Also, the more neoclassical number 'Queen Of The Moon' falls nothing short of Derdian. So to speak, they had fully utilized their keyboard this time. I especially enjoyed the solo in 'Astral Prison' and the guitar - keyboard duel on 'TheasBet Within'.

In brief, if you like keyboard, if you enjoyed Stratovarius and Rhapsody Of Fire at the peak of their career, then Palantír's Chasing A Dream is a record you can't miss. As an afterthought, that cover is beautiful, no?

Highlights: 'Chasing A Dream', 'Queen Of The Moon', 'Astral Prison', 'Transcension', 'Read The Signs'

Rating: 9.8 out of 10

Review by Lynxie on July 19, 2022.

So far this year, I had not been exactly satisfied with the power metal releases coming out of the Swedish scene. Sabaton was verily traumatic, being the ultimate insult to the genre they are. Hammerfall was acceptable. Veonity was enjoyable enough, but unfortunately still more of a miss than hit for me. I'll leave Freaks And Clowns out of this discussion since they work on a slightly different style then the aforementioned bands. Well, my dissatisfaction ends here - Palantír's latest release not only kept up the reputation they had established on their debut, but also reached that level of greatness by my standards. Yes, this is the pure blooded EUPM that I had been looking for this year. Honestly, this might just stay on the top of my AotY list. My only complaint is the length - the 40 minutes had simply flew by.

What more should I ask for? The guitar works are fast and melodic, yet the verses on 'Astral Prison' also got that slightly darker and rougher tone to it. The rhythms are punchy enough but not nearing the more AOR-tinged side of power metal. The solos are the unlimate shredfest and the drums kicked on with energy not quite unlike that of Dan Zimmerman. Now, the keyboard here actually got a stronger role than their debut, giving them more of a Stratovarius-ish sound rather than the Rhapsody Of Fire tendency they used to have. More on that later. I had, of course, always enjoyed Marcus S. Olkerud's vocal works - he's a pleasant mix of Michael Kiske on the higher notes and Fabio Lione on the lower ranges, with a bit of Timo Koltipelto thrown in for good measure. The lyrics this time still touches upon various subjects, though I definitely recall several sci-fi themed song, namely 'Astral Prison' and 'Transcesion'.

Personally, I find that the recruitment of the keyboard wizard Johannes Frykholm was one of their crucial steps towards greatness. Mind you, I'm not always on the best terms with keyboards. However, Frykholm's performances here are truly outstanding whereas their former keyboardist Joel Sjöqvist was merely serviceable. The orchestra adds perfectly to the dynamic of the riffs, often in remembrance of melodic power metal gods like Freedom Call and Power Quest. Occasional synth works on songs like 'Where I Belong' brings out the best of Stratovarius. Also, the more neoclassical number 'Queen Of The Moon' falls nothing short of Derdian. So to speak, they had fully utilized their keyboard this time. I especially enjoyed the solo in 'Astral Prison' and the guitar - keyboard duel on 'TheasBet Within'.

In brief, if you like keyboard, if you enjoyed Stratovarius and Rhapsody Of Fire at the peak of their career, then Palantír's Chasing A Dream is a record you can't miss. As an afterthought, that cover is beautiful, no?

Highlights: 'Chasing A Dream', 'Queen Of The Moon', 'Astral Prison', 'Transcension', 'Read The Signs'

Rating: 9.8 out of 10

Review by Carl on January 1, 2022.

It must not have been easy for these guys back in 1993, coming out with a thrash/hardcore/crossover album. Death metal was still the reigning force in the underground, and in Norway there was something brewing that would catapult black metal into the spotlight to take over. Crossover thrash was not really on anyone's mind back then, perhaps that's the reason why almost nobody has heard of these guys. Also, the album is a bit of a mixed affair as well.

Musically it's not that bad really, the band keeping it all pretty uptempo and varied with their hardcore infused thrash, that nicely keeps the middle between both genres. They are kindred spirits of acts such as Concrete Sox, later D.R.I., Nuclear Assault and Lethal Aggression. At their most hardcore punk, the band sound like Septic Death meeting Cryptic Slaughter, and at their most metal they have a bit of an early Sacred Reich vibe, and there's also the occasional stab of early Napalm Death to be found. The short songs are spruced up with some above average guitar leads that invoke the spirit of what Rocky George did in Suicidal Tendencies. Pleurosis doesn't make things complicated, but aim at thrashing rage alternating with slower mosh-ready sections, poured into short and spiky songs. Although the Spanish vocals sound cool and have me thinking of bands like Ratos De Porão or Cerebros Exprimidos, the vocalist has a hoarse, one-sided style of singing, which towards the end can become somewhat tiresome to listen to. After a few spins you do get used to it, though. At least I did.

There are two things on this cd that really rub me the wrong way. The biggest gripe I have, is with the production. It's your typical late 80's/early 90's cheap hardcore punk sound mix: drums and vocals are all the way up front in the mix, overpowering the bass and guitar that are mixed into the background for who knows what reason. This effectively sucks all the power out of this album, and on top of that, making it already sound dated by the time this was released. With just a bit more budget to pay for a less retarded mix, this would have been one hell of a savage hardcore/thrash release. What could have been a fearsome roaring tiger has been reduced to grandma's neutered old tomcat by this wet fart of a sound mix, and that's just an awful shame. Then there's this flat and boring rendition of the Sex Pistols classic "Anarchy In The UK" closing off the album. Cool that they did it in Spanish, I'll give them that, but come on! Not even Megadeth could perform this song convincingly, let alone that Pleurosis could pull this off with this limp dick production they got going on this album. Just skip it, you're not missing anything of worth.

So there you have it: the music is cool and sure has a lot of moments worthwhile, but it's all being ruined by the half-cocked production. If you are into the crossover side of thrash metal and you can find this one for cheap, I'd say go for it. It's enjoyable enough if you can get over the meager sound mix.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Review by Carl on January 1, 2022.

It must not have been easy for these guys back in 1993, coming out with a thrash/hardcore/crossover album. Death metal was still the reigning force in the underground, and in Norway there was something brewing that would catapult black metal into the spotlight to take over. Crossover thrash was not really on anyone's mind back then, perhaps that's the reason why almost nobody has heard of these guys. Also, the album is a bit of a mixed affair as well.

Musically it's not that bad really, the band keeping it all pretty uptempo and varied with their hardcore infused thrash, that nicely keeps the middle between both genres. They are kindred spirits of acts such as Concrete Sox, later D.R.I., Nuclear Assault and Lethal Aggression. At their most hardcore punk, the band sound like Septic Death meeting Cryptic Slaughter, and at their most metal they have a bit of an early Sacred Reich vibe, and there's also the occasional stab of early Napalm Death to be found. The short songs are spruced up with some above average guitar leads that invoke the spirit of what Rocky George did in Suicidal Tendencies. Pleurosis doesn't make things complicated, but aim at thrashing rage alternating with slower mosh-ready sections, poured into short and spiky songs. Although the Spanish vocals sound cool and have me thinking of bands like Ratos De Porão or Cerebros Exprimidos, the vocalist has a hoarse, one-sided style of singing, which towards the end can become somewhat tiresome to listen to. After a few spins you do get used to it, though. At least I did.

There are two things on this cd that really rub me the wrong way. The biggest gripe I have, is with the production. It's your typical late 80's/early 90's cheap hardcore punk sound mix: drums and vocals are all the way up front in the mix, overpowering the bass and guitar that are mixed into the background for who knows what reason. This effectively sucks all the power out of this album, and on top of that, making it already sound dated by the time this was released. With just a bit more budget to pay for a less retarded mix, this would have been one hell of a savage hardcore/thrash release. What could have been a fearsome roaring tiger has been reduced to grandma's neutered old tomcat by this wet fart of a sound mix, and that's just an awful shame. Then there's this flat and boring rendition of the Sex Pistols classic "Anarchy In The UK" closing off the album. Cool that they did it in Spanish, I'll give them that, but come on! Not even Megadeth could perform this song convincingly, let alone that Pleurosis could pull this off with this limp dick production they got going on this album. Just skip it, you're not missing anything of worth.

So there you have it: the music is cool and sure has a lot of moments worthwhile, but it's all being ruined by the half-cocked production. If you are into the crossover side of thrash metal and you can find this one for cheap, I'd say go for it. It's enjoyable enough if you can get over the meager sound mix.

Rating: 7 out of 10