Across their three previous albums, Sweden’s Veonity has displayed a signature epic fantasy sound. The members united over a love of bands such as Helloween and Stratovarius, and sought to craft their own sound inspired by such. For their fourth album Sorrows, the band brings together epic choruses, soaring vocals, dizzying dual guitar harmonies, and powerful song structure to make for an exciting and inspiring effort. They manage to make a sometimes cookie cutter genre like power metal sound catchy and accessible, and that’s something of an achievement.
After the orchestral intro "Broken" sets the tone, "Graced or Damned" kicks things off in classic power metal fashion. Dual leads, stirring instrumentation, and some positively soaring vocals passages. The chorus is one that stuck with me after the first listen, it's that infectious and lasting. "Back In To The Dark" features a fine verse riff with plenty of chug, and more dual leads to spare, while "Blinded Eyes Will See" has another powerful, double kick-fueled chorus and dizzying intro harmonies.
Frontman/guitarist Anders Sköld puts in some incredible vocal work on "Where Our Memories Used to Grow," with wailing leads and a machine gun kick assault to boot. "Acceptance" has a headbanging, fist-pumping intro with yet another awesome chorus. "Free Again" is more of the same textbook power metal, but that's far from a complaint.
"Center of the Storm" brings some proper grandeur to the dance, while "War" feels like more of a trad metal track than power metal, but since one hand washes the other there, it's all well and good. The closer "Fear of Being Alive" uses some clean guitar work for the first minute or so, before things build to what we've come to expect.
Power metal gets a reputation for being Dungeons & Dragons, but make it metal, but there's something about Veonity's approach that sets them apart. Yes, they employ their share of the standard fare, but it's done well and manages to make an impression. If there's one track from this record that demands to be heard, it has to be "Graced or Damned," for its anthemic and sweeping feel. Chances are though, once you visit one of the Sorrows here, you'll want to explore them all.
Sorrows is available now via Scarlet Records.
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