Label: Frontiers 2019
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom
"A New Evil - a world on fire. No more heroes - will save us now. A New Evil - a world in darkness. No one hears you calling - it's over now". Blimey. Cheerful bastards? One thing's for certain. The Ferrymen are clearly not The Merrymen? They should however be pleased with their European melodic metal sound and listening to "A New Evil" it's not difficult to hear why as they combine fierce riffing by Magnus 'Klister' Karlsson (Primal Fear, Allen/Lande, etc.) and power drumming (Mike Terrana) with a vocalist who can actually sing (Ronnie Romero).
Taking in small doses, tracks like "Don't Stand In My Way", "Bring Me Home", "The Night People Rise", offer pleasant metal listening but nothing more. It's not a question of holding back though and on the plus side, The Ferrymen sounds very professional and like the real deal. They certainly create a big melodic metal sound for a three piece and Karlsson are keeping track of both the 4 and 6 string in the studio. In fact. Some of the changes, chord progressions and guitar work reminds you of the old ancient masters of the seventies and eighties. The first couple of tracks are no doubt the best and Karlsson's still capable of writing an absolutely killer chorus or three.
The overall sound of the album, cruising down the same avenue as the likes of Kamelot, Masterplan, Allen/Lande, only perhaps not quite as impressive or with lasting power. Great musicians, great vocals, but rather typical middle-of-the-road when it comes to arrangements. "A New Evil is a bit heavier and more progressive", says Magnus Karlsson. "I'm always learning and trying to improve my songs and productions each time out. Working with Ronnie and Mike is a such a great experience. I can concentrate on the writing and whatever I will come up with, I know they will nail it! This time Jacob Hansen (Pretty Maids, Volbeat) did the mix and it works really well with the heavy style". Final verdict: Solid stuff, but hardly earth-shattering.
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