| Track Listings 1.) Last Goodbye - 6:33 2.) 1348 - 4:32 3.) Making a Mess - 4:00 4.) Far Away - 4:58 5.) Step by Step - 5:11 6.) Autograph - 3:26 7.) Stay Down - 4:21 8.) Give it Up - 4:01 9.) Time - 4:53 (Bonus Tracks) |
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| Royal Hunt in itself defines what every metal band should (and
probably is...secretly) be striving for - a quartet of extremely talented musicians,
delivering music that's not only true to the heart, but is extremely pleasing to the ear,
and emotionally capable of moving mountains. Well, you might look at me and say
"Pfft...so? Plenty of other bands such as that..." (or something to that
extent), but there's more - while staying true to their music, Royal Hunt has also managed
to pick up quite a fan following in Denmark; and if that's not enough, they have won a '96
Grammy for this very album. Great, beautiful music = world renowned award? Something has
to be off kilter here. But the truth is, it's not - the album has indeed won the hallowed
award, and it deserved every little speck of gold on the statuette. There is of course the messy release business, as the album actually came out (in Europe & Japan) in '96, but was released in the U.S., thanks to Magna Carta, in 1998...without the written lyrics. *Sigh* - I won't say anything as it would be too easy. As hard as the lyrics are to find, I managed to get them, so feel free to drop me an email, and I'll be more than happy to send them to you. |
| Getting that out of the way, let's talk about the album. 9 songs,
2 bonus tracks, altogether equaling a little over 50 minutes, the band brings forth
pompous, classically influenced Adult Oriented Metal (AoR) no one can touch with a 40 foot
stick; Andre Andersen, the genius behind the band, wrote every single song, and there is a
definite pattern flowing through - but not one of repetitiveness or unoriginality, mind
you - every song is potent and flowing with energy, and therein lies the beauty of the
music. Layered keyboards, versatile and epic guitars, and oh yes...the vocals - singer
D.C. Cooper delivers an awe-inspiring performance, with his trademark deep and soaring
voice. Through and through, as many times as I have listened to the album, one thing remains true - and that is the poignancy of the songs; nothing close to a filler, and every track is similar yet different in a way. Opener "Last Goodbye" demonstrates a no frills, desperate & epic approach, plus a spoken connection to track #2 - a by-the-book-but-not "1348" (incidentally, the same was done with "River of Pain" and "Tearing Down the World" on 'Paradox'). "Far Away", a heartfelt and emotional cruise showcases a slow and exceptionally layered verse, and a smooth, flowing chorus. There's the incredibly pompous approach to "Step by Step", and Andre Andersen flaunts his skills to an incredible extent on the fantastic instrumental "Autograph". There's more to listen to and love, trust me, though this is the material which most captures the spirit of the disc; dark yet hopeful, epic yet centered...lyrics deal with war, life, and death - the common themes for the band, and they to a commendable job of capturing the essence of the aforementioned. |
Perhaps not as epic and dramatic as 'Paradox',
'Moving Target' still delivers the goods when it comes to fluid, thoughtful, and simply
damn well written AoR. A classic in it's own right.
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