vote
6.5
- Bands:
IVANHOE - Duration: 00:52:30
- Available from: 10/05/2024
- Label:
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Massacre Records
Streaming not yet available
There are bands whose name, when it comes up for some reason, makes you think “Hey, what happened to those guys?”: it’s a bit like the story of Ivanhoe, a historic German band dedicated to classically styled progressive metal. the nineties.
Despite having hit upon few, over the course of many years of career, remaining very attached to an imagery that has slowly disappeared from the radar of many, with the exception of very rare exceptions such as Threshold, Giovanni Soulas’ band presents us this time with “Healed By The Sun”, thanks to the entry into the lineup of Chris Lorey on guitar and Micha Krebes on drums, which took place in 2020.
Compared to “Blood And Gold”, dedicated to conquistadors and mayans, released some time ago, there is therefore a change that has certainly brought new ideas to the band, which almost reminded us of that masterpiece of “Burn The Sun ” by Ark, even if the structure of the songs remains more or less the same. The ballads are definitely better, such as “Small Path Home”, which is based entirely on choirs and keyboards, while the harder pieces, such as the single “Headnut”, move more towards power territories than progressive metal.
Ivanhoe’s problem always remains that of arriving late in an environment where the power/progressive of this type, if you really don’t have particularly original ideas in the writing phase, is now outdated, even if there is no lack of valid ideas, as in cheerful “One Ticket To Paradise” or in the decisive “War Of Ages”. There is an abundance of shots at odd tempos after the choruses – see one of the most interesting episodes of the album, “Moments In Time” – even if, once these fifty-odd minutes are over, little of what you have heard remains in your head.
Ultimately, “Healed By The Sun” certainly marks a step forward compared to what was done in “Blood And Gold”, while addressing a niche of fans of these sounds and without trying too much to deviate from the canons of the most classic progressive metal. We have no doubt, however, that live Soulas and his associates could be an interesting gem to recover, and it is nice to see that even after all these years Ivanhoe have not yet given up on the passage of time, dedicating themselves to their favorite music with dedication and passion .
