'Sonic Haven' stands out slightly from the melodic hard-rock playlist since their niche is more in a powerful power metal but given the diversity of the songs, I included it in the playlist for the first half of 2021 in rock and hard - melodic rock. Lead by the German singer 'Herbie Langhans' well known on the international metal scene ('Avantasia', 'Voodo Circle', 'Sinbreed', 'Beyonf The Bridge' and 'Firewind'), this first opus offers us compositions ranging from AOR to a muscular power metal, all accompanied by unifying melodies that we want to sing along in chorus. Admittedly, the majority of the tracks are overflowing with energy and the beginning of the album shows this with the fast 'Vagabond' and its heady chorus, followed by a 'Back To Mad' with a rhythmic slightly behind but just as unleashed, 'Nightmare' which follows having nothing to envy on these two predecessors. The sequel is more varied with a catchy 'Keep The Flame Alive', just like 'End of the World' which follows or the last track 'Striking Back' with its heady chorus and its impressive guitar solo by 'Carsten Stepanowicz' (very good throughout this opus) and we can also note the heavy rather addictive mid-tempo 'The Darker Side', the catchy 'From White to Black' closer to melodic hard-rock and the ballad 'Save the Best for Last', certainly classic but so effective. In short, 'Sonic Haven' releases an album filled with good energy with a singer who sends us heavy from start to finish which should appeal to a classical power metal audience but also could reach fans of a melodic and energetic hard-rock... | |
