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Golden Resurrection: Man with a Mission
Man with a Mission is the title of this album by Swedish powermetallers Golden Resurrection, and I have to say that I was disappointed with it. The cover art looked pretty cool, and the title seemed to suggest a basic lyrical theme of vengeance and determination. Little did I know that Man with a Mission was in reality a load of Christian propaganda.
Musically, we are dealing with neoclassical Euro power metal, which is often quite impressive and emotionally uplifting, but which also tends to be terribly cheesy. And, this album is indeed very, very cheesy; too cheesy for my taste. The neoclassicism are impressive, and there is some nice riffage every now and then, but the keyboards are too dominant and really take the power out of the power metal. The vocals are a bit more rock-ish than the soaring quasi-operatic vocals the are otherwise typical of Euro power metal, which does sound promising. The problem is just that the singing comes off as too contrived and becomes annoying in the long run. Perhaps that is why my favorite track on this album is the instrumental 'Metal Opus 1 in C# Minor' along with the Kansas and Gary Moore cover songs found on the digital version of the album.
Lyrically, we are dealing with worship music basically, as Golden Resurrection praise Christian deities and prophets and other figures as well as Christian values and visions. And, that is fine, but that is not something I am interested in, and the way that the lyrics on this release are written makes the album come across as Christian propaganda - and it gives the 'mission' part of the a new meaning.
Musically, there is some good stuff in the album, but it drowns in the cheese, and the Christian lyrics do not appeal to me at all. Still, I would recommend the album to fans of uplifting and neoclassical Euro power metal, because it does feature all the attributes that define the genre.
Track listing:
1. The Light Overture
2. Man With A Mission
3. Identity In Christ
4. Golden Times
5. Finally Free
6. Generation Of The Brave
7. Standing On The Rock
8. Metal Opus 1 in C# Minor
9. Flaming Youth
10. Are You Ready For The Power
11. Point Of Know Return (Kansas tribute) [digital release bonus track]
12. The End Of The World (Gary Moore tribute) [digital release bonus track]
Added: October 20th 2011
Reviewer: Kim Jensen
Score: 
Related Link: Golden Resurrection @ MySpace
Hits: 3155
Language: english
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Golden Resurrection: Man with a Mission
Posted by Jeff B, SoT Staff Writer on 2011-10-20 15:45:04
My Score: 
Just a year after their debut album, Swedish symphonic power metal act Golden Resurrection have already returned with their sophomore outing. Their debut, Glory to My King, was a decent entrance from the talented act, but their cheesy sound and overtly Christian lyrics left me with a lukewarm reaction. Man With a Mission is unfortunately just "more of the same", and every issue on their debut is just as much of an issue here. Although Golden Resurrection are exceptionally gifted musicians, the compositions still come across as boring cheese-fests bogged down with every clichéd Christian lyric in the book. Fans of cheesy symphonic power metal who like Christian lyrics may want to check this out, but most people can easily pass.
The music on Man With a Mission is very similar to what we heard on Glory to My King. This means power metal with lots of symphonic keyboards, uplifting choruses, and neo-classical shredding portions. Musically, Man With a Mission is overall a decent album. There are a few interesting tracks here and there, but the light atmospheres are cheesy beyond comprehension and, of course, there are the banal choruses that plagued Golden Resurrection's debut as well. The Christian lyrics are the biggest repeat offender on Man With a Mission, though, and they are hackneyed beyond belief - unless you are a devout Christian, these lyrics will probably come across as banal propaganda. A combination of that with the extremely light-hearted, keyboard-driven power metal makes Man With a Mission one hell of a cheesy power metal album that only the biggest fans of the genre will enjoy.
Of course, like the debut, Man With a Mission isn't without its assets. The musicianship and production are both very polished and professional, and there are quite a few interesting neo-classical instrumental portions that show what a talented group Golden Resurrection truly are. It's a shame that their sound is so clichéd and, quite frankly, boring - they do have potential. Even though the quality is similar to that of their debut, I'm going to have to give Man With a Mission a slightly lower score at 2.5 - 3 stars simply because I would've hoped for a more mature and original effort the second time around. Fans of Golden Resurrection, symphonic power metal, and Christian lyrics will want to give this a listen, but the metal world at large can probably pass.
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