I mentioned recently that Chilean vocalist Ronnie Romero is just popping up everywhere, whether it be with Lords of Black, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, The Ferrymen, and CoreLeoni, but here we have yet another appearance of the suddenly in-demand singer, once again with Frontiers Records, the new release Metal Souls from Japanese guitarist Nozomu Wakai’s Destinia. For the third album from this project, in addition to Romero, Wakai has also enlisted the talents of bassist Marco Mendozo (The Dead Daisies, ex-Whitesnake, ex-Thin Lizzy) and drum legend Tommy Aldridge (Whitesnake). The latter two obviously have some history together, and once again form a potent rhythm team here for Wakai & Romero to soar over.
Metal Souls is mostly a mix of classic & power metal, with Romero's 'Dio-meets-Lande' styled pipes leading the charge alongside Wakai's dazzling six string pyrotechnics. Keyboards play a healthy part in the arrangements as well, adding a symphonic element that works well against the muscular guitar riffs from the leader. As strong as much of the performances are here, my main problem with Metal Souls is that the songs aren't all that original and sound so similar to the multitude of bands who are doing this same sort of thing. "Promised Land" however has a cool chorus and tasty guitar solos, and the hooks of "Take Me Home" are straight out of the mid '80s. "Raise Your Fist" tries really hard, but Romero's accent gets in the way a bit, and both "Metamorphosis" and "Cross the Line" have a sort of Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force sort of air about them, with lead guitar work that is like a cross between the Swede and Loudness' Akira Takasaki. The title cut, as well as the anthemic "Ready For Rock" are fun, yet highly formulaic.
You know, part of the problem here just might be Ronnie Romero. As much as I like this guy, and let's be honest, he's a damn good singer, but I think he's a tad overexposed at the moment. There's not a ton that separates the music of Destinia from many of the other albums Romero has appeared on recently, and it's almost getting to the point of overkill. That being said, Wakai is a HELL of a guitar player, and some of these songs are pretty catchy and carry some thump, so there's enough to recommend any fan of melodic metal. If you aren't like me and haven't heard all the albums that Romero has appeared on in recent months, chances are you might really dig this one
Track Listing
01 Metal Souls 5:12
02 Rain 4:53
03 The End of Love 4:33
04 Promised Land 4:53
05 Take Me Home 5:50
06 Raise Your Fist 5:24
07 Be a Hero 5:02
08 Metamorphosis 4:30
09 Cross The Line 4:31
10 Judgement Day 4:26
11 Ready for Rock 5:14
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