The Dark Delight

Sweden's Dynazty has put out a steady stream of poppy hard rock albums, but this one is billed, in keeping with the title, as a darker sound. Perhaps it is by comparison with their previous work -- they do have a few tortured screams and some harsh vocals by Amaranthe's Henrik "GG6" Englund -- but it's still dance pop with chugging guitars. That description might have turned about 85% of our readers off right there, and yet the album is at least well-made for what it is. The production, as can be expected, is shiny-slick, and the 80s AOR trick of having a tinkling piano follow the lead vocalist on the melody still gives the songs a bit of retro value. Nils Molin's breathy tenor is a good fit, especially on the choruses, where the band's pop tendency gets to show its best side. When it comes to power metal solos, such as on Paradise of the Architect, Dynazty can shred with the best modern power metal bands. But somehow, though it's adequate, it never translates into much excitement. Perhaps it's due to the album length: an hour's worth of late-80s AOR is a lot to get through, even if the tunes aren't catchy, and they're not. The choruses have the best hooks, but they coexist with mostly aimless verses. The band does best when doubling down on the 80s sound, as they do on Hologram and to a lesser extent on the title track. Though there is a similarity between the two bands, Dynazty's no Amaranthe: when keyboard and sample-heavy dance elements get into a track, it goes limp, no matter how thickly the guitars lay on the riffs. The Dark Delight isn't a terrible album and has a few good tracks, but it's not a particularly exciting one, either.