The Sky's The Limit

Untitled Document This is the debut release of Horizon who play melodic power metal with some hard rock songs added to the mix. There is a slight progressive feel to the music due to the thick keyboard lines throughout some of the songs. Guitarist and vocalist Patrick Hemer really shines on this disc with his impressive guitar playing skills and his memorable voice. The first thing that jumps out at me when listening to this disc is the impressive vocals! Patrick Hemer sounds *a lot* like Scorpions throat, Klaus Meine with a touch of Timo Koltipelto of Stratovarius. In fact, during some of the middle tempo songs and the ballad Don’t Hide in The Shadows, you might be wondering if that is actually Klaus behind the mic! Patrick Hemer has a very melodic and emotional vocal style which make for some very memorable songs. Mr. Hemer also handles the guitar duties for Horizon, and his guitar licks are just as memorable as his voice. There are plenty of intricate solos and background guitar shredding throughout which are similar in style to Yngwie Malmsteen, but Hemer certainly does not make his guitar the central focus of the songs like Yngwie is known to do at times. Instead, the songs are focused around catchy melodies and superb vocals, supported by some impressive guitar work. There is heavy use of keyboards throughout which give the overall a slightly progressive atmosphere, yet at times I feel the keyboards are brought to the forefront of the music too much, most notably in Keep On Fighting. Not a huge complaint, but there are some catchy and forceful riffs in that song which are drowned out a bit by the keyboards. The first portion (seven tracks) of this disc is much stronger than the second part (last four tracks). After the brief into, the next six tracks are chalked full of catchy melodies, emotion, and energy. While the last four tracks aren’t bad, they simply don’t maintain the high standard set by the first half of the disc. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of great guitar work to be heard in tracks like Caught In The Middle, but the there are some boring moments during the last part of the disc as well. Atlantis is a nice instrumental, but it is over four minutes long which is a bit much. This track is followed up by So Long Ago which is a rather dull ballad lacking the emotion and memorable melody of Don’t Hide In The Shadows. Caught In The Middle is a goove laden hard rock tune, which again lacks the fire of much of the other songs despite some nice guitar shreds throughout. The disc closes out with the very mellow track The End. Again, I like a lot of the guitar work here, but I prefer the melodic and energetic quality found in other parts of this album. This is a very solid debut from Horizon despite the weak finish to the album. Aside from the brief intro, there are six tracks in a row that deliver a giant wall built of classy guitar solos, well placed shredding, and melodies that are sure to stick with you for a long time. Patrick Hemer is very gifted with his emotional and melodic voice as well as his talent to rip and shred with his guitar. In order to make a splash in the already overcrowded power metal market place, their followup album will need to maintain a high level of quality from beginning to end in order to compete with many other power metal acts out there. But, based on the many shining moments on this debut CD, I am confident that the band has the ability to release an album that kicks ass beginning to end. In the end, I recommend any power metal fan at least check this disc out as there are plenty of things to like about this band.