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Review: Brainstorm - Downburst
Brainstorm
www.brainstorm-web.net
Downburst

Label: Metal Blade Records
Year released: 2008
Duration: 43:21
Tracks: 10
Genre: Heavy/Power Metal

Rating:
4/5


Review online: December 19, 2007
Reviewed by: Michel Renaud
Readers' Rating
How do you rate this release?

Rated 3.9/5 (77.93%) (29 Votes)
Review

I had only heard "Liquid Monster" from this band before this, back around the time it was released, and I didn't even bother to listen to it more than once.  Needless to say, I don't remember what it sounded like. :)  "Downburst" is a mix of Heavy and Power Metal that reminds me a lot of some of Primal Fear's material.  The album is very upbeat, pretty "positive sounding" overall, with only a few passages that sound a little bit darker, but not much - this is not music to get depressed to.  The vocal work is often not unlike what you'd hear from Halford or Scheepers when they're singing in lower keys (you won't get any comparable higher pitch here), and sometimes sounding more "sober", in a hard rock-ish kind of way (there's a little Dokken vibe from time to time).  I could almost go as far as to say that the vocals are the highlight of the album, as the singer does an excellent job at driving the songs here - whether they call for an aggressive or very melodic style, but the guitar work does come in a very close second, with some very headbangable, or at the very least catchy riffage popping up all over the place.  Unfortunately, the drum sound is a bit thin at times.  The keyboards can be an annoyance here, however, sometimes way too present and giving some of the songs kind of a fruity sound.  Elsewhere they keyboards are more in the background and do a better job at enhancing the atmosphere - I just wish they had stuck to that.

"Downburst" won't win any awards for originality, but it's a fun, catchy album to listen to, with more than its share of decent Heavy/Power Metal.

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