Heavenly Carpe Diem
by Joe Mis
Staff Writer
If Queen did power metal, the resulting album would probably sound much like Carpe Diem, the latest release from the French band Heavenly. With roots going back to Paris in 1994 and a ten year long discography, Heavenly continues to put out metal influenced by the likes of Helloween and Gamma Ray, among others. The music is big, bold and brash with many over-the-top orchestral passages and extreme tempo changes – not to mention a dose of some Beethoven – and it is all delivered with passion and enthusiasm.
This fifth studio release from Heavenly is primarily the child of lead vocalist Benjamin Sotto, who gets the “all songs written and composed by…” credit. The album is mostly European style power metal, although some tracks are a bit more straight-up rock or even pop-metal with power metal elements rolled in. Ben Sotto has a great voice, a decent range and an incredible high falsetto that he uses well coming across as almost operatic at times. His lyrics are a bit ostentatious but tend to be of a positive tone. Charley Corbiaux and Olivier Lapauze make a very capable guitar duo, handling everything from the traditional power metal riffs to the softer acoustic style passages with precision and grace. They lay down energetic and tone-appropriate solos and work well with the guys at the bottom end. Matthieu Plana is a fine bass player and gets to show off his chops early and often, while Thomas “Piwee” Das Neves drum tracks range from subtle and syncopated to truly manic double bass without missing a beat (pun intended). The musicianship is technically excellent from beginning to end.
The CD opens with the title track of “Carpe Diem,” a solid power metal track that is marred by a pornographic collection of moans at the start – something very out of place with the tone of the album and totally unnecessary. Once you get through the aural porn, the song features some great guitar work from the solo to the rhythm line. “Lost In Your Eyes” drifts into more commercial, almost pop metal with an extended guitar solo.
“Farewell” pushes into the absurd a bit with an overuse of falsetto vocals, goofy lyrics and heavy keyboards, as if the band decided to channel Queen. “Full Moon” is perhaps the high point of the album, and features great vocals, an incredible bass line and well executed tempo changes in a song that is almost mainstream metal. “A Better Me” once again brings out comparisons with Queen with good keys, bouncy rhythms and solid vocals. “Ashen Paradise” starts with a big orchestral opening and then becomes a very riffy and energetic song with great double bass drumming and a bridge section that sounds like it was lifted right out of Judas Priest’s “Painkiller.”
“The Face Of The Truth” and “Save Our Souls” are solid slower tracks with interesting lyrics and solid musicianship, while “Ode To Joy” takes one of the world’s most loved classical pieces and twists it into a full on metal rocker.
The production and engineering are as one would expect from the Eurometal world – very crisp, very clean and engineered to the point of sterility. The vocals are understandable, the instruments well balanced, and the bottom end audible without being pounding.
All in all, Carpe Diem is a mixed bag. Heavenly seems to have captured the positive and fun-loving spirit of Queen and brought it into their music, and much like Queen they never seem to take themselves too seriously. Somehow though, many tracks on Carpe Diem manage to be great and annoying at the same time due to excessively cheesy lyrics, a tone just a bit too over the top, or overuse of keyboards and falsetto – but the strengths definitely outnumber the weaknesses making this album an overall positive experience.
Power or progressive metal fans will enjoy the album as long as they are not expecting something pure to the genre, or anything groundbreaking. Queen fans might get a kick out of some of the tracks and will appreciate the upbeat nature of the lyrics and music. If you are into good vocals and solid guitars, pick this one up. If you are looking for pure high-energy power metal go elsewhere.
Label: AFM
Web: www.myspace.com/heavenlyofficial , www.heavenly.fr/
Track Listing:
01 – Carpe Diem
02 – Lost In Your Eyes
03 – Farewell
04 – Full Moon
05 – A Better Me
06 – Ashen Paradise
07 – The Face Of Truth
08 – Ode To Joy
09 – Save Our Souls
Hardrock Haven Rating: 7.5/10