Feelingless - Metal Against Animal Cruelty

In his youth, Hugo Markaida discovered The Metal Opera Pt. 1″ by Avantasia and was blown away. The idea of creating a concept album with various guest voices fascinated him and left him completely. During the pandemic, the Rise To Fall guitarist revisited this while also wanting to draw attention to an important matter. When Feelingless he combines prominent melodic death voices and continues with the programmatically titled „Metal Against Animal Cruelty“ for animal rights.

Scene veterans step in and out on this record, with Björn “Speed” Strid leading the way. The frontman of Soilwork and The Night Flight Orchestra is in the best of moods on his two tracks. The opening “Feelingless” is the kind of song you’ve been hoping for from his main band for a while – brash, brute force yet melodic. A massive, anthemic chorus provides the action with an oversized loop. On the other hand, “Guilt” lives mainly from its playful guitar work. The brooding, bold verses come off really well.

For the closing “Anxiety” Markaida invited his bandmate Dalay Tarda into the studio. Here the melodic sections sometimes transition into more classic Metal areas, all around roasting heaviness reigns. On the other hand, Christian Älvestam (Solution .45) ran with the usual vehemence. The balancing act to the semi-balladesque main part is reminiscent of Killswitch Engage in the best sense of the word. Jon Howard (Threat Signal) pukes up really good in “Anguish” and gets the steamroller rolling. Hoarse, angry screams and shouts know how to entertain. The wonderfully catchy “Pride” with harmony voice Daniel Heiman, which once again squints into more traditional metal realms, is also good fun.

Of course, in the course of these almost 50 minutes, there are many a repetition, which can hardly be avoided in this area. Feelingless stand for more modern melodic death metal with catchy moments, clear vocals and catchy melodies. Anyone who likes this sound will love “Metal Against Animal Cruelty” – fantastic voices, entertaining songwriting and a real who’s who make common cause for an important matter. Strong thing from Markaida and hopefully not a flash in the pan.

Rating: 8/10

Available from: 02.12.2022
Available from: Noble Demon (Soulfood Music)

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