Reviewed: April 2022
Released: January 2022, Frontiers Music
Rating: 4.5/5
Reviewer: Buddy H
Magnus Karlsson has to be one of the hardest working musicians in the entire metal community! He is on some sort of new music release every single year. Last year, he teamed up with Anette Olzon on her extraordinary release, STRONG. After what appears to be little to no rest at all, Magnus is back with The Ferrymen’s fantastic third release, ONE MORE RIVER TO CROSS.
If you are familiar with any of the multitude of projects that this prolific artist has been involved with (Primal Fear, Allen/Lande, Place Vendome, and the extensive list goes on and on…), then you know exactly what to expect. The Ferrymen deliver superbly crafted, guitar driven, melodic European power metal. Joining Magnus on this wonderfully indulgent album is vocalist Ronnie Romero (Lords Of Black, Sunstorm, Rainbow) and drummer Mike Terrana (Rage, Axel Rudi Pell). The musical chemistry between these gentlemen is immediately on full display and their individual performances are nothing short of virtuosic. As you would expect, the production is absolutely crystal clear, and the album sounds stunning.
The songs are not just vehicles used to display Magnus’s guitar prowess. Each tune holds marvelous, masterfully crafted melody lines, riffs, hooks, and solos. Ronnie’s vocals are strikingly melodic and soulful and delivered with enormous power and control. Terrana’s thunderous drums superbly and effortlessly drive the album from start to finish. Each song is like a separate scene to a fantastic movie, contributing to the overall enormously impressive final product. My favorite tracks seem to change each time I listen to ONE MORE RIVER TO CROSS. The album flows seamlessly and there are no weak songs to be found. Current standouts include the spectacular lead off track “One Word”, the thundering “City Of Hate”, the ultra-catchy “Hunt Me To The End Of The World”, and the epic power metal anthem “Bringers Of The Dark”.
With ONE MORE RIVER TO CROSS, Magnus, Ronnie and Mike have gifted us brilliant power metal compositions with stellar vocals and musicianship throughout. The album is sprawling and epic. Devote some time to just sit back and truly absorb all that is being presented by these immensely talented artists. This is a fantastic album from start to finish and has set an extremely high bar already in early 2022 for future releases this year. This will rank very high on my year end Best Of list. Pick this up without hesitation!
Track Listing:
1. One Word
2. The Last Wave
3. Shut It Out
4. City Of Hate
5. One More River To Cross
6. Morning Star
7. Hunt Me To The End Of The World
8. Bringers of The Dark
9. The Other Side
10. The Last Ship
11. The Passenger
Lineup:
Ronnie Romero – Vocals
Magnus Karlsson – Guitars
Mike Terrana – Drums
www.facebook.com/TheFerrymenofficial/
