High Roller Records - 2023
7.5/10
Seeing that a band is from Sweden, makes heavy metal, and sports an album artwork like this, you can’t really blame me for immediately assuming it’s going to be the most generic ‘80s revival album I’ve heard since a few days ago. While a little of that is true of Air Raid, I’ll consider myself pleasantly surprised. Fatal Encounter is the band’s fourth outing, once more displaying my lateness to the game. Despite maybe not being the most top-notch stuff I’ve ever heard, I found this to be rather enjoyable.
Much of that is owed to one factor; Air Raid does a splendid job of combining AOR-oriented ‘80s rock with power metal, breaking the mold of the same corny nonsense over and over again (while displaying a little bit of it anyway). Across the board, things remain as clear and concise as ever, if anything casting a poppier atmosphere due to the sugary melodies and nearly glam-like attitude. Yet, there’s no shortage of heavy riffs, loud drums, and screeching solos. Their guitarists have a pretty serious ear for technique, working in some classical influences on the likes of “One By One” and the “Sinfonia” interlude.
Outside of that, much of Fatal Encounter rests on the melancholic, self-reflective side. “In Solitude” is a bit obvious in its post-breakup moods, while others like “Edge Of A Dream” cast this energy into upbeat tempos for something different. Even “Lionheart” is an interesting one, feeling like a Joe Lynn Turner era Rainbow record clashed with the likes of Helloween. The attitude and voice reflects the former, while the makeup and drive reflects the latter to endless degrees. Perhaps the lead guitar structures even remind me of some of the later Deep Purple records as well.
It’s hard to ignore how obvious some of this feels, and including two covers was likely a bit much, but I guess at least they fit. For the most part, I would call this pretty enjoyable even if it isn’t something I’d go out of my way for too often. If nothing else, the Swedes certainly know how to convey emotion properly. Fans of any of the mentioned bands should at least see something redeemable, or those that just can’t avoid hearing traditional metal revival albums at least once, like myself.
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