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Expedition One
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Expedition One |
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| Metalite are a melodic power metal band from Sweden formed in 2015, releasing four albums to date - 'Heroes In Time' (2017), 'Biomechanicals' (2019), 'A Virtual World' (2021), and 'Expedition One' (2024)... | ||||||
| ...featuring a phenomenal sixteen songs over an incredible sixty seven minute run time! The powerhouse metallers from Stockholm - featuring Edwin Premberg (guitar), Robert Majd (bass), Lea Larsson (drums), Robert Ornesved (guitar), and Erica Ohlsson (vocals) - continue their meteoric rise to the forefront of the worldwide power metal scene. The new album is the third to feature the incredible vocal talent of Ohlsson - an album that's actually a concept album! As Premberg explains, "it's about human evolution and the fact that we permanently go for the easy way out, even when it's evidently not our best option". And across every song on offer, the band are elegant, majestic, and powerful, combining their power metal roots with balladry, pop, and pomp! The title song 'Expedition One' gets the album underway in typical barnstorming Metalite fashion, the band galloping forth with all the gusto in the world to deliver an infectious and immediate burst of energy! And the vocals of lead singer Ohlsson are just incredible... | ||||||
| ...the singers fabulous figure gracing every one of the three Metalite albums she's appeared on! And back in the year 2000, Australian pop princess Kylie Minogue wore a short pair of gold hot-pants in her video for hit single 'Spinning Around', causing a major stir in men all over the world - Ohlsson causing an even bigger stir with her short, black leather hot-pants! But it's not just Ohlsson's hot-pants causing a stir, her vocal prowess is out of this world, intoxicating listeners everywhere, the album storming on with the electro-pop metal driven 'Aurora' - the infectious level doubling from the opening salvo! Metalite are on fucking fire, delivering an explosive double to send shockwaves all around the planet, seismic activity recorded in all one hundred and ninety five countries of the world! Heavying things up but losing absolutely none of the albums phenomenal melodious intent, 'CtrlAltDel' powers on with the highest head bang-able level out of 'Expedition One's (the album) first three songs. A stunning threesome that has me a little worried I won't be able to find enough superlatives to complete my review - thank the Lord for the thesaurus eh! And with an electrifying upturn in pace and power, Metalite roar on with 'Cyberdome', planting their feet firmly on the monitor to blend the traditional heavy metal gallop with the bands impeccable power metal roots - 'Expedition One' (the album) sizzling with energy and panache! | ||||||
| All bar one of the sixteen songs on offer clock in at under five minutes in length, paving the way for a fast moving, breathless album of all out fervour - the Swedish sensation a relentless metal machine with an unbeatable hunger to deliver the best music they can! And believe me when I say the band are living and breathing that hunger, 'Expedition One' (the album) building on what its two predecessors achieved - Metalite keeping the pedal firmly pressed to the metal as 'Blazing Skies' hurtles down the motorvag at incredible speed! Yet the band hit the brakes to adopt a highly anthemic swagger, switching tempo and pace a number of times as 'Blazing Skies' roars to a finish! I tell ya readers, if you're looking for an album to accompany you at your next gym session, this is the one to have - there's just so much energy pouring outta 'Expedition One' (the album) you can't fail to have a great workout! I'm just sat here typing away furiously trying to keep up with the (albums) relentless pace, yet I feel so pumped, it's un-fucking-believable! Now I don't actually know what Metalite stands for (if anything), but I reckon it could easily stand for "breath taking" - the breath taking barrage of power metal marching on with an incredible pop-metal aura courtesy of 'Outer Worlds', the Swedish five piece maintaining the sky high intensity level the album began with! An album that began superbly and has just gotten better and better, 'New Generation' bringing a heavy, mid tempo thunder to the fore, shuddering the ground with immense force, shaking walls and reducing buildings to rubble! | ||||||
| The power and oomph oozing from 'Expedition One' (the album) is rising to new heights of incredibleness, 'In My Dreams' gliding in, projecting a hymn-like come balladry atmosphere, the band reining in all their energy for a lighters in the air moment - allowing every listener a breather from the albums unforgiving breathless rampage! A rampage that's far from over - we've only just passed the halfway mark! The sizzling hot energy makes an emphatic return in the shape of 'Disciples Of The Stars', striding on with shoulders back and head held high - the band parading around the power metal genre as if they own the place! And right here, right now, Metalite do own the place - setting 2024's standard for power metal! A standard which is gonna be very hard to beat, the band laying down the gauntlet to every power metal outfit around the world - 'Expedition One' (the album) staking a very strong claim for the Album Of The Year title. And yes, I realise the year is only a month old, but if Metalite are not right up there come the end of the year, it'll be the biggest travesty since 1989 when firm favourites Metallica lost out to Jethro Tull for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards! 1989 eh - I doubt any member of Metalite can remember that long ago, most of them I believe, only ten years old or younger back then! I however, was nineteen and an avid fan of Metallica! Boy do I feel old sometimes, yet with bands like Metalite around oozing boundless energy and youthful exuberance, there's absolutely no fucking way I'm accepting my advancing years and the daily appearance of more grey hairs! 'Free' is a bombastic masterclass, immensely melodic and fantastically infectious, maintaining the albums phenomenal magnetic pull - pulling every listener everywhere into the bands soundscape. A soundscape where I've been living and thoroughly enjoying the bands music since their debut release in 2017! | ||||||
| That's seven years of jaw dropping power metal from the formidable Swedes - the bands stellar rise to greatness nothing short of stunning - 'Legendary' clocking in at exactly five minutes in length, making it the longest song on offer and the only one to breach the five minute mark! And what a song! The boldest, most blunt and in your face offering on the album, for the first fifty seconds anyway, breaks loose with the bands familiar warmth and wondrous power metal panache. Now I don't know about you, but I haven't stopped grinning from ear to ear since the album began, the happiness level pouring outta 'Expedition One' (the album) is overly contagious, and I defy anyone not to be smiling right now! And it's not just the cat walk looks of Ohlsson that's making me grin so much either, the music is eargasmic too, the entire band performing at the top of their game to take every listener, fan and follower to power metal paradise! The purpose and intent driving the pace of the album is spectacular, 'Paradise' powering on with just a hint of eighties/nineties dance music - Metalite masters of incorporating elements of pop into their root metal sound! Such versatility is dazzling, the band continuing to surprise and delight - I can hear thuds from all over the world as the jaws of every listener drop to the floor with an accompanying torrent of drool! What a remarkable album - an album that still has four songs remaining, the first of which 'Sanctum Of Light', hits you fairly and squarely right bang in the middle of the forehead, striding on with a majestic elegance not heard previously - the band entering the realm of cinematic metal, elevating their sound to encroach on symphonic metal territory! Territory I'd never expected Metalite to enter, but here we are, the band proudly parading a bigger, much wider sound than ever before! | ||||||
| The excitement level since 'Expedition One' (the album) began, has constantly remained higher than the Kista Science Tower (in Stockholm), keeping listeners permanently hooked - hooked to an album that's as near to perfection as you can get! And with an eerie, almost menacing intro, 'Utopia' sends shivers down the spine as it glides effortlessly through the air, creating an atmosphere of awe and anticipation, bringing listeners right to the very edge of euphoria - yet denying a climactic finish! Only because 'Utopia' is an instrumental, a fucking great instrumental with only one thing missing - the gorgeous voice of Ohlsson! But have no fear readers, the Swedish stunner makes a welcome return for 'Take My Hand' - and when the Stockholm beauty sings "take my hand, I'll take you to the promised wonderland, together we will fly so high, for eternity my friend just you and I", my heart skips a fucking beat! Or two! If only I had the chance to take your hand Erica, we'd live in "perfect harmony just you and me". Bringing a superb album to a close, 'Hurricane' is a fabulous finale, full of pace and power with more pull than Earth's gravitational force! Metalite have delivered an uplifting array of songs that hit the sweet spot with sensational accuracy - and I for one am totally in love with this band! And with Erica! | ||||||
| Overall, a mesmerising and immensely infectious march of melodic power metal, 'Expedition One' is as perfect an album as you could ever wish for. | ||||||
| Review by Iron Mathew Collins | ||||||
| Reviewed for Metal Gods TV | ||||||
| Other Reviews | ||||||
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| Heroes In Time | ||||||
| "a breathless breeze of power metal, blended with a touch of melodic hard rock, Metalite deliver an exhilarating and energising album" Read Review | ||||||
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| Biomechanicals | ||||||
| "a superb and extremely exciting album of highly energetic power metal, infectious and catchy, and a phenomenally addictive listen" Read Review | ||||||
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| A Virtual World | ||||||
| "an awesome display of power metal from one of the most exciting bands to have emerged in recent years" Read Review | ||||||
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| Live At Sweden Rock Festival 2022 E.P. | ||||||
| "an energetic and ground shuddering live performance from a band at the top of their game - simply superb" Read Review | ||||||
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