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CRYSTAL BALL ‘Time Walker’ Nuclear Blast(2005)
Every time I get my hands on a promo of a band that I’ve never listened to before, I do so with the hope that I will be introduced to something different and interesting. When I came across Crystal Ball’s fifth studio release, I realised that an album doesn’t have to be innovative in order to be exciting: all it takes is proper chemistry between the members of the band, and a good understanding of how to successfully combine different musical ideas and influences. That is the exact formula from which each and every of the eleven compositions featured in “Time Walker” was created.
Listening to “Time Walker” was a very enjoyable experience and that’s not due to flamboyant instrumental demonstrations by the members of the band, or even an image-based attitude, which is quite typical for bands of this genre. The music of Crystal Ball is a mixture of melodic hard rock tunes and solid heavy/power metal riffs, whose straight-forwardness and immense power is enough to demolish anything that stands in their way. Songs like the opener “Digital World”, the charging “Tear Down the Wall” and the grandiose “Powerflight” are the ideal soundtrack for every Accept and Saxon fan – something that was justified by the fact that the production duties of the album were handled by the living legend Stefan Kaufmann (ex-Accept, UDO), who once again did a really good job.
There is also a more melodic side to the music of Crystal Ball which is better revealed in the amazing Thunderesque melodies of “Mozart Symphony” (listen to the band vocals during the main chorus and the refrain, but also in the four minute composition “The Eye of The Storm” which is dangerously influenced by both the sounds and musical vision of Deep Purple. The five musicians sound very tight and Mark Sweeney’s voice may not be amongst the most inspirational in the history of music, but it sounds like a heavier version of Mike Tramp’s (White Lion), and I believe is ideal for this style of music.
In general, the songs of “Time Walker” left me with the best of impressions, with the only exception of “Celebration”, which is a cheesy and actually quite boring mid-tempo power metal song, and “Sensational” that would have been more fitting on the new Stratovarious album. I do believe that, if these two songs were not included in the album, I would have no hesitation in giving “Time Walker” a higher rating.
The members of Crystal Ball have managed to record a good quality album that is on a par with other releases from Swiss outfits like Krokus and Gotthard. If you enjoy decent Hard Rock and classic Heavy Metal music, you will soon realise that “Time Walker” is an album that deserves your full attention. I hope that you’ll enjoy listening to it as much as I did!
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Review by John Stefanis
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