[Cover artwork by Johannes Huemer, vocalist of Venator]
Dial the clock back to when we last gathered here in the hallowed halls of The Temple of Trad Metal and you will recall our focus was directed toward the band Power Surge and how they sidestepped “the current classic fantasy metal / Manilla Road fixation AND the temptation to mimic vocalists who’ve already been mimicked beyond reasonable human endurance“ on their debut, Shadow’s Warning.
To be clear, most anyone who considers themselves a student of the roots of heavy metal would likely never complain about an endless cavalcade of bands attempting to mirror the Manilla Roads, Iron Maidens and Judas Priests of yore in the modern age, but when a band approaches the trad design from a largely fresh perspective and does the deed nimbly? Sisters and brothers, that is like a cooooool breeze on a late August day in H, E, double fuckle sticks.
Van [deep breath] H A L E N?!?
~ “Eruption” eruption, followed forthwith by a long series of Diamond Dave whoops, squeals, yowzas and exaggerated splits ~
Right. So please make a note of the VH influence here, and understand that this approach to a traditional style of metal results in something that’s very satisfyingly… Uplifting? Joyous? Not in a Euro power metal way, mind you, but it’s simply refreshing and revitalizing. Gonna need you to turn your attention away from “Panama” and toward “Bermuda” for the spell to take full effect, though.
Feel that? The guitar tone alone is about as EVH as one can get without getting hit in the face with a bonafide Frankenstrat from any of your favorite—oh, I dunno—seven Van Halen albums? And that playful video conjures images of Y&T’s “Summertime Girls” and living amidst an age when people were more concerned with remembering where they stowed the Igloo cooler over the winter rather than being at each other’s throats 24/7. You know, in 1987 I was still largely interested in maximizing extremes with bands like Celtic Frost, but I also wasn’t afraid to crank the aforementioned Y&T’s Contagious when the summer months rolled in, because scowls must not always rule the day. (Ol’ Tom G must have felt similarly, as—love it or hate it—even he went tubin’ into 1988 with the weirdly merry Cold Lake.)
Anyway, I realize a significant portion of the apposite populace prefers metal to serve as a soundtrack to fighting 100 silverbacks, but your heart chakra will high-five the shit out of you for taking a break from being interminably grim for five minutes in favor of cranking In Search of Paradise while shopping for bootleg Cannibal Corpse beach towels.
All that being said, you should also NOT expect to walk into Van Halen III when dipping into this record. While the VH element makes appearances up and down In Search of Paradise, there are all manner of moods and influences slipping into the narrative, all while maintaining a comprehensive tone that’s firmly rooted in classic metal.
There are more shadowy corners, for example: “Glimpse of Gold” and “At the Shore,” both of which travel with a lighter footprint that, despite being a touch darker, still never manage to feel outright somber. If you’re interested in an apt comparison, I might underscore the way a band like the Scorpions once managed to capture that unique ‘introspective touring life ballad’ a hundred years ago. “Holiday,” basically: Moody and meditative, sure, but still… content and positively melodic.
Another windfall here is the fact that Küenring—now scaled back to just three members—very much delivers in that classic power trio sense. Accordingly, each player is afforded an abundance of room to get jiggy with it, where ‘jiggy’ refers to an innate ability to bounce off one another through all manner of twists, turns and sprints. Top flight guitar work aside, the drumming here is punchy, invigorating and creative, without giving the impression that you’re about to get walloped by an unnecessary 10-minute solo. And holy frijoles, that bass play… The bass guitar is as integral to the success of this record as it was for the equally as umlauted Motörhead.
And yes, despite operating fairly comfortably under a hard rockin’ trad metal umbrella similar to, say, Freeways, there is room for exploration that bends genres to the point of breaking, which absolutely adds to the album’s overall creativeness. I wouldn’t necessarily grant it a ‘prog’ tag, but there are definitely moments here and there where it wouldn’t be such a stretch to hear Geddy Lee drop a few bars over one of those plush bass breakouts. You want adventurous? The title track jumps from the gate with an absolutely funky bass before somehow settling into something that sounds like Live (the band) colliding with the NWOBHM. THAT IS ABSOLUTELY NOT ALLOWED… to sound this good.
So, should In Search of Paradise be required listening for you, the oh-so astute consumer of the hard AND the heavy? Well, if you’ve made it this far, I’m guessing you already have your answer. Just to recap, though: If you’re looking for something that sounds old(ish) in a novel way—most notably in a Frankenstrat sorta way—Küenring’s unique approach here should definitely ping your radar. And upping the ante even further, it’s all rendered in a notably ‘live in the studio’ spirit that amplifies the overall energy a few notches higher, so I suspect Küenring delivers in spades from the stage as well. In short, there’s really not much of a downside to diving right in, so maybe you should just get to the business of cramming this ripper into your bloody beautiful ears. Everybody wants some! Baby, how ’bout you?
