Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

With their third album, "Eternity," German melodic metal band Freedom Call has gained several new fans in my neck of the woods - like everybody that's heard the album! It was immediately obvious it originated in Germany by how it sounds. The anthemic feel of the vocal backed by major speed metal instrumentals is very different than what I'm used to. The first song, "Metal Invasion," starts off with a Gregorian choir backed by an organ, which kind of threw me at first, but when this song takes off, wow! Tremendous melodies and harmonies from the choir delivered in clipped, anthem fashion are followed by an amazing keyboard instrumental backed with a drum in like 16/16 time then joined by the clear, strong vocal of Chris Bay singing the main melody - and that's just in the first 40 seconds! The sentiment expressed in this song sure matches my own, ". . . All hail to the Gods of creation/ All hail to the king of the world/ All hail to the metal invasion/ A heavenly kingdom on earth . . ."

There are 8 more songs that are similar in pacing, instrumentals and vocals to the first one, but they are NOT like hearing the same song over and over. However, the other 2 songs are power ballads and different than anything the band has done previously. It's also the first time the band has used acoustic guitars. Everything about these track is just awesome. First is "Bleeding Heart," which opens with Hammond organ and then a quiet piano backing a beautiful vocal that expands to include the whole band. "Turn Back Time," the final track, almost sounds like an ancient folk song in places, while the chorus tugs at the heartstrings both melodically and lyrically, " . . . If I could turn back time/ Ease my desire/ I'll always remember the sadness I've seen in your eyes . . ." I could go on and on about this album, but my space is limited. If you're a hard rock or metal fan, this album is like a dream come true.