Review: Serious Black – Rise of Akhenaton

AFM Records (September 27^th, 2024)

Reviewer: Jason Hopper

Serious Black is back with their sixth full-length studio album, ‘Rise of Akhenaton’. This is their second release with singer Nikola Mijic, with the band looking to capitalize on the momentum of their well-received previous album ‘Vengeance is Mine’.

For me, the album contains a few standout tracks. ‘We Are the Storm’ has that great metal style marching beat led by the double hits to the drum’s high hat and the band chugging along. It’s the type of song that bands like Battle Beast and Sabaton are known for.

 ‘Take Your Life’ takes a mid-tempo approach, with verses that slowly build to a powerful chorus. A song about unleashing “the power of rock n’ roll”, it’s sure to be a crowd pleaser when played live. The band does a respectable version of ‘I Will Remember’, a cover of the Toto track, adding some “umph” to the song without compromising its heartfelt meaning.

‘Silent Angel’ starts out strong as a moody D string chugging rocker but is mismatched by a chorus that leans toward pop sensibilities, undercutting the strength of the song. Even a thick sounding bridge going into the solo can’t redeem the song. Quite a shame really, but when the heart of the song is compromised, it can affect the entire body of the song.  

Finally, the band cuts loose with closing track ‘Metalized’, which sounds like something Hammerfall could write in their sleep. While it’s effective, it’s admittedly familiar and certainly the type of rhythmic pattern heard countless times, which leads me to my next point.

I must admit this was not an easy review for me to write up. While I think the album has a solid set of songs, after several playthroughs, I still struggled to remember individual tracks. The songs are good and well-constructed, but do not resonate. I stepped away from this album for a few days and then returned to it, only to find the same issues. The songs fade from my memory, and I find that the next day I have trouble recalling what they sound like. Nothing sticks in my head and plays in my mind, like a strong song should. Their previous release had more standout tracks, with ‘Tonight I’m Ready to Fight’ remaining one of my favorite songs from the band. It could be that the songs are just all too familiar re-treads of everything else that is out there. The band sounds like an amalgamation of every other similar type of power metal band. Hopefully for their next album, they will be able to tap into what makes the band unique from others in the genre and construct songs that can help the band stand out amongst their peers.

Tracklist:

1. Open Your Eyes
2. We Are the Storm
3. Silent Angel
4. Take Your Life
5. Shields of Glory
6. When I’m Gone
7. United
8. Rise of Akhenaton
9. Virtual Reality
10. I Will Remember
11. Metalized

Line-up:

Nikola Mijic (Vocals)

Dominik Sebastian (Guitar)

Bob Katsionis (Guitar)

Mario Lochert (Bass)

Rami Ali (Drums)

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