HAMKA
“MULTIVERSAL”
Album Review By Iron Mathew

8/10

Hamka are a female fronted symphonic metal band from France formed in 2003 by guitarist Willdric Lievin and singer Elisa C. Martin, after they departed the power metal band Fairyland. Hamka released the ‘Exodus’ demo in 2004, followed by their first full length album ‘Unearth’ in 2006. The band went quiet for a few years, filled with different projects, jobs and family matters, before resurfacing in 2013 with three new members, and releasing ‘Earth’s Call’ as a single, later that same year. 2017 sees the release of the bands second album ‘Multiversal’.

An atmospheric and crescendo building opening sees ‘One Way Journey To The Unknown’ lead into the opening song ‘World War III’, a galloping slice of power metal, with a much lighter and melodic feel than either of the American or European styles of power metal, both of which feature more heaviness and much more power. This is mainly due to the symphonic edge that Hamka have, with ‘Earth’s Call’ a melodic march of foot tapping addictiveness. ‘Earth’s Call’ is catchy and sing a long able, with a huge AOR influence too. Hamka like to introduce Ethnic music influences into their songs, and as the album progresses you can detect many of these. Adopting a heavier feel than the opening two songs, ‘Hope’ takes on the mantle of a mid tempo hard rock foot stomp. And believe me when I say, you will find yourself involuntarily nodding your head too, such is the infectiousness of ‘Hope’. With a sudden change of pace, ‘Inner Conviction’ sets a scorching trail as it flies along with energy and urgency, the mighty European power metal style coming to the fore. This style doesn’t last too long though as ‘Dark Night Falls’ brings the bands symphonic tendencies to the surface. The most symphonic sounding vocal performance on the album so far, ‘Dark Night Falls’ swaggers on its way.

As ‘Seaquest’ opens, the vibe and feel is that of a night time tribal meeting, with fires burning and wild dancing. AOR influenced with a touch of pop rock, ‘Seaquest’ is a wandering journey of varying musical styles. ‘Modern Cowboys’ brings back the hard rock style as it strides along. Featuring a slightly darker and moodier streak than anything heard so far, the chorus is a sing a long anthem style. ‘Burning Sands’ is a one minute (not for the first time) tribal sounding passage that leads straight into the heavy thump ‘The Path Of Pharaohs’. Foot stomping hard as it strides along majestically, ‘The Path Of Pharaohs’ takes on the epic style of heavy metal, and is a definite highlight of the album.

Catchy and infectious, ‘Orkanain’s Lands’ brings an injection of energy and tempo back to the album. A foot tappingly addictive rhythm keeps ‘Orkanian’s Lands’ moving along, paving the way for the thundering slab of hard rock ‘Seed Of A New World’. Heavier and harder with a much sharper edge than anything else on the album, ‘Seed Of A New World’ is all hustle and bustle. Head banging rather than head nodding will accompany this one. The instrumental ‘Multiversal Universe’ is over seven minutes of a wide ranging spectrum of influences. Twanging its way into life, ‘Multiversal Universe’ stands tall and proudly marches on its way, meandering this way and that. With so many twists and turns along its travels, the listener has no idea which musical path the song will take next. After almost an hour of music, the album plays out to its end with the theatrical and chilling ‘An End On Earth’.

Overall, power metal of the lighter variety, with an AOR influence, the album will keep your feet tapping and head nodding from start to finish.

TRACKLIST

One Way Journey To The Unknown
World War III
Earth’s Call
Hope
Inner Conviction
Seaquest
Modern Cowboys
Burning Sands
The Path Of Pharoahs
Orkanain’s Lands
Seed Of A New World
Multiversal Universe
An End On Earth

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