For some reason, I had it in my head that a band called The Ferrymen would have some relationships with folk metal, but no, I was quite wrong. As I was being blasted away by some of the best shredding melodic metal I had heard for a while I had a look to see who was involved, and it all became clear. The man at the back of the band is none other than Mike Terrana, whose mohawk has been seen driving many bands onto heavier and greater things, and who I will always associate with Rage (he once memorably declared that the band name stood for Russian, American, German and Energy). The Dio-style singer is Ronnie Romero, who was chosen by Ritchie to front Rainbow when he put a version of the band together for the reunion shows, and everything else is Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear, Magnus Karlsson's Free Fall).
This is melodic metal, fusing the songwriting and epic structures of the Allen/Lande (for which Magnus Karlsson was the main architect of the first three widely praised releases) with Ronnie’s vocal style to create something that is quite special indeed. Magnus is a great guitarist, and loves to show off his shredding skills with Malmsteen-style pace and attack, but there is always room for the songs themselves to live and breathe. Even though Magnus provides the songs, guitars, bass and keyboards he ensures that he hasn’t taken over proceedings, and that each person has the room to show just how important they are to the project.
Simply put, this is one of the most stunning melodic metal debuts I’ve come across, but one wouldn’t really expect anything else given the quality of those involved. If you enjoy this style of music then this is essential, ‘nuff said.
