It’s kinda cool to have been doing this long enough to be a part of a band’s discography, at least from a standpoint of reviews. Such is the case with a band like Brainstorm and their newest offering Plague of Rats. Starting with 2014’s Firesoul I’ve reviewed each record since then. I am particularly fond of their 2018 offering Midnight Ghost. That’s not to say other works haven’t delivered, because they have. I just was entranced by that one. So I’m back and ready to rock with this one, let’s go!
Right away “False Memories” shot to #1 with a bullet. I love it! The cool tempo of “The Shepherd Girl (Gitavoginda)” easily makes this a winner for yours truly, while “Beyond Enemy Lines” is an absolute clinic in how you open a damn record, man alive! Meanwhile “Your Soul That Lingers in Me” has a big and meaty chorus any fan should love. Vocalist Andy B. Franck sounds better than ever and the guitar tandem of Torsten Ihlenfeld and Milan Loncaric is on fire, most notably on “Masquerade Conspiracy”. And as I say that the rhythm section of Dieter Bernert (drums) and Jim Ramses (bass) will surely thump your chest real quick two-time!
“From Hell” shows these guys doing what they do best: anthemic tunes that will have horns in the air from Germany to the U.S. (I should be so lucky!). Seriously this track is simply hellacious. “The Dark of Night” manages to be sinister while keeping things full of hooks. Wow. On an album chock full o’great tunes, the closing duo of “Crawling” and “Curtains Fall” delivers a great ending to the proceedings, the latter being a case study in soaring choruses and hooky guitars. Bottom line is this: Brainstorm have done it again and with Plague of Rats you’ll see they’ve continued to deliver excellent metal tunes to the masses.
Standout Tracks: “Curtains Fall” “From Hell”, “False Memories”, “The Shepherd Girl (Gitavoginda)” “Beyond Enemy Lines”.