Vypera – Race of Time (Frontiers Music)
Wednesday, 14th June 2023
Originally hitting the scene in 2016 as Madhouse, these Swedish heavy metal/ hard rockers turned into Vypera, releasing their debut album Eat Your Heart Out last year. Almost a year to the day of the previous release, Race of Time appears to prove that this act will continue to develop solid performances dripping with influences from the 80’s bygone days, taking inspiration from a host of North American/European artists in the process. There’s an uplifting sense of pride as the catchy, upper tier vocal melodies match the blistering power chords and supportive bass/drum mechanics while the lead breaks dazzle in the ideal heroic mold.
The ease with which vocalist Andeas Wallström lights up the aural skyline in his main melody duties beyond supplementary multi-tracked harmonies during the key chorus highlights allows “Riding on the Wind” to be an early highlight – reminding this scribe of the first few Keel meets Icon records. Restrained acoustic lines beyond the bluesy register soon give way to a theatrical atmosphere with “Stormwind”, the electricity and orchestration nuances building to a killer emotive lead break from Cederick Forsberg. These musicians balance out the heavy metal to hard rock angles track by track, where you get the sense that Lizzy Borden or Rainbow matter just as much as W.A.S.P., King Kobra, Dokken, or others in that Sunset Strip realm in terms of specific main hook components plus the way they handle transitions for dynamic impact. When you want that fist banging anthem, look no further than “No Place for a Dreamer” – while getting your favorite vehicle locked and loaded into highway mode, “Speedin’” has those necessary rhythms / steady double kick motion beyond upper caliber vocal register work to get the job done.
Sometimes heavy music followers just want a record that isn’t going to force them to think too hard -enjoy the catchy songs, maybe hum a few bars from time to time, and kick back with friends to prepare them for a fun-loving time away from their day jobs. In that case, Race of Time from Vypera will provide those entertaining throwback moments, and that’s all one can hope for (and want) in a band of this style in 2023.
