Galneryus have been known to approach their music with different elements in every album that they create. Unfortunately, for them, it’s like arguing that the sky isn’t blue. Some may argue that they don’t try to expand their sound, because of that reoccurring problem of staying consistent with their brand of neo-classical power metal. Yeah, it's good.Īny Galneryus album is a straightforward Galneryus album. Ranking it against the other Sho era albums, it likely beats out the last couple, but is perhaps a slight step below “Phoenix Rising”.Review Summary: Japanese neo-classical power metal. “ Into The Purgatory” is a nearly flawless execution of the band’s sound. Their appearance at ProgPower USA led to an entire year of listening to their discography, and finding a new favourite band. While I always knew of Galneryus, I avoided them for all of the above-mentioned reasons. The longer you are into a particular style of music, it often feels like there are no top-tier bands left to discover.
The truth is that this many albums into their career, things start to sound incredibly familiar (but by no means overdone). There’s not a single dud on this record, and while the songs do blend together somewhat, the melodies are all memorable while they’re on. “ Into The Purgatory” leans more towards the side of being consistently great. While there really aren’t any bad Galneryus songs, some albums are more consistent than others. There can often be a wide disparity in quality. Galneryus albums tend to be relatively formulaic in terms of the types of songs that show up on each album. He’s perhaps at his best on ballads, and though there is just a sole softer song this time around, it manages to be an obvious highlight. He can hit the wild screams when needed, but often soars atop the rest of the band in a tamer manner. His voice is incredibly smooth, clearly coming from the Michael Kiske/Geoff Tate sphere of influence.
The man is an ageless wonder, as he sounds better than ever. The result is something that continues to feel unique despite being the same tropes the band has played with for the better part of a decade.īeyond the brilliance of Syu, the other biggest draw to Galneryus is lead vocalist Sho. The intricate patterns are often matched by the keyboards, the bass, or both. Megadeth would be a good point of comparison from a sheer technicality perspective, although these bands obviously have quite different styles. The riffs are often complex and almost feel like solos that are played on the lower strings rather than typical riffs. This style of playing also returns on the epic ballad “ Remain Behind”, and provides some contrast to the busier guitar work that dominates the remainder of the album.ĭespite the earlier mentions of Galneryus being high-flying, they opt for more complex rhythm guitar work than just 16 th note abuse.
Beyond his technical skills (which are on full display on many of the remaining tracks), he is capable of writing immensely powerful and melodic guitar lines. Much like all Galneryus albums in the Sho era, “ Into The Purgatory” kicks off with an intense emotional instrumental that demonstrates why Syu is perhaps the best guitar player in all of metal. For this reason, if “ Into The Purgatory” is your twelfth Galneryus record, you know exactly what to expect if it’s your first, welcome aboard! This is the perfect storm of ingredients for an underrated band. The band’s albums are also near impossible to acquire outside of Japan without spending a fortune, and their touring outside their homeland is limited.
Many of their lyrics are in Japanese, with only occasional lines in English (though they tend to be the choruses). And yet, their appeal feels much narrower. They’re unquestionably one of the top groups in the style that can compete on any level with the likes of Stratovarius, Helloween, Edguy or others. Amongst those in the know, they’re highly worshipped for being the shreddy, high-flying power metal band that delivers on everything fans of the style want.