I Made My Own Hell
[Arise Records]

With so many power metal bands coming out of Scandinavia and Germany, it's nice to see an entry from the Iberian peninsula. Spain's Vhaldemar play a anthemic brand of Helloween/Hammerfall-esque power metal with a decidely neo-classical flavor and a bit of drama a la Manowar. Their second full-length, I Made My Own Hell, is a fairly decent entry into an overcrowded genre. Unlike many of these bands, Vhaldemar's vocals aren't super-high and annoying: They are the band's weak point, however.

Vhaldemar are an occasionally speedy band, with plenty of chops and anthemic, singalong choruses. They do slow things down quite a bit, with mixed results ("Death Comes Tonight" is great. "Old King's Visions (PartII) is not). Guitarist Pedro J.Monge has a very neo-classical sound to most of his playing, and he even throws in some cool nylon-string acoustic guitar parts as well. Drummer Edu Martinez is a fine player, with tight double bass runs and solid fills. The one weak point here is Carlos Escudero's vocals. He has a fairly low voice (sort of like Chuck Billy with a cold), although he does have an occasional Star Search moment. The problem is that he seems to alternate between singing and speaking, completely blurring the melodies at times. It's a shame, because many of tunes are quite catchy, and a better vocalist would make them so much better. Aside from the vocals, the lyrics are very bad. One look at the song titles should give you an indication of what I'm talking about. Escudero's lyrics are stiffer than Michael Jackson at a cub scout meeting. Here's a small example from "Breakin' All The Rules":

If you're looking for a nightmare
Here is a long wrong way
Just take another direction
Hear the voice and you will be

Revenger, an arrow
Revenger, 'cause an arrow
A black wish called me Satan
I can get it only if I just break

All the rules!
Breaking all the rules
All the rules!
Breaking all the rules

Ugh...
At least the production is excellent on I Made My Own Hell. Sporting a perfect mix and a fairly warm sound, it is how power metal should sound: tight, puchy, and well...powerful. There could be a bit more bass, however.

I really wish I could recommend this more highly, but the vocals just kill it for me. It's too bad, because these guys are great musicians and have some very catchy tunes. If you do attempt to pick this up, just try not to focus your attention on the lyrics or the singer. You'll be glad you did.