FREEDOM CALL – Ages Of Light – Best Of (2CD SPV)
Melodic rockers Freedom Call celebrate their 15th anniversary with a decent best of, the first disc containing 18 tracks from across their career, not a bad one here.
While largely considered a power metal band, they are more melodic an and slightly operatic than their contemporaries , the songs often anthemic with big vocal harmonies. Singer / guitarist Chris Bay has been the band’s main stay since 1998 and the set includes We Are One from the band’s 1999 debut, and Freedom Call (Crystal Empire) is one of the most fantastic metal numbers you’ll ever hear. There’s a live version of Metal Invasion, the bouncy Far Away, the metallic Mr Evil, and the more gothic Tears Of Babylon and Thundergod. And the live Perfect Day really gets your head nodding too.
Riffs and solos aplenty with big anthemic vocals, if you don’t any (or many) Freedom Call albums this is an essential album, and that’s before the second disc. Featuring members past and present, several classic Freedom Call numbers are reworked, in quite different styles, from campfire strumming to ska and reggae. Sounds mad I know but highly enjoyable. 9/10
Joe Geesin