A heavy metal band comprised of members from Finland, Hungary and Greece was always destined to take metal to the farthest reaches of glorious intertwined Europop. Power metal has for decades had its niche corner of catchy pop influenced song-writing, but could Beast In Black stick the landing? The third studio album from Beast In Black, Dark Connection is the culmination of this majestical purpose.
Following his departure from fellow power metal brethren Battle Beast, guitarist Anton Kabanen kicked off the Beast In Black journey with their debut album Berserker. With lightning fast riffing and soaring choruses from vocal behemoth Yannis Papadopoulos, a new group of heavy metal heroes were born. Whilst Berserker focussed primarily on the hard edged full bore side of power metal, tracks like Crazy, Mad, Insane laid the seed of where Beast In Black would ultimately culminate.
2019’s From Hell With Love took their evolution one step further. Whilst losing a little of the sharp energy of their bombastic debut, their evolution was on full display. Embracing a little more of the tongue-in-cheek frivolity that clearly courses through their veins, they popularity continued to ascend. At this point we normally expect a moment when it all falls in to place, when a statement album is born.
So now we get to 2021 with their third outing Dark Connection. The trajectory has been a steep incline for Beast In Black through 2 albums, does this continue with the completion of the trilogy, or crash back down to Earth? Our first hint of their new expedition was lead single Moonlight Rendezvous, with the synth’s on full display and a catchy chorus we now come to expect. No disappointment here, just repeated (and repeated) listening.
Moonlight Rendezvous sits as the most synth-pop heavy track on Dark Connection, the remainder of the album serving up a terrific dose of full throttle European power metal. No time to rest through 13 tracks and almost an hour of catchy choruses, soaring melodies and vocal emotion. Bella Donna takes us back to their debut album with a sharp burst of increased energy. Covers of Manowar‘s Battle Hymn and Michael Jackson‘s They Don’t Care About Us round off the album.
On completion of their opening trilogy, Beast In Black have delivered their most complete album in Dark Connection. It’s a little lengthy at almost an hour, but when you’re riding the wave, fists in the air you couldn’t care less. This is a culmination of a journey of Beast In Black honing their craft, pushing out their best album to date in the process.
Score: 8/10
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