Ivory Tower - Heavy Rain

Angry Metal Guy 50

Ivory Tower have been a minor force in the Germanic prog-metal scene since 1998. I didn’t pay them much heed over the years, but that all changed when I took a flyer on their 2019 album Stronger. Expecting little, I walked into a buzzsaw and was quickly carved up by a highly catchy and memorable platter of vibrant prog metal led by the powerhouse vocals of one Dirk Meyer. It ended up on my Top Ten(ish) of 2019 and became one of my all-time favorite prog-metal releases. Naturally, I wanted a lot MOAR of the same from Ivory Tower. When news broke that Dirk Meyer left the band, I was disheartened, but I didn’t give up the ghost entirely. I still hoped the band could soldier on and deliver something even stronger than Stronger. Jump forward several years and we have their new album Heavy Rain (godawful title). In place of Meyer is newcomer Francis Soto, who’s been around the block having participated in a ton of other acts. Along with the new frontman comes a fresh approach that skews more toward hard rock and Jorn-y soundscapes than past material did. That means a lot of change and adjusting for someone so enamored with the style heard on Stronger. Can the Steel Dude abide?

While I miss the sound from Stronger, what Ivory Tower attempt here is well within my musical wheelhouse. Opener “Black Rain”¹ is a simplistic, hard-rocking number that isn’t really prog at all. It’s like Herman Frank or recent Firewind, with Francis Soto serving up a gritty, bluesy roar somewhere between Jorn and Blaze Bayley. I like the song on a surface level but it’s nowhere near essential listening nor the kind of tune you’d seize for a playlist. “Holy War” is a touch more engaging with some big guitar pyrotechnics, but it’s essentially dad rock with a rowdy edge and a beer belly, and as such, it has no business running over six minutes. “Never” is a more emotive variant with a bit of Evergrey’s mope and pomp, but it’s still pretty flat despite Soto putting his back into his vocals.

The remainder of Heavy Rain falls between decent and kinda-sorta okay. Sadly, some of the better cuts are burdened by unnecessary bloat. “The Destination” is a decent piece with heavy riffs offset by sparkling keys and Soto does a good job roaring through the din, but it absolutely doesn’t need to be seven minutes and should clock out around five. Tracks like “Heavy Ride” and “Monster” are solid enough to hold interest but aren’t the kind of songs you’ll need to hear again. “Voices” is superior but gets submarined by a 7-minute runtime when it’s not interesting enough to warrant the length. It’s hard to process that this is the same band that gave us Stronger, as the writing and overall style are so different and sadly, much less captivating. At a zaftig 58 minutes, Heavy Rain feels overlong because the material is so simplistic. Tightening and reducing would go a long way here.

Francis Soto is a good vocalist and would fit in well with a band like Herman Frank. He’s got a commanding rasp and can emote a bit too. He’s not the ideal singer for most kinds of prog-metal, but then again, Heavy Rain isn’t really a prog album. Sven Böge is a very talented six-string warrior and I commend him for not littering every song with 50 lusty wank-o-thons. When he does go nuclear, it’s impressive, but the focus is generally kept on groove rather than burying the listener under riffs. Where Stronger had many a duel between Böge and keyboardist Frank Fasold, here they mostly stay in their lanes and keep things low-key. This results in an album that feels like it’s holding back, which is noble, but also rather dull.

Heavy Rain isn’t a bad album but it’s mostly forgettable dad/hard rock-infused metal without much to set it apart. It’s a radical dropoff from Stronger and returns Ivory Tower to their normal place in the metalverse. I’m rather bummed out by this development but gravity is a bitch.² So much for getting Stronger.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Massacre
Websites: ivorytower.de | facebook.com/ivorytower.de
Releases Worldwide: March 29th, 2024

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