With ‘No Angels Alive‘ we dive right in through a intro heavy of bass guitars. The chorus gives opportunity to sing along pretty much right away, but without feeling too monotone like some other sing-along-songs do. Around 2.20 we get a nice little guitar solo to switch things up a bit. One thing is very dominant throughout this song or pretty much the whole album: the constant contrast between the different elements of the son, between the dark lyrics in comparison to the rather up beat keyboards or Bhéaras‘ soft and sweet vocals to Arkoūdas‘ growls, there’s always things contradicting each other. While that could easily get chaotic; I think Dampf found a perfect balance between these opposites.

The common thread of ‘Masquerade‘ is this cheeky little keyboard harmony that just keeps reappearing all over the place and gives the song a really light-hearted atmosphere. Again this stands in broad contrasts with the rather heavy lyrics.

‘Ghost‘ is a little slower than the previous songs. I guess this as close to a ballad as you gonna get from this band. While I don’t mind this song I would prefer it either being a full on simplistic ballad or it being as full of life as the rest of the album. This one just feels a little to in-between.

‘Might As Well Have Died’ is probably the darkest song of the album. It starts with some heavy riffs and generally a heavy atmosphere. This heaviness is only lifted once the keyboards and Bhéaras‘ vocals join in. The guitar solo at around 2.40 almost feels like it’s flying over the whole scene. I also really like the shift to Bhéaras‘ lower vocals towards the end of the song.

The intro of ‘Heart Of Darkness’ feels like a early 2000s pop song. But don’t worry, it won’t stay poppy like that for more than a few seconds. I especially enjoy A-TRON‘s vocals here, but also generally the mix between all three vocal lines works great in this song. We also get another guitar solo the just somehow instantly feels iconic, it reminds me somehow of the solos in some of the most famous Scorpions songs. It just carries itself with a lot of importance and just gives the sense that it couldn’t have been written any other way.

The single ‘War With The World’ takes us onto a pirate adventure. And if the were to call on me to fight alongside with them trough this song, I might be tempted to agree. Being at war has never felt like so much fun than in this song. A-TRON‘s vocals are a bit more nasal here, but somehow that fits the theme and I must say I’m happy he’s not sounding like this all the time.

‘Hellfire‘ starts off with another seamen-like-chant before turning a lot harder. Overall this song doesn’t quite have the youthfulness spark that most Dampf songs have, but instead it sounds more like a classic 80s/90s metal song.

A mystical aura arises with the start of ‘Away‘. The song feels like a battle between darkness and light. This song is gonna get me in trouble someday, because I find it nearly impossible not to sing-along to the chorus.

Next we  sleepwalk trough the ‘Mists Of Avalon (Don’t Wake Me Up)‘. This song provides a little breather and a changes to rest up a bit. Somehow it feels a lot calmer than a lot of the other songs, although it’s certainly not slowing down at all.

‘Dark Side Of My Moon‘ makes me long for an unreachable love. And while there is lots sadness to this song, it also feels hopeful and comforting, as if you knew things were going to exactly how they were always meant to be. Like a phoenix we rise from the ashes before we can start anew. And just like that it’s now also time to start the album from the beginning again.

DAMPF are:

Martin Erikson [A-TRON] – Vocals
Olivia Thörn [Bhéara] – Vocals
Beak – Keys
David Wallin [Haderajja] – Drums
Pontus Egberg [Bahari] – Bass
Sam Söderlindh [Sha-Zam’s] – Guitar
Love Magnusson [Skaeggyxa] – Guitar
Björn Åkesson [Arkoūda] – Growls

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