Friday, January 7

The Protagonist's Album of the Week: 1/1-1/8

Royal Jester
Night is Young
2010

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All right, so this is a little embarrasing. Royal Jester's debut is the sort of album that makes one look at their feet and shift uncomfortably from foot to foot after admitting to enjoying it. This is mostly because the cheesiness of this album lacks a lot of the conviction or more intelligible lyrics of bands like Power Quest, Stratovarius, and countless others. The singer's English is difficult to make out at times, and he slides around his consonants with abandon, making Alessio Garavello sound at times like a native speaker.

Despite these drawbacks, Royal Jester have written a very catchy album, akin to something like Freedom Call's Eternity, only with a little less pomp and more straight-up cheery metal melodies. Say what you want about the unoriginality that abounds on this album, it's hooky and memorable. Sometimes, we have to appreciate an offering like this just for paying homage to its roots. Imitation is as they say, the highest form of flattery. This is an imitation that I'll be listening to for a fair while.

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