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A Hero for the World: A Hero for the World
A Hero for the World Album Review

A Hero for the World: A Hero for the World

Melodic/Heavy/Power Metal
3.0/5.0

Pumping out the old school melodic power metal are newcomers A Hero for the World, based out of the Philippines, and led by vocalist Jacob Kaasgaard and guitarist David Sivelind. They credit influences like Edguy, Avantasia, and Helloween as inspiration. Actually, with Kaasgaard's vocals, AHftW sounds like a mixture of older Helloween, Stratovarius, and Edguy.


A Hero for the World:: Eternal Shadows video.

Frankly, AHftW gets the whole melodic power metal style; they basically nail it on the head, even adding some symphonic notes as well. Their metal music is likely the best part of this debut. But that's the good news. The bad news comes with several issues. One is that fact some songs are simply too long, bogged down by repetition. We Are Forever is the best example.

The second wild card here is Kaasgaard's vocals. While he tries to pull off his best Tobia Sammet (Edguy), he's an average substitute. Here's the thing: when he stays within the bounds of his natural register, he sounds acceptable as on the better part of Free Forever and maybe Alive or A Quest for the Brave. But then, and most times, Kaasgaard tries to ramp up his range. But instead of a higher register metal sing-screaming, you get screeching, like fingernails on a chalkboard. Ouch! Too many times when listening I had to pause the song to give my ears a rest. The vocals were simply too painful to bear. I wondering you told him he could sing metal.

Otherwise, as said before, there's some decent traditional melodic power metal here. There's also some obvious talent and inspiration behind this music. But with Kaasgaard's vocals difficult to digest, I'm likely not be giving A Hero for the World another spin any time soon. Let's hope for the best in the future, and Kaasgaard gets some vocal lessons. Either that or he needs to be replaced.


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In Short

A Hero for the World offers some decent traditional melodic power metal here. There's also some obvious talent and inspiration behind this music. But with Kaasgaard's vocals difficult to digest, I'll likely not be giving A Hero for the World another spin any time soon.

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