Section A

Sacrifice

Price: 11.50

Review / Notes: Another long overdue return to the scene comes in the shape of ‘Sacrifice’, third outing from Scandinavian progressive power metal project Section A. Forged around the songwriting nucleus of vocalist Andy Engberg (ex Lion’s Share) and guitarist extraordinaire Torben Enevoldsen (Fatal Force, and more recently Acacia Avenue), Section A debuted in the summer of 2003 with the truly stunning ‘The Seventh Sign’ opus. A precision engineered mixture of Lion’s Share, Ring Of Fire and Vanden Plas, it’s brooding riffs and progressive arrangements made it one of the best debut’s of its kind I’ve heard in many a year – indeed, it topped my playlist come December as I recall. Some three years later the pair emerged once again with the equally arresting ‘Parallel Lives’, an album which built on the solid bedrock of the debut and took the band into other, previously unchartered territories with its effortless pirouettes, twist and turns. This time around, Engberg and Enevoldsen have taken a slightly more direct approach, reigning in a lot of the overly complex progressive themes that characterized their first two releases, to create a leaner, oft darker tome. Fortunately for us, whilst the songs are much more streamlined on ‘Sacrifice’, the songwriting quality hasn’t been compromised one jot – indeed, if anything the straighter format has given the hooks and melodies significantly more impact! Joining the pair on this latest release are Decoy drummer Thomas Heintzelmann and Circus Maximus keyboard player Lasse Finbråten (continuing the tradition of bringing ‘name’ keyboard players in to add extra depth and sparkle). As with most of the bigger players in the progressively infused power metal field, Section A have long since learned that variety in mood and tempo make for a much more cohesively pleasurable listening experience for their intended audience, and on that score ‘Sacrifice’ scores big time. Mean and moody tracks such as ‘Land Of The Desert Sun’, ‘Concealed In Lies’, ‘Room With A View’ and ‘The City Is Falling’ mix things up perfectly, Engberg’s forthright vocal roar mixing perfectly with the cut and thrust of the guitars and keyboards. Enevoldsen (like Pangea man Torben Lysholm) is one of the best ‘new’ guitarist to emerge from Europe in the last two decades, and he gets ample opportunity to impress with his inventive licks and strafing runs throughout – although fortunately not at the expense of the songs! Add to that a fat powerful sound and some stunning cover art, and Section A have got themselves yet another little gem. Three out of three guys, cracking strike rate in anybody’s books! (D.Cockett)