Katana - Storms of War (2012)

It's hard to approach Katana as anything more than another spoke on the trendy wheels of traditional speed, power, and NWOBHM worship that have entered the race recently. But to their credit, they do a pretty good job in exploring the nostalgic aesthetics that shaped them. Heads Will Roll was a decent debut, if not exemplary, and the Swedes seek to capitalize on that with a more matured sophomore. I enjoy that this band strives for such an honest tone to their music. Nowhere on this record does it feel like they're over polished to a fault, but performing their craft as a quintet well versed in the roots and attempting to develop some strong songs and hooks. Storms of War is unfortunately not the catchiest of records I've heard in this field (Enforcer's sophomore Diamonds is still the one to beat), but it's a more solid effort than its predecessor.

The best way to describe Katana's sound might be to present them as a mix of Hammerfall's earlier work (when they were actually good) or Riot's 90s output with the German speed/power of the 80s and the the architecture of NWOBHM masters Iron Maiden. This last comparison is felt heavily in a track like "Khubilai Khan" with its airy, melodic setup and driving triplets, the intro to "Wrath of the Emerald Witch", "No Surrender", "The Wisdom of Edmonds Field", etc. Meanwhile, the similarities to an album like Glory to the Brave come through the spry melodic chord-streams present in "Reaper" or "The Samurai Returns". They're capable of a good dynamic spread here, pacing out the album so the faster and mid-paced cuts are balanced out, and most importantly, there are ZERO shitty power ballads on the album. Guitars are quite intricate, with a nice crisp tone that exerts just the right level of distortion to feel 80s, and the leads are well formed if not incredibly sticky in the brain.

Johan Bernspång turns in another pro performance here, tending towards his soaring mid to high range pitch, but still capable of a scream or two (the end of "Reaper"). The rhythm section is also pretty tight, the drums set perfectly into the mix and the bass lines of Susanna Salminen borne of the plodding grooves and muscle that Steve Harris exemplified through the late 70s and 80s. There's a lot happening through the 50 minutes of material, and you can tell the band invested a lot of effort into writing songs. At the end of the day, though, I'm not sure the hooks here grant this the same immortality as many of the classics that influenced it. Vocal and guitar patterns do often feel familiar, if not entirely derivative of their sources, and the choruses just don't stand out despite the obvious talents of all the members.

Storms of War is a step above Heads Will Roll in terms of craftsmanship. It's competent, consistent, never boring, worthwhile if you're into the retro stylings of similar bands, and the studio engineering is a great fit. But unlike Number of the Beast, Port Royal or other greats of the Golden decade, I don't imagine I'll be giving it more than the occasional revisit.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

http://www.facebook.com/KatanaOfficial

Katana - Heads Will Roll (2011)

Garbed in threads woven straight from the NWOBHM movement at the dawn of the 80s, and a moniker that reads 'white guys (and girl) who want to be associated with something Japanese and therefore cool in the 80s', circa Samurai or Tokyo Blade, I present to thee: Katana. As one of the latest Swedish exports of melodic retro metallurgy, they are not without obvious precedents, from the lately fashionable act Enforcer to the longstanding veterans Hammerfall. That aside, they do a pretty reasonable estimation of a wide array of influences all over the classic British, Swedish and German spectrum, perhaps with a bit of Riot for good measure. Heads Will Roll is a total package, a debut bound to bring some notice, but it doesn't ultimately endure beyond a few entertaining listens.

This is essentially 1981-83 era trad metal rolled up into modern studio gloss and pumping power anthems, somewhere between Europe, Tokyo Blade, Dio, and Maiden. Johan Bernspång, the band's frontman, reminds me of Joacim Cans in tone, a solid set of pipes that tend to safely hover in the higher pitches without shrill, shrieking irritation. The riffs employed in chargers like "Livin' Without Fear" and "Rebel Ride" are busy without being needlessly complex, and several ("Neverending World", "Across the Stars") remind me of highly of Iron Maiden's signature mid paced momentum, Bernspång gearing towards a Dickinson-like phrasing where suitable. There are a number of track that lyrically deliver the Nippon-isms ("Blade of Katana", "Asia in Sight", and of course "Heart in Tokyo"), all keeping in tune with the band's image and concept, but the subject matter also ranges from feel good rockers ("Rebel Ride") to Greek mythology ("Quest for Hades", the most dynamic and innately narrative of the tracks).

The band is tight and the dual leads are flying out everywhere, from the actual solo sequences to the airy stratosphere above the rhythm guitars. The basic tone of the chords is crunchy and powerful, yet the melodies catch enough air to distinguish themselves as a central force. But far less successful is Katana's ability to stand out on an ever expanding field of such artists trying for a bite of nostalgia that they were mostly to young to have experienced first hand. Add to that the fact that we've got hundreds of superb records already in rotation from the formative years of the style, and Heads Will Roll seems a little less revelatory. Though the Swedes pay attention to the details and proffer a pastiche of authentic cliches to suit the less demanding generation just breaking into this scene, I found it a little difficult for my memory to hang onto these tracks. The extra 'magic' that a band like Enforcer conjures is simply missing here, and nothing more than a competent, occasionally catchy mirror of olde remains.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.myspace.com/bladeofkatana