Horizon - The Sky's The Limit

Year of Release: 2002
Label: Massacre Records
Catalog Number: MASS 316
Format: CD
Total Time: 50:15:00

Tra la lah. Tra la lah. Horizon. Tra la lah. The Sky's The Limit. Tra la lah. Tra la lah.

Horizon is a band with good intentions but lack the fire to make The Sky's The Limit stand out from the crowd. As it stands, there are plenty of sparks on this album but they never manage to create a full force bonfire. I would never say that the album is a total write-off though, because it isn't, but it is devoid of a certain element to make it something more. At times they attempt to copy the ideas of Klaus Meine and his Scorpions associates but they cannot recreate the atmosphere of early Scorpions instead having a more rock, user-friendly, recent Scorpions sound. They do try hard - meaning that they try hard to copy all of the other bands out there - but they just don't pull it off and 50 minutes later I realise I could be doing something more worthwhile.

The song-writing is only one element that holds this baby back - talk about monotonous. Surely they could have created some more interesting tracks than these? What isn't lacking is the intriguing guitar work of Patrick Hemer (who also doubles as their Klaus Meine like vocalist). The solos are actually some of the finest I've heard recently, especially on tracks like "Living In Danger" and "Freedom" which have an edgier feel to them. At times, the solos are more classical, but it really is the rest of the elements that make The Sky's The Limit somewhat commonplace. Song-wise, they definitely try to balance the album out with ballads ("So Long Ago"), hard rock ("Hometown Star" & "Keep On Fighting"), and some more straighter metal numbers like the opener "Freedom" and "Caught In The Middle" but each song really only shows hints of originality rather than a solid component of the album. Their promo sheet states that "they are no naïve newcomers" but I beg to differ. Non-na?ve metalheads will pass on this album, I'm sure of it.

Standout tracks? Yep ? they're here. "Freedom," "Keep On Fighting," "Don't Hide In The Shadow," and the instrumental "Atlantis," but by "The End" I was bored, wishing for something more inventive. As it stands, Horizon are immersed in predictability, lacking a completeness in their songs, and have less than imaginative inspiration but their guitarist rocks.

Tra la lah. Tra la lah. Horizon. Tra la lah. The Sky's The Limit. Tra la lah. Tra la lah.

Similar To: Scorpions, Helloween

[This review originally appeared November 2002 at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]

Tracklisting:
Sunset (0:34) / Freedom (4:23) / Living In Danger (6:20) / Keep On Fighting (5:32) / Don't Hide In The Shadow (5:04) / Hometown Star (3:47) / Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is (6:20) / Atlantis (4:52) / So Long Ago (0:56) / Caught In The Middle (6:44) / The End (5:43)

Musicians:
Patrick Hemer ? guitars, vocals
Krissy Friedrich - drums
Bruno J Frank - bass
Vinne Angelo ? keyboards

Discography:
The Sky's The Limit (2002)
Worlds Apart (2004)

Genre: Progressive-Power Metal

Origin DE

Added: December 19th 2004
Reviewer: Gary Carson
Score:
Artist website:
Hits: 2251
Language: english