Search - Squealer :: Prophecy

A surprisingly solid listen

Matt from www.prog.web.com | 05/19/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Squealer is a German power metal band that, though widely unknown, has been around since the late 80's. Their debut, "Human Traces", was released in 1990 on AFM Records, and the band has since proceeded to release 4 more albums, their most recent being 2000's "Made for Eternity". Edguy bassist, Tobias "Eggi" Exxel, appears as a member of the band on at least one album ("The Prophecy"), with the talents of renown drummer Mike Terrana (Malmsteen, MacAlpine, Artension -- toured with Gamma Ray, Rage) joining the fold for their latest release. With the band name "Squealer" and this album's goofy album cover and bargain-basement packaging (no lyrics?), I'll admit that I wasn't expecting very much from this release (and wasn't sure I really wanted to). To my delightful surprise, however, I found this album to be tremendously deep and wonderfully varied. As mentioned, Edguy's bassist plays on this album, but in addition to this, Tobias Sammet also lends his Kiske-like operatic pipes to a couple of the tracks. Squealer's singer, Henner, has a somewhat gruffy sound that reminded me a little of Grave Digger's Chris Boltendahl, with far more range. The album begins with a short, anthem-like chorale track reminiscent of "The Healing Vision" (the album opener on Edguy's "Theater of Salvation") which is revisited again on the last track. From here on out the album continues to impress with solid musicianship, subtle orchestrations, and intriguing song-writing. While other power metal bands fail at creating something different, Squealer does something here (don't ask me to put my finger on it) that keeps things fresh for the duration of the album. Favorite tracks on the album would be "Friends for Life", "...But No One Cares", "Hold On Tight", "Enjoy the Silence" (Depeche Mode cover!), and "The Prophecy (Follow Me)". The Prophecy is not going to win album of the year, true, but to this reviewer it was certainly interesting enough to be considered a standout release."