_{German band Freedom Call released their latest album, “M.E.T.A.L.”, through Steamhammer / SPV on 23rd August. This is the band’s tenth studio album in twenty years and I’ve now posted recommendations for the last three, as well as for a re-release from 2015 (in other words all of their albums since I started doing these posts in late 2012!). Freedom Call have been featured many times on the NI Rocks shows in the past and the title track from the new album was included on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 16th August.}

_{Freedom Call was formed in 1998 by singer Chris Bay and drummer Daniel Zimmerman, but Bay is now the only one of the four original members remaining. However, Zimmerman has recorded the drums for the “M.E.T.A.L.” album alongside Masterplan drummer Kevin Kott. The band’s new drummer is now Timmi Breideband. He joins new bass player Francesco Ferraro and guitarist Lars Rettkowitz who has been with the band since 2005.}

_{Freedom Call’s debut album “Stairwell to Fairyland” was released twenty years ago, in May 1999. Since then the band have been releasing studio albums every two to three years. I’ve previously posted recommendations for “Beyond” in 2014 and “Master of Light” in 2016; as well as for “666 Weeks Beyond Eternity” in 2015 (a re-release of the third album “Eternity” from 2002). There have also been two live albums (in 2004 and 2011), a compilation album (2013) and a five album boxset in 2017.}

_{Bay has referred to the album title as a little “tongue-in-cheek”, but Freedom Call definitely still tick the boxes for ‘power metal’ or ‘melodic metal’. As Bay stated, “everybody knows that we don’t exactly play extremely raw death metal”.}

_{Check out the band’s website at http://freedom-call.net/}

_{About “NI Rocks Recommends”}

_{The simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends” is to acknowledge and promote some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI. The albums that I’ll be recommending are those that you’ll hear me playing tracks from on my shows. I'll not be giving marks or ratings or analyzing the tracks in great detail; just telling you something about the artist and the album. It’s a personal recommendation to go check something out, not a traditional “review”!}