_{German melodic metal band Freedom Call release their latest album “Beyond” through the Steamhammer/SPV label on 24th February (4th March in the USA). The band have been around since 1998 releasing 7 studio albums, a best of and 2 live albums prior to the latest offering. Freedom Call are highly popular on the European mainland where the melodic metal genre has its heartland. Personally, I’m a more recent convert - tracks from “Land of the Crimson Dawn” (2012) and the best of album “Ages of Light” (2013) would have featured on my shows.}

_{“Beyond” is named after an 8 minute track that the band see as the focal point of the album and as a follow up to “The Quest” from the second album “Crystal Empire” (2001). There has been a line-up change since the previous studio album with original member Ilker Ersin returning as bass player for the first time since 2005. That might help explain what vocalist / guitarist Chris Bay refers to as a return to “a slightly more traditional direction”, though fan response to the earlier tracks when on tour is also quoted as an influence.}

_{Other members of the band are Lars Rettkowitz on guitars & backing vocals and Ramy Ali on drums & backing vocals.}

_{Personal favourites on the album are “Heart of A Warrior”, “Among The Shadows” and “Colours of Freedom”}

_{For more information check out www.freedom-call.net or https://www.facebook.com/FreedomCallOfficial}

_{About “NI Rocks Recommends”}

_{I'm not a reviewer and I certainly don’t claim to be a journalist, but I wanted to acknowledge some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI by artists, promoters and labels. That was the simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends”. To be honest I’m not really a big fan of the whole idea of “Reviews” as they just represent one person’s opinion!!  So I'm not giving marks or ratings, trying to categorise bands or compare artists. The albums that I’ll be recommending are merely those that I would buy myself and which you’ll be hearing played on my shows on Rock Radio NI.}

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