TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK – A Voice Unheard (Album Review)

Tomorrow’s Outlook formed in 2007 in Sørvik, Troms County, Norway. That’s Arctic Northern Norway. Sounds way too cold for this Canadian Metalhead! The original formation saw songwriter Trond Nicolaisen and bassist/songwriter Andreas Stenseth joining forces. In present times as of 2018 the core line-up duo has added guitarist Øystein K. Hanssen. The boys take their time on creating an album. Since inception, Tomorrow’s Outlook has issued only one album, the full-length 34613 in February of 2012. Now, on April 6, 2018, they are set to unveil their second creation, A Voice Unheard, via Battlegod Productions. The concept album is mixed by Roy Z (Bruce Dickinson, Halford, Judas Priest) and features 12 progressive/power metal tracks.

Following the release of A Voice Unheard the core members plan on forming a full line-up and taking Tomorrow’s Outlook to the stage, with the express purpose of melting faces all over the world. Not only that, but work on the next album has already commenced. Perhaps this one will arrive a little quicker on the heels of A Voice Unheard?

TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK – A Voice Unheard

Progressive Power Metal is a fitting description of style and genre for what greets my ears during the opener. After a soft lead-in, “Within The World Of Dreams” flourishes into some glorious widdling power metal. The vocals here are strong, possessing a great higher register. During the song’s progression, I couldn’t quite put my finger on just who the singer reminded me of. Eventually, I got it! Ralf Scheepers of Primal Fear/ex-Gamma Ray. But who is actually providing the vocals? A quick look through the included digital booklet answered my question…because it is Ralf Scheepers! What a pleasing shock.

And so continues Tomorrow’s Outlook – A Voice Unheard just as fantastically epic as the opener, there’s no shortage of music on here. Ripping right along, the lengthy compositions basically fly by wrapping you up in their flourish. The total runtime is about 72 minutes for the 12 tracks. Only one, “Through Shattered Eyes”, is south of the 5-minute mark, a good number scratching at the door of 7 minutes. There are simply too many standout cuts to choose but one from this ensemble.

After 10 original creations, the final two tracks are cover songs. From Bruce Dickinson‘s Accident Of Birth record comes “Darkside Of Aquarius” and from Russian band Aria is “Slave to the Evil Force”. Not knowing of Aria, I did some research and discovered that the Russian group has been around since 1985. For this cover, since the original is sung in Russian, Tomorrow’s Outlook had an English translation done. And what a wicked track, not only has Tomorrow’s Outlook given me a great chunk of Metal, but they’ve now sent me in the direction of Aria!

TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK – Final Thoughts

The entire collection plays fantastically. Loaded with the soaring guitars and wailing vocals associated with the Power Metal genre. But this collection is more than just that, steeped in traditional 80s metal. It’s no wonder it spanned six years between releases with the talented crafting of these song compositions. The musicianship is clearly of the highest caliber and it’s obvious these Norwegians took their time to absolutely perfect each and every sonic bite contained on A Voice Unheard!

The album boasts not only Scheepers but “The Norwegian Air Raid Siren” Tony Johannessen (Thunderbolt) sharing vocal duties, with Scott Oliva in for one track. Guest musicians include Vitaly Dubinin (bass) and Maxim Udalov (drums) both of Aria as well as Heir Apparent‘s Terry Gorle (guitars) on select songs. The album also features two voice acting titans; British actor Danny Webb and American actor Jamieson Price.

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