Arturius is a Swedish power metal band from Gothenburg. I don’t know why so many heavy metal band originates from that city but it’s a fact. There are many bands coming from Gothenburg. I can’t say that they have much in common. Of course they are all metal band (at least those that I refer to) but apart from that I don’t see any similarities. My heart beats extra fast for metal music so I don’t complain. I think we have a really good metal scene here in Sweden.
It took me a while before I got used to Arturius though. at first I thought it sounded way to swedish. I don’t know if it’s the accent of the singer or if it’s just the sound and production of the music. Maybe both. But I didn’t like it. It sounded a bit too lame and even if the melodies are there it was a bit boring. That’s often the case when the musicians and the singer fails to touch the listener. I’m sensitive for just that. I need the singer to sound like he/she is believing in the lyrics ha/she delivers. I thought Arturius lacked this to begin with.
But when I listened to it a few more time the album grew at me. The more times I heard it, the better it got.That’s natural most of the time. You can actually learn to like what you initially didn’t like so much. It’s still a little to lame for me and I miss some catchy riffs. I don’t think Arturius manages to be really mighty as many power metal bands tend to be. It’s more laid-back and “radio friendly” that I would prefer. But at the end of the day it’s still a stable album that’s kind of soothing listening too. I would categorize much of it as heavy songs and some power ballads as well. Nice but not great and not really memorable.
