"Alchemy Of Souls, Pt.II", the second opus of the trilogy announced by the Spanish combo Lords Of Black, is offered to us only one year after "Alchemy Of Souls, Pt.I" which had delighted our hearts of hard rockers. The band of the talented guitarist Tony Hernando comes back to us on this occasion with all its members. It is with pleasure that we find here at the microphone the frontman of the moment, Ronnie Romero who turns into gold everything he touches.
In addition to the vocal qualities of this "new Ronnie James Dio" as described by Richie Blackmore himself, the first part of the triptych had excited us by its propensity to associate pachydermic rhythms, virtuoso solos and melodies. On this second movement, if Hernando doesn't stop abusing his guitar by delivering monstrously heavy riffs or by proposing twirling soli, and if Romero honors his rank, the melodies as for them remain most of the time well below what we hoped to expect.
So much so that out of the thirteen tracks offered - including an intro and a cover - only four deserve to be quoted. Except if you appreciate the heavy pieces without paying attention to the melodies you've heard a hundred times, and if you worship Metallica on the two final tracks preceding the bonus track, the listener will be bored most of the time, waiting in vain for a catchy melody to come. On the other hand, when Lords Of Black remembers that they were able to concoct addictive compositions, we are close to the high level. 'What's Become Of Us', 'Bound To You' and the magnificent and moving 'Before That Time Can Come' are thus to be marked with a white stone. Let's also note an excellent cover of 'Sympathy' by Uriah Heep, a track from the no less excellent album "Fyrefly".
This "Alchemy Of Souls, Pt.II" does not reach the heights of its predecessor. Lacking moments of melodic emphasis, a little too heavy, it doesn't manage to keep the attention on the duration. The four aforementioned gems would deserve to be in a 2021 top ten of melodic hard rock, but their rarity doesn't manage to get the album out of the rut in which it got stuck. Let's hope that the third part of the trilogy will privilege a return to the roots.