Off the Grid

Sometimes a band will opt for a title to a studio album that is so extremely fitting that it might actually hurt, but that is exactly the disposition of Cellador's long awaited sophomore LP Off The Grid. This is a band that seemingly burst out of nowhere at the tail end of the European power metal revival and dubbed as America's answer to Dragonforce, only to implode all but immediately after releasing an acclaimed debut on Metal Blade Records. The following series of events carries so many parallels to that of Power Quest's complete disintegration and reformation following Master Of Illusion that one might assume that said band and Cellador are kindred souls, save it taking much longer to get the ball rolling, and that lone surviving and founding member Chris Petersen is a guitarist that opted to take of vocal duties himself following the departure of the would-be iconic Michael Kiske imitator Michael Gremio from the fold. The comparisons naturally don't terminate upon the shifting lineups of both bands, as after being off the grid for over a decade, Off The Grid ends up in similar territory to their British counterparts.

If one were to find a good way to sum up what takes place on here musically, it would be somewhere along the lines of where Power Quest might have ended up had they opted to stay a bit closer to the Wings Of Forever debut when they transitioned into the more Stratovarius-leaning sound that typified their magnum opus Neverworld. For all of his lack of prior credentials as a vocalist, Chris Petersen does a fine job at handling the higher end of the male vocal spectrum, having a strong affinity for Michael Kiske as his predecessor did, but maybe a tad bit more grit and gusto that could pass for a slightly less powerful version of what Ashley Edison has brought to Power Quest. The incorporation of keyboards in an auspicious yet more reserved fashion relative to the likes of Stratovarius and Ring Of Fire gives things a bit more of a spacey dimension, and definitely smooths out the rough edges that were hard to miss on this band's bygone debut. Combined with a somewhat more old school heavy/speed metal orientation to some of the riff work that mirrors older Helloween, this sounds like a very different band than before.

The resulting collection of songs, interestingly enough, is quite varied in demeanor and straddles some fences that separate the over-the-top Dragonforce sound of Cellador's early works with conventions more typical to the European mainland. On the one hand are a collection of high octane beasts in "Wake Up The Tyrant" and "Running Riot" that speed away at full fury in a manner highly reminiscent of Valley Of The Damned, complete with massive vocal layering during the choruses that screams early Power Quest. The extreme end of the spectrum is claimed by "Swallow Your Pride", which actually launches into blast territory several times, a feat that was rarely encountered in power metal prior to Cellador exploring it on their debut. On the other side of things is a fast, yet not quite as frenetic approach embodied in highlight songs like "Break Heresy" and "Off The Grid" that listen a bit closer to vintage Stratovarius. But the absolute highlight of this entire album sees Cellador taking a page out of Trick Or Treat's playbook by covering the iconic Cyndi Lauper theme from The Goonies motion picture "Good Enough", naturally played at a much faster pace and Petersen somehow managing to belt out every note.

Though facing some fairly stiff competition in this year of power metal comebacks otherwise known as 2017, this is a formidable outing from a band that was largely written off as a flash in the pan that was dropped from the metal world about as quickly as it had been picked up. Despite toiling in the underground for quite a while and putting together a decent EP years back in Honor Forth and a few additional songs that ended up here, the name Cellador was generally greeted with a reply of either "Who?" or "Oh yeah, whatever happened to those guys, any way?". Now both replies have an answer that should dispel any similar replies for the foreseeable future, and one that is actually a slight cut above the original despite being a bit more well-rounded. It's definitely an album that could well have been put out in the late 2000s, though it would have stood out for being uniformly fast and technical compared to the groovy AOR fair that Edguy had helped popularized, though fairly similar to where said band was in the years prior. Hopefully this will not be the prelude to another period of inactivity for this outfit, and with a bit more luck, Tobias Sammet might take note of this album and make some needed modifications to his currently musical direction.

Lot of people frothing on this, but count me out. I just can't handle the vocals. It seems pretty shallow to write off a band just because I find the vocals so annoying, but here I am doing just that! I guess when they're such a major part of a band like they are here, they can really kill or make a band. Here they do the former.

Perhaps a quick PSA here is due in that I basically rant about the vocals for a big ol' chunk of this review.

Everything else is OK. Not horrible, not too great, coming across as if a europower band decided to actually write some riffs. Very, very very polished, and while there's a bit of galloping here and there and the occasional thrash influence at no point could you realistically say this is "heavy". It's just too cleanly produced; everything slips past, spit-shined and never grabbing you by the throat. I'm pretty confident Blink 182 had a meatier guitar tone than this album. They certainly had better vocals. Half assed trolling aside, look, the band can clearly play- there's a lot of really triumphant noodles, and I reckon learning this album on guitar would be a real pain in the ass- but it never comes across as deliberately wanky which points to some tight songwriting and a band that knows exactly when to go nuts and exactly when to reign it in so the vocals can take over..

So the vocals can take over. Oh dear.

Yeah, the vocals. Well, there's no way to put it kindly, it sounds like an metalcore singer from the late 2000s got lost and ended up fronting the wrong band. Loads (fucken' loads) of auto tune, and that annoying high-ish register that every metalcore clean has ever been in. I'm fairly confident that the guy used a total of 5 different notes on this album. Not a whole lot of force, and yeah, the dude honestly sounds like he is singing for the wrong band. It's a shame, as listening back to the title track reveals that it's a perfectly OK song- decent amount of energy, plenty of catchy guitar lines- and would probably be really good if you had someone not singing some inane platitudes, in a rubbish, "melodic chorus from My Weeping Heart of Silence*" kinda tone, with enough auto tune to feed a large african country. There's definitely a few songs where you wonder that if you had someone singing in a style closer to Pharoah or Argus or something- in other words, singing their balls off, in a more traditional power metal style- that things could be very different for Cellador.

"The vocals are only part of the album!" You may say. Well sure, but they're a big part of the album. There's a reason why most people don't talk about how a song gets ruined by a badly tuned floor tom, or by the bass. It's like saying "the lead actor is not the only part of the movie" or "the off milk in your breakfast cereal shouldn't ruin your corn flakes". They're a huge part- mixed loudly, and most songs are vocal driven- and thus there's no way I could recommend this album.


*not an actual band or song (as far as I know)

Cellador is finally back, after a hell of a long time, with a great set of songs new and old. Actually, 4 of the 11 tracks of the songs on this album (including the Japanese bonus track) were previously released periodically as rough demo tracks digitally back in 2010-2011. In those demos and their previous EP we heard Chris Petersen going through some turmoil, completely reforming the band's members as the frontman, and just starting out as a vocalist.

But now, after 11 years since their previous full length album, we finally see a new full-length release, and Chris has improved a hell of a lot vocally since the demos back in 2010. It's hard to argue otherwise when you compare with earlier releases, although a bit of studio magic may contribute to the equation. His vocals are on full showing here, and pretty clearly measure up to Gremio's vocals back on their first album at this point. Depending on your tastes in vocalists, many actually prefer Petersen's vocal style now. It's pretty crazy he's improved so much. That's the very first thought I had listening to this album, having been a fan for years.

So, how is it? Well, it's definitely different from their first full-length album, sounding more cohesive, a bit more positive lyrically (with a couple of wholly positive 'fun' songs), and somewhat more professional. The pace is a bit more reigned-in as well. I've heard Cellador being called a Dragonforce clone back when their first album was released and now as well...I don't think it's a fair comparison, as both of the aforementioned two bands arose to notability around the same time. Not just that, but Cellador (especially on this album) has a more detailed approach at lyrics than Dragonforce. Chris clearly puts effort into writing thoughtful lyrics that resonate with their listeners, as evidenced by the lyrical themes of freeing oneself from shackles of society and having confidence in your own opinions. We can see this sort of lyrical approach in the title track, Off the Grid very blatantly, but we see it in other tracks in a more nuanced manner as well.

Going into this album, I was a bit wary as the "technology will take over everything including your consciousness" theme is pretty overdone in power metal. However, it's got a varied enough lyrical approach that it doesn't become overly cliched in this lyrical theme. In fact, it seems only the title track really confronts this theme directly.

All the tracks have great riffs and great solos. This is par for the course with Cellador. They don't meander or switch up the style too much during a single song, and this actually works well because the album doesn't have a huge runtime. You get 10-11 quick slices of what cellador is good at. The stylistic approach isn't gigantically innovative or anything, but it's enjoyable to listen to. From the straightforward anthem Shadowfold to the riff-heaven of Shimmering Status, each song is enjoyable in some aspect. I have to say though, the best new track that I hadn't heard previously in their demos is definitely Shimmering Status. Great verses and an incredibly memorable chorus, they totally nail the atmosphere and drive that matches their lyrical themes here. But there are a couple of lower-effort tunes, the Cindi Lauper cover is basic but still fun, and Running Riot (which unironically seems to be about the Halo killing spree thing of the same name) could have been completely dropped without affecting the album's quality. Due to all the tracks being short and sweet, these simplistic tracks in the mix aren't a huge problem. Each and every track has some main draw to it, whether it be an especially jam-worthy riff or an especially memorable chorus/verse. The album isn't perfect all the way through, but every track has at least one of these "good parts" to it, making each song worth listening to if not just for that "good part".

I do have a couple of reservations however. It somewhat irks me that the best tracks on the album seem to be the rerecorded 2010-2011 demo tracks. (Excluding the aforementioned Shimmering Status.) I hope this doesn't weigh on future releases, as I feel the writing on some new tracks such as Running Riot is kind of low-effort. I hope their future albums aren't full of that sort of simplistic writing. I think Cellador's main draw is their thoughtful lyrical direction in combination with their well-tuned instrumental writing. If we lose one of those, we lose what makes Cellador unique. Hopefully they realize this and play to their strengths in subsequent albums.

Colorado’s Cellador is a name that was in my distant memory since it’s been over a decade since their debut was released. I remember seeing them at the infamous Jaxx (R.I.P.) in Virginia and remembered thinking there was something special going on with these guys because they played European power metal really well. Their only downfall, from what I remember, was their vocalist at the time. Wasn’t I surprised to see that they released a new album, Off the Grid. My first thought was did they deal with the issues plaguing their debut. The answer to that is an astounding yes. Although this album is not flawless, it’s a really well crafted and entertaining power metal album. While some of the better European bands that helped define this melodic and sometimes symphonic sub-genre have gone the “experimental” route, these guys release an album that shows that great power metal is still speed, melody, riffs, and solo battles between the keys and the guitars….and those solos better be fucking godly!

The biggest improvement here is the vocals. Guitarist and founding member Chris Petersen has taken over the mic and he’s a vast improvement over his predecessor. He has the perfect voice for the sound that this band is going for. Singing in a mid to higher register, there are only a few places where he sounds like he’s struggling whereas the vocalist on the debut sounded strained the entire time. The harmonies in the choruses are incredible. The album opener , “Sole Survivor,” is a perfect example of just how well his vocals fit the music. This is a speedy song typical of the genre. The vocals are very melodic almost reminding me of Jonny Lindqvist (Nocturnal Rites) in places, although not as nasally. The chorus is extremely catchy and the solos are incredible with a lot of dual leads and guitar battles. This is what I’ve always loved about power metal.

Following that song is the even better, “Break Heresy.” This song is so melodic and catchy. The chorus is amazing and the solos just shred. What also catches my attention here is how the songs flow together. Nothing seems out of place and just makes this album even more enjoyable. The production also contributes to the flow of this album. The sound on this album is crisp and clear and was self produced with Mr. Petersen at the knobs and was mixed by Peter Rutcho, who has his hands in several projects as well as the studio in which this album was recorded. Whatever they did here works because the sound is spotless. Every instrument is mixed together so that nothing is stepped on or drowned out.

I also need to point out that the songs on this album are also much stronger than on the debut. Along with the aforementioned songs, the title track is a great song and it’s follow up, “Swallow Your Pride” is extremely fast with a Dragonforce feel to it, just not as sterile. The sheer speed and accuracy of this band is amazing. It just goes to show that these guys took their time and grew as a band because song after song on this album is an awesome power metal song. Even the metaled up Cyndi Lauper cover has it’s charm. Not what I would have expected but they do it justice. European power metal treads really close to the pop line on occasions. It’s just how it’s executed that decides if it works or not. “This Means War” follows it up being a bit heavier with some seriously killer riffs and great soloing. The chorus is really good with strong melodies and has become my favorite on the album.

This album is a breath of fresh air and could be the come back of the year. Really good power metal seemed to be fading away for some time but with this release, it seems that there are forces trying to keep it alive and true to it’s roots. Now that Cellador have found their sound, hopefully we won’t have to wait a decade for the follow up.



The Elitist Metalhead

Tormented by an insanely-troubling past, Colorado-based power metallers Cellador have seen themselves beset by label and lineup turmoil that has stunted and very nearly halted the promise shown by their initially-appealing debut work just over a decade prior. Attempting to carry on with a new, solidified lineup, the long-awaited sophomore album was originally released March 10, 2017 on Scarlet Records.

Considering the long layoff, it’s entirely possible to forget what the band was about and to fix that the group manages to fly right out of the gate with what made them so promising in the first place. There’s plenty of tight, fast and frantic thrashing patterns laced with strong melodic accents flowing throughout here, generating the kind of explosive up-tempo power metal rhythms full of aggressive attacks in the rhythm. That goes hand-in-hand with a more stripped down, simplistic approach that generates plenty of fiery, engaging material without the long-winded and aimless approach of their past, streamlining the best tactics into a more substantial and cohesive style of attack that still brings out their best work in propelling plenty of speed and intensity out while displaying top-notch melodic interlaced together for a spectacular and energizing style. Though the epic approach to their past material gave them a somewhat more unique and individualized identity in the field during their initial appearance in the field, the fact is the intervening years and their stripped-down style has now come back against them as it’s turned them into a slightly rehashed and formulaic style without really doing much else about it, but being not only an engaging approach to the material and given the turmoil within the break it’s commendable to be this fiery and enjoyable all things considered.

Already a strong Comeback of the Year contender, this was quite a surprising tactical change in their style that now comes off like a condensed version of their style that will greatly appeal to fans of their original work or the curious to see how they’ve managed to hold up considering their troubles.

Eleven years? That's not a hiatus, that's a coma! But unlike Metallica, who decided a long break warranted a flabby double-album full of fodder, Colorado's Cellador return to the fold doing what they do best. What is that exactly? It's been a while... Ah yes, it's no-frills, super-slick power metal done the true American way. Since Enter Deception dropped back in '06, you'll be surprised to hear that, despite the enormous line-up change (Chris Peterson is now the sole mainman), there has been little deviation musically. New effort Off The Grid is still the no-holds-barred, lightning fast, ultra-melodic approach to power metal we were introduced to all those years ago. But this time it's been brought up to date by modern production qualities, whilst ironically dealing with the over-mechanization of modern society in the lyrics!

The mix deserves praise for it's polished sheen. Everything sounds shimmering, glistening, glazed - and every other adjective that essentially means 'shiny'. Usually I'd be against this ultra-clean approach, but Cellador make it work for the atmosphere of the album. Petersen's silky smooth voice benefits the most here, being of a lower pitch than his predecessor, and far more intelligible. Nick McAllister also deserves credit for pounding along at breakneck speed behind the kit, for almost the entire record. Blastbeats become a feature in tracks like "Swallow Your Pride" - a technique more power metal bands should employ. There is also plenty of blazing lead action to please the air-guitarists out there. Before you write this band off as 'American Dragonforce', take heed - Cellador understand the importance of brevity...

No song on Off The Grid overstays its welcome. Some bands know how to take a simplistic pop-song structure, and finely craft it into a memorable work. Naturally, this being a power metal album, the choruses are where you'll find the focal point of each song - and with melodic genius like "Running Riot" or "Wake Up The Tyrant", listeners are not deprived of decent choruses. However, the gems in Cellador's 2017 crown must be "Break Heresy" and the flat-out awesome "Shadowfold". The latter especially is in line to be the catchiest chorus of the year - whilst also adding a touch of heaviness from its opening riff. It's also worth mentioning that the opening seconds of "This Means War" are eerily reminiscent of 2006's "Leaving All Behind"...a deliberate throwback? Probably not - but I get excited easily.

This album will require a few goes to really embed it in your mind, as even though the songs are concise, there is a hell of a lot going on within their multiple layers. A guitar-lick here, a keyboard accent there - it's all effective in building intrigue upon repeated listens. A couple of tracks fly by without particularly standing out, like "Shimmering Status" or the more rock-oriented "Sole Survivor" - but with a scrutinizing ear, virtuoistic performances are revealed. As far as comebacks go, this is a pretty successful one! Cellador were impactful back in '06, so it was a massive shame to have them drop off the map. Thank heavens Petersen & co. decided to grace us with their presence in 2017, because Off The Grid is a concise, compact and completely blistering melodic power metal album for the modern age.

After more than a decade of almost nonexistent output, Cellador is back. The band that exploded onto the scene and then promptly disappeared has returned with a second full-length album after 11 long years. While Off the Grid surely can’t meet the hype that’s been built up for it since the mid-00s, it’s a worthy follow-up for one of North America’s strongest and least prolific power metal practitioners.

What stands out about this album immediately is the production, a modern job that sharply contrasts with the simpler and purer mixing on Enter Deception. Though in terms of musical style, little has changed, it’s impossible to confuse any song on the band’s debut with any song on this release. Off the Grid has a thicker and heavier guitar tone, one that’s quite a departure from the sleek and lean sound of the last album. The guitars and drums seem to have been turned up quite a bit, in a decision that gives the drums too much power. Even the vocals are barely louder than the instruments for a good deal of the time. You can still hear frontman Chris Petersen's singing clearly but the drum beat frequently makes it difficult to focus on him.

Petersen employs your standard Michael Kiske-inspired power metal vocals though his range is noticeably narrower than previous singer Michael Gremio’s. While his singing is fine, he lacks that ability to give the choruses the sort of over-the-top punch that was so capably delivered all throughout the group’s debut. Maybe the way the other instruments are placed so close to his voice in terms of volume is to make his lack of bombast harder to notice. As for the other instruments, the drums gallop furiously along through most of the album and guitarists Petersen and Eric Meyers stay busy with their dense and melodic leads and slick soloing.

In terms of writing, the band simply repackages its full-throttle US power metal approach. Anyone who complained that the first album was a DragonForce knock-off (which isn’t entirely true) should avoid this because everything you found objectionable there is back, except the vocals of the unjustly maligned Michael Gremio. The album is 95 percent speed, only slowing down a few times for some dramatic moments. Again, there are plenty of leads and riffs here that just blaze right past you without leaving behind anything to remember them by. Despite what this focus on speed might lead one to suspect, Off the Grid doesn’t suffer from a lack of diversity. The album thrives within it. Though every song seems to be set at the same pace, the record is loaded with enough memorable ideas to carry you from one song to the next without getting bored, though it might take a few listens for the catchy passages to establish themselves in your mind. ‘Wake up the Tyrant’ is the most distinct track, boasting a complex opening riff that might be the best on the album, as well as a passage in the middle where a keyboard is used to create an ambient but forceful choir effect. This isn’t the only place on the record where the sparingly-used keys appear but it is where they have the most noticeable impact. The rest of the songs depend on catchy vocal lines for their staying power, with ‘Sole Survivors’ and ‘Shadowfold’ being particularly anthemic.

With an overbearing production job being the album’s only grave misstep (and even then, not a severe enough one to sprain the the album's ankle or send it falling on its face), Off the Grid is a satisfying release built on eleven years’ worth of pent-up melodic ambition. Finally made and finally ready for public consumption, it explodes with a level of energy that’s quite impressive, even if it doesn’t outshine Cellador’s debut or even their EP from several years ago. While the vocals and many of the leads and riffs are a little less vital and impressive this time around, Off the Grid is still a solid power metal release and a welcome return for a band that’s been far too limited in its output.

After an 11 year wait, Cellador have finally returned with their sophomore album, Off the Grid. Their debut, Enter Deception, is one of the most celebrated albums in recent power metal history. Over the years, Cellador have gone through many lineup changes as well as relocating to Denver, Colorado and switching to Scarlet Records. At this point, Chris Peterson is the only founding member left with Diego Valdez being the only other member to have played on a studio release. It has been a very long wait for power metal fans and when news of this album broke, the hype built up very quickly. In a situation like this, one question is bound to be asked. Was it worth the wait? In this case, the answer is yes.

There are two distinct styles of power metal, the cheesy, keyboard laden European style and the thrashier, more riff-oriented US style. So where does Cellador fall in the power metal spectrum? The answer is somewhere between the two. Their sound is definitely rooted in ESPM but there are elements of USPM and the result winds up sounding like a mix of the two very different but equally great styles.

The riffs on this album are out in full force as the twin guitar attack of Chris Peterson and Eric Meyers gallops its way through songs like “Shadowfold” and “This Means War.” Although the fantastic power metal gallops are the primary mode of operation for Cellador on this album, they remember to riff hard enough for the heaviness of the riffs to have full effect. This is especially evident on “Sole Survivors” and “This Means War,” both of which have heavy opening riffs. While the former lets up a little to go into gallop mode, the latter never stops riffing. The innovative leads and blistering solos on this album are also excellent, adding value to songs like “Good Enough” and “Swallow Your Pride.” While the gallops are very reminiscent of the high velocity style of early Avantasia and Helloween, the pace on Off the Grid is slightly faster, taking more influence from the thrashier sound of USPM.

As is typical of high-octane power metal, the rhythms on this album are fantastic and bombastic. The one exception to this is the closing track “Running Riot.” This track still contains great hooks, riffs, and solos but it has the added bonus of neat bass lines and comparatively simplistic drumming, showing a hint of pop metal influence. Fortunately for Cellador, it is just a hint and actually adds character to the album.

In comparison with their debut, this album is better produced and also adds a touch of ESPM cheese with Diego’s keyboard lines. Diego turns in a great performance on this record and the band uses him sparingly and wisely. The keyboards replace a little of the neo-classical influence that was present on the debut but it does not subtract from the greatness of this long-awaited sophomore effort. It is merely a slightly different approach to the same overall sound, which is to be expected given the time between releases. Also to be expected is a slight change in vocal style with Chris Peterson having taken over lead vocal duties. Chris sings more in the mid-range than Michael did on the debut so there is less vocal diversity. At the same time though, Michael always sounded a little too much like a carbon copy of the early German style and Chris’ voice stands out more among the fray. His vocal style grooves very nicely with the rest of Cellador’s unique sound and though it is cleaner, he still brings plenty of raw energy to the songs on this album.

At the end of the day, Off the Grid is a tremendous album that will surely wind up on many year-end lists. There are a few noticeable changes in sound from the debut but they only add to the intrigue and overall gloriousness of Cellador’s sound. This album will please longtime fans of the band and hopefully bring in many new fans because this band deserves more attention. This has been a long time coming but it was totally worth the wait. Now if they could just get a stable lineup and make another record in less than six years, all will be right with the world…

- originally written for The Metal Observer