Union Gives Strength

Union Gives Strength is a work on which Galneryus pulls together the dramatic melody, complex, elaborate development and virtuosic playing it has cultivated over long years into a record with a strong sense of unity. Syu’s fluid guitar and Masatoshi Ono’s overwhelming high-range vocals take the leading role, yet the precision of the whole ensemble, including the keyboards and rhythm section, makes the songs’ scale even bigger. True to its title, a record inscribing the band’s sure unity. From the power of the speeding opener “The Howling Darkness” and the drama of “Flames of Rage” to the catchy “Hold On,” every song is engaging, while cuts like “Bleeding Sanity” and “See the Light of Freedom” convey the work’s fullness. Masatoshi Ono’s overwhelming high range is powerfully in sharp form throughout. A record on which, even in long, elaborate songs, the melody by no means gets lost, and speed and deep lyricism appear in turn vividly. It is a record to recommend precisely to those who want to savor the outstanding technique and deep drama of Japanese melodic metal head-on. A powerful, engaging record showing Galneryus’s unshakable ability — a record where the band’s unity shines.