Pellek – Ocean of Opportunity (2013)

Today we have Norwegian Metal/Rock vocalist Pellek (Per Fredrik Asly) delivering is sophomore album titled “Ocean of Opportunity”. As a highly ambitious self-released album, Pellek and company (he now has band members for this album cycle) deliver more than 45 minutes of expertly crafted Power/Progressive Metal with a nice dosage of symphonic elements. Being a concept album, the nine tracks in this release nicely come together and keep a very steady and engaging flow making the release very solid and interesting.

Opening with very regal orchestrations on “Elucidation”, we can immediately enjoy the album’s crystal-clear production and PelleK’s talented vocals. This song is quite powerful and enjoyable, but it holds itself from letting the listener know all that is hidden under Pellek’s bag of tricks. Immediately reminding us of Nightwish, “Northern Wayfarer” makes things more dynamic with lush guitar work and very solid solos.

“Sea of Okhotsk” has a nice playful Asian edge to it, very reminiscent of bands like Avantasia and Ayreon that are filled with excellent songs. The band’s guitarist Patrick Fallang does a great job through this record providing cool riffs and even better guitar solos, he also handles a few of the orchestrations in this release. For lush vocal arrangements, “Brigantine of Tranquility” and “God’s Pocket” are pretty good examples of catchy vocal arrangements blended into very upbeat music. Our favorite track is the lush and dramatic “Stars and Bullet Holes”, Pellek’s vocals in this song are particularly awesome in conjunction with the keyboards.

For the people looking for the Power ballad, look no further and enjoy the solemn “Sky Odyssey”. Just before the release comes to a close, “Transmigration” and “The Last Journey” deliver the finishing touches on Pellek’s excellent release. If you are a fan of catchy and well-crafted Power/Progressive Metal, you will love “Ocean of Opportunity”. Pellek’s vocals are extremely enjoyable and when paired with the excellent guitarist, bass guitarist, and drummer he selected for this release, we get more of a band effort than a one-person ‘I handle everything’ release. This makes the album more dynamic and enjoyable from start to end, so be sure to grab a copy from the band’s website.

Label: Self-released

Release: May 10th, 2013

Genre: Progressive/Power Metal

Country: Norway