Brainstorm – "Plague of Rats"
... But their name makes me think of college group assignments
Brainstorm is another one of those bands whose existence I was aware of, but that I never got around to checking out. Coming to think of it, how often do we actually check a band out? Even when we get a recommendation and assure the kind buddy who recommended that band to us that, "Yeah, I'll be sure to check those guys out"? You don't really get around to doing it, right? Because I sure as shit don't.
Anyway. Brainstorm, like a lot of other fine heavy metal outfits, are from Germany. The first thing that struck me is that they sound a lot like their sublime countrymen Orden Ogan, which may very well have something to do with Orden Ogan mastermind Sebastian "Seeb" Levermann mixing, mastering, and producing the whole damn thing. But if one performs aforementioned genre, there are certainly worse things that one might sound like.
Speaking of which, Brainstorm is also one of those bands that gets lumped in with the power metal category, supposedly because their music features melodies and... I dunno, because it's German...? Either way, we're dealing with yet another case of power metal genre mix-up: It's just plain heavy metal, sometimes even verging on thrash. Melodic, yes, but so is Judas Priest. And they're not power metal, are they? Yeah, didn't think so.
Indeed, opener "Beyond Enemy Lines" kicks off with a Minor-key lead theme that could have come from one Adrian Smith – and the whole uptempo drive and harmony lead sounds like his band, but possibly on steroids. Yes, again, and to be fair, that big-ass chorus does sound a lot like Orden Ogan, who do have one leg in the power metal camp. However, as it turns out, Brainstorm – unlike many power metal bands that are often Major-key oriented – tend to cultivate pure Minor keys and Middle-Eastern-tinged keys with that loveably nasty flat second step.
This is heard, among elsewhere, in follow-up "Garuda (Eater of Snakes)" whose heavy intro with interchanging hammering drums and lead figure slides echo this litte tune, name of "Ride the Lightning". Its ominous chorus has been stuck in my head all fucking day, and that's a testament to the magically instant staying power of the band.
Brainstorm are a starkly powerful unit, and I can't fucking believe I haven't gotten into them until now. Feels like a waste of time.
In fact, "Plague of Rats" is one of those albums that keeps on unfolding and unveiling stronger material as things progress. The semi-thrashy "False Memories" hits a sweet, juicy spot between melody and power (no, not power as in "power metal", because that's already covered in the "melody" component, see? Fucking genre newbies.) Then, "The Shepherd Girl" presents the strongest chorus so far – and bloody Hell, it keeps on going like that. "Masquerade Conspiracy" goes from melodic thrash to erupting in a gigantic half-time chorus that'll stick with you in spite of months of therapy:
YOU WO-ON-DER WHYYYYYY
YOU STI-ILL BE-LIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEVE
THIS MA-AS-QUE-RAAAAAADE
CONSPIIIIIIIIII-RACA-AAAAYYYYY
Yeah, that's a humble typographic rendering of how it sounds. This is the kind of metal that's virtually begging to be played from mountaintops. And incidentally, it's the kind of metal that deserves much bigger accolade than what it'll probably get outside its fine home country.
The one big detractor is the two songs featuring guest vocalists: One, this chick from Leaves' Eyes, which, apparently, is some of that opera-pastiche metal, and the other, the growler from Atrocity and... er, Leaves' Eyes. But Hell, it's not even a very big detractor. And after those, Brainstorm deliver a hat-trick of epic proportions. "The Dark of Night", starting off in chugging half-time metal and expanding over pure, impassioned late-'80s hard rock, really does feature the album's strongest refrain. It's saying a lot, and it's a bit mind-blowing that this happens at a point where most other albums have started to fizz out.
Yes, much like the latest near-masterpiece from Night Flight Orchestra, "Plague of Rats" just keeps on delivering till the end. "Crawling" deals as severe bashes to the keyboard as to the guitar, and you'll get it stuck in your head just by seeing its one-word title. And also the rapid, deep-end heavy metal axe chops of "Curtains Fall" are reciprocated by another spectacular tune with some more of those exquisite background vocal harmonies that German metal bands tend to do so well. Not the least of all if their songs have been run by Seeb Levermann.
In conclusion, Brainstorm are a starkly powerful unit, and I can't fucking believe I haven't gotten into them until now. Feels like a waste of time. I remember seeing that one album of theirs that came out in 2008 while I was working in a record store, and I dismissed it, because judging by the cover, I thought it was a hiphop album. This leaves us with a lesson – not a lesson of how we shouldn't judge things by surface-level appearance, but a lesson of how metal albums should also just plain look metal. But I digress, of course.
Rating: 5 out of 6
Genre: Heavy metal
Release date: 28/2/2025
Label: Reigning Phoenix
Producer: Sebastian "Seeb" Levermann