ABSOLVA (feat. Ronnie Romero) – Justice (2025) *HQ*
ABSOLVA hail from Manchester, UK and have been around for thirteen years, releasing six prior albums and now releasing the new effort titled ”Justice”, an album lyrically inspired by the early 90s film Tombstone.
While ABSOLVA’s songwriter and guitarist Christopher Appleton also handle lead vocals, the idea for ‘Justice‘ was to bring outsider vocalists too, and half of the songs are performed by the likes of Ronnie Romero and Blaze Bayley among others.
Musically ABSOLVA mis ’80s / ’90s metal with hard rock, ranging from Avantasia to Dokken and the heavier side of Nineties hard rock. It may sound like a weird combination, but works greatly giving ”Justice” a nice bounce.
The opening track takes off like a shot, with the metallic ‘Freedom and Glory’. Speed mixed with dynamic tempo changes and it’s riding into battle, take no prisoners approach is fabulous, reminding me a bit of Avantasia with its boldness and dynamics.
Track 2’s ‘The Thrill of the Chase’ has my favorite melody line and riff. It has an old school Ratt / L.A. Guns feel to it, with an updated production. One of the highlights is ‘Find My Identity’, featuring Ronnie Romero. Appleton is all over the fretboard, noodling in all the right ways to construct a melody that never becomes routine and kept me smiling the whole time.
I love the little surprises found throughout, in particular the terrific guitar solos. ‘The City is Burning’, with its old school Dokken vibe, has a superb solo that sounds traditional, but the band suddenly stops playing at one point and lets Luke tap away with an impressive finger tapping maelstrom that made me rewind the song just to hear that solo again.
‘Against the Odds of Time’ is multi-layered and throws in a not-so-subtle reference to Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song in the solo section. Ex- Iced Earth vocalist Stu Block delivers a solid performance. David Marcelis (ex- Purgatory, Lord Volture) guest on the title track, a metallic track plenty of melody and a certain Dokken meets Armored Saint feeling.
Blaze Bayley leads ‘Atlas (War Between the Gods), a strong, midtempo battle cry of a track.
While the guest vocalists enhance the “Justice, Appleton himself does an admirable job with half the album where he is featured as the lead. He channels an Andi Deris vibe on ‘The Streetfighters of Blackford Bridge’ so much you would be forgiven if you thought it was an unreleased Helloween track. He is far from an Andi Deris clone, he does carry similar vocal traits.
With ”Justice”, Absolva have delivered a solid and engaging album that blends each of the elements of their sound; melodic metal + hard rock. A varied track list that moves confidently between hard-charging riffs, melodic choruses and introspective moments. Each guest vocalist adds something unique to the album, but that should not overshadow the vocal work of Chris Appleton, which is more than competent.
With a range of energy and atmospheres, these songs showcases their technical abilities and emotional depth. A bold and assured release that reinforces Absolva’s standing in current British metal.
Highly Recommended
1. Freedom & Glory (feat. David Marcelis)
2. The Thrill of The Chase
3. Against The Odds Of Time (feat. Stu Block)
4. Hero In Your Life
5. Justice (feat. David Marcelis)
6. Find My Identity (feat. Ronnie Romero)
7. The City Is Burning
8. Atlas (war between the gods) (feat. Blaze Bayley)
9. Left Behind
10. Street Fighters of Blackford Bridge
Christopher Appleton – lead vocals and lead guitar
Luke Appleton – guitar and backing vocals
Martin Mcnee – drums
Karl Schramm – bass and backing vocals
Pre order:
propermusic.com/collections/pre-orders/products/absolva-justice
