lukretion In 1997, German power metal band Heavens Gate released the EP In the Mood, an extemporaneous project where the band recorded stripped down acoustic versions of some of the tracks from their most recent LP, Planet E. The idea for the EP originated from a series of acoustic live shows Heavens Gate had done in 1996/97 to promote the LP. Hence the decision to release some of the re-arranged tracks in an EP. The record also includes a new song, specifically written for the acoustic EP, as well as a medley of songs from their first three albums.

With a duration just below 30 minutes and nearly all material taken from previous records, this EP is inevitably an affair for die-hard fans of the band only. The most remarkable aspect of the album is the great effort the band made to re-arrange the tracks acoustically while also incorporating a wide array of influences and styles that are normally extraneous to a power metal band. The guitars in particular experiment with many diverse styles, including flamenco, jazz, blues, folk and even reggae. The drums are replaced by groovy percussions that also add a nice touch to the songs. Instrumentally, this is a fun album to listen to, especially if you already know the original songs as it can be quite amusing to see how far the band managed to push the original tunes.

The main weakness of the EP, however, is the performance of the band’s singer Thomas Rettke. He is actually a pretty decent vocalist and his work with Heavens Gate is generally good. However, he does not have that versatility that would have been necessary to accompany the re-arranged songs. He sings like a power metal singer, no matter what the other instruments are actually playing. This simply does not work and the contrast between Rettke’s voice and the rest of the instruments is often jarring. The songs on this EP would have sounded much better if they had been sung by a more versatile vocalist. I am thinking here about the fabulous performance by Damian Wilson on the Maiden United albums, where he sung acoustically re-arranged versions of Iron Maiden’s songs, giving them a whole new life and dimension.

Alas, this does not happen here. Without a more refined vocal performance, the 5 songs of the EP do not really work as well as they could have. The track that works best is probably the medley of songs from the band first three records, mainly because here the acoustic arrangements are kept simple and devoid of too many extravagant influences, which helps reducing the contrast between the vocals and the instrumental background.

Overall, In the Mood is really just nothing more than a curio for die-hard fans of the band. If you are new to Heavens Gate, this is no point of entry and you should re-route yourself to one of their full-length albums, which are a much better reflection of the qualities of this band.