adg211288 The Call (2013) is the fourth full-length album release by German folk metal act Minotaurus. It’s been awhile since the group last released an album, the prior release being The Lonely Dwarf (2009), but The Call actually presents an end to the shortest gap between full-lengths for the group, who despite having so few full-lengths have a history which dates back to 1994. The album features a re-recording of the song Princess of Destruction which previously appeared on their second album Myth or Reality (2004).

The sound heard on The Call is best described as a mostly vocal driven kind of folk metal. While Minotaurus do utilise folk elements in the music on a semi-regular basis their true folk side mostly comes down to the way in which the vocals are delivered and how the songs are structured around that aspect. Musically Minotaurus keep very much on the metal side of things, allowing for greater focus on those elements than some folk metal bands would normally allow for. It’s a treat in the sound where folk is used musically, but Minotaurus are just one of those bands who don’t need traditional instrumentation to get that folk vibe across, although the album does showcase that they’re much better at folk heavy tracks like Erlkönig than the more melodic metal based ones like Free Our Souls. The metal elements themselves, along with the general catchy nature of the songs, makes them sound most reminiscent of power metal, although the album doesn’t hit power metal style speed often enough to be considered a true folk-power metal release.

Minotaurus features two singers who alternate between English and German lyrics. The male vocalist Oliver Klump is the star of the show with female vocalist Julia Hofmeister mostly regulated to a backing role. Klump sings cleanly but can make use of a rough edge to his voice, which goes into a full growl on rare occasion. Both are decent singers, but unfortunately given the general vocal arrangement between the two I actually think Hofmeister’s voice is much suited to the kind of folk metal that Minotaurus play. When Klump sings at his most melodic he shines though.

The Call is a competent release from Minotaurus with several great songs but come the conclusion of the album I’ve just left feeling a bit underwhelmed by it. It’s one of those albums where after a few tracks I feel like I’ve heard all it has to offer and no matter how strong the songs that follow are they just don’t manage to leave as much of an impression on me as early highlights like Erlkönig and Hinterhalt. It’s all good stuff and there isn’t a song here I can’t pick out at random and enjoy to a varying degree, but if I try to take The Call from start to finish, my attention begins to wander about halfway through. If you want some folk metal with emphasis on the metal than it may be worth a shot for you, but the overall impression it leaves on me is that it’s good, but only for an occasional, casual listen.

71/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/minotaurus-the-call-t3004.html)