Review | The Ferrymen – Iron Will

Frontiers Music srl

So far, The Ferrymen consisting of singer Ronnie Romero, multi-instrumentalist Magnus Karlsson and powerhouse drummer Mike Terrana sounded quite impressive on their three previous albums of which ’One More River To Cross’ was the latest one to be released in January 2022. We are three years further and now number four album strongly titled ‘Iron Will’ is knocking on the door. The group always delivered strong and melodic power metal with a big classic touch, structured around the strong vocal melodies of Romero, the inventive and powerful drumming of Terrana and the classic chops of Karlsson, a man who throughout the years developed his own signature guitar sound with The Ferrymen but also on the Allen/Lande albums. All filled with material coming right from the heart and musical soul of Karlsson, who also made a name for himself as guitarist of Prima Fear and his own project Magnus Karlsson Freefall.

MORE OF THE SAME?

I reviewed ‘One More River To Cross’ for this webzine and wrote that the band certainly did not disappoint but in future it would be nice if they would or could expand their musical horizon a bit further. Has that happened? Or does ‘Iron Will’ offer more of the same? After hearing the album for a few weeks now not very much has changed although there are a few different elements there at least. Especially the beautiful and intriguing ballad ,,Dreams And Destiny’’ offers a different insight in the musical content of this group.

It sounds subtle, inventive, emotional and it has also a bit of power but not to the extent that is typical for The Ferrymen and for most of the songs on this album. For about 80 percent ‘Iron Will’ sounds as a very logical and typical The Ferrymen album. Romero’s singing is spot on and it seems that the Chilean vocalist just thrives on compositions written by Karlsson. The Swedish mastermind knows exactly what he needs to provide to bring out all the qualities and different ranges in Romero’s vocal pipes.

THE FERRYMEN – THE CONCLUSION

Looking at the complete picture I must admit that these guys really know what they are doing. It might not be surprising anymore but their sheer musical qualities, the thunderous sound, and the level of compositions plus the perfect execution make all the difference. I have not heard one song that is beyond par, on the other hand with the already mentioned ballad ,,Dreams And Destiny’’ as (lonely) highlight of the record, a few more top crackers would have been welcome, but as a whole ‘Iron Will’ has a constant level, that cannot be denied. Fan of The Ferrymen? I suppose ‘Iron Will’ will be very satisfactory indeed. For sure an album that you need to crank up to get maximum satisfaction.

Release date: 24 January 2025