THE FERRYMEN – One More River to Cross

I have had a soft spot for the project The Ferrymen since their debut in 2017 and it is therefore pretty damn brilliant to be able to state that this sparkling new effort of theirs evocatively titled “One More River to Cross” is a real delight to listen to and easily their best and most accomplished offering yet.

Rainbow vocalist Ronnie Romero is firing on all cylinders here while drummer Mike Terrana and multi-instrumentalist Magnus Karlsson bring their A-game and deliver some thunderous power metal enveloped in a thick, massive sound. What sets it apart from its two predecessors is its cohesiveness with respect to quality and atmosphere. The riffs are meatier, the vocal melodies are catchier, and the aura is more intriguing and mysterious this time around. All of that makes for a more consistently entertaining listen not to mention a rewarding experience all around. There is an abundance of passion and determination to these eleven tracks, and although the record lacks groove and is not the most organic-sounding output that you will come across this year, which is hardly surprising given that they recorded their parts in separate countries, the musicianship is absolutely fantastic, and the compositions are stellar and sufficiently dynamic. Actually, some of the slower parts are not altogether that different to what one may find on Dio’s “Magica” masterpiece in terms of riffs and the way in which the keyboards are intertwined with the guitars and vocals.

“One More River to Cross” is a stately piece of work and loaded with great songs with the highlights being “One Word”, “Shut It Out”, and “Bringers of the Dark”, but every tune contains big hooks. It is always exciting to see a band refine their sound and evolve into something really interesting and musically captivating over time, and their latest one simply checks all the boxes for me. With this record, they have achieved their true potential.