After last year’s disappointing ‘Between Dread and Valor’, my expectations for its follow-up were mixed. On the one hand, the last album wasn’t exactly a reason to be hopeful for what would be next. However, Galneryus has a habit of following up their most disappointing releases with something good. That is more or less what happened with ‘The Stars Will Light the Way’. It’s Galneryus’ first hour-long album of all-original material since 2019’s ‘Into the Purgatory’, and it breathes new life into the band’s tried-and-true mildly progressive power metal sound. It’s a bit formulaic at times, but generally it’s just really good.

The first thing that stands out about ‘The Stars Will Light the Way’ is how much better the production is than on its predecessor. Gone is the bone dry guitar sound that made Yuhki’s keyboards feel weirdly out of place. The lively contemporary power metal production just works with the material on display here. Also, the album feels a bit more riffy than the average Galneryus release overall. Syu still plays plenty of melodic lead guitar themes, but the most memorable moments on the album are largely characterized by his riffs. A welcome tweak of the general Galneryus formula.

‘Lost in the Darkness’ was an early favorite because of this. The main riff of the song seeks to inject a bit of an NWOBHM flavor into the band’s power metal sound, which gives the song a delightful old school heavy metal vibe. The more modern, downtuned ‘Finally, It Comes!’, on the other hand, has a somewhat darker atmosphere not unlike 2008’s criminally underrated ‘Reincarnation‘ album. Also, it features what is probably Masatoshi Ono’s best vocal performance on the album. Later on, ‘Voice in Sadness’ is a more traditional power metal track that sounds like it evolved from one of Helloween’s ‘Keeper of the Seven Keys’ albums.

One thing that has always set Galneryus apart from the contemporary power metal pack is the quality of their middle sections. This is usually where the band goes full prog, and where they surprise the most. Such sections elevate fairly standard Galneryus tracks like the singles ‘The Reason We Fight’ and ‘In Water’s Gaze’, while they lift already awesome tracks like the surprisingly intense ‘Heartless’ to an even higher level. ‘Crying for You’ is Galneryus’ best attempt at an AOR-styled track since original singer Yama-B left the band. Yuhki’s classically tinged piano arrangement really makes it something fairly unique within this category of Galneryus material.

Sure, ‘The Stars Will Light the Way’ is not without its flaws. The eleven-minute closer ‘I Believe’ is a fairly blatant rewrite of their popular epic ‘Angel of Salvation’, and Ono’s vocals are subject to a few awkward production choices. Overall though, ‘The Stars Will Light the Way’ sounds more relevant than most power metal bands manage to do in their third decade of existence. A riff-driven Galneryus will always be the best version of Galneryus to me. While it doesn’t quite live up to the likes of ‘Angel of Salvation‘ and ‘Union Gives Strength‘, ‘The Stars Will Light the Way’ delivers what Galneryus fans want in spades.

Recommended tracks: ‘Lost in the Darkness’, ‘Heartless’, ‘Finally, It Comes!’

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