Eternity

Determined to use the power of power metal to spread positivity, German act Freedom Call should be the cheesiest band ever conceived. And they kinda are — but that’s also what makes them so damn charming. That, and an ability to back up their ambitions with the kind of upbeat Stan Bush/Survivor-style riffs that instantly bring a smile to even the most jaded faces. Their third album is filled with neoclassical flourishes and poppy sing-along choruses. Thankfully, there’s also some heft to it that keeps optimistic anthems like “Flying High” and “Metal Invasion” from falling into the AOR muck that drowns a lot of their contemporaries. There’s plenty of doom and death metal out there — why not some happy heavy metal as well?