REVIEWS |
 |
|
|
|
|
ACTION
"Action" (Frontiers Records - provided by Zink Music) - 1 out of 5 points - |
|
It seems like Frontiers Records has gotten into the bad habit of signing AOR bands that "once was on the verge to something bigger, but never made it", kind of like what MTM had going a year or two ago (and we all know that MTM went bankrupt, so why the heck is Frontiers following that same formula?). Anyway, Action is one of those bands that never amounted to anything in the world of countless AOR bands from the 80's, and listening to "Action" I easily see why. This is redundant keyboard-driven pop-AOR with some pretty bland guitar solos and a vocalist who sounds like he just came back from spending the night at his gayfriends apartment. Yaak!!!
|
|
Claus
|
|
|
|
|
AGNOSTIC FRONT
"Warriors" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 1½ out of 5 points - |
|
I'm trying to think of one single reason why I should like this album, but I can't come up with anything that makes sense to myself, so I doubt it'll make sense to you either. Agnostic Front is one of the "classic" New York Hard Core bands, who together with bands such as Cro-Mags, Crumbsuckers, Murphy's Law, Sick Of It All and Biohazard created the scene simply referred to as "NYHC". It's a style of music drawing heavily on the "punk" attitude and less on the "metal" riffing, and besides really few bands from that scene (the more metallic bands Prong, Biohazard, Madball, S.O.D.) I honestly don't remember the scene ever appealing to me. With "Warriors" we get another album that sounds like most of the other stuff I've heard from the NYHC environment, which means fast-paced punk songs with a bit of thrash-metal to it, and lots of the oh-so-irritating "gang-vocals", which is basically 5 guys screaming out the same lyric at the same time (and that makes up for a chorus … baaah). Sure, there's plenty of energy, a pretty clear production and attitude in spades, but that's just not enough for me, sorry.
|
|
Claus
|
|
|
|
|
ARCH ENEMY
"Rise Of The Tyrant" (Century Media - provided by EMI) - 4 out of 5 points - |
|
Arch Enemy is back with their eight album "Rise Of The Tyrant". And believe me it seems like the band gets stronger and stronger for each release that they make, and of cause "Rise Of" is no exception once again they surprise me with their strong melodies and a hard edge to the music. I have always been in doubt with Angela Gossow (Vocals) performance, and unfortunately this is no exception not that it is bad but sometimes it feels like she lacks a bit nerve to the vocal, and her range isn't that big which is a pity eventhough we are talking about melodic death metal! Instead of focusing on the less so beautiful things - I can not praise the Amott brothers (Guitars) enough what a constellation they are, the melodic parts they melt their beautiful tones from their guitar right into to my heart ohh what joyJ For an example "The Last Enemy" and the high energetic "The Great Darkness" demonstrates what this class act is capable of. The music hasn't changed much but there is no need to it, because what they perform is top class and should be considered as some of the leading within their genre. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this record to all the readers who is into good old melodic death metal.
|
|
Benjamin
|
|
|
|
|
DISARRAY
"Edge Of My Demise" (Inner Void Records - provided by Inner Void Records) - 1 out of 5 points - |
|
Lousy US power groove / thrashy metal, somewhere along the lines of a lesser Pantera, Biohazard, Pro-Pain or Machine Head - but without any relevance or any musical merits at all. The low budget sounding production (courtesy of Pro-Pain vocalist Gary Meskil) doesn't make it any better. Next!
|
|
Claus
|
|
| ** DOUBLE REVIEW FEATURE ** |
|
|
|
|
|
DREAMSCAPE
"5th Season" (Massacre Records - provided by Massacre) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
|
The German band Dreamscape is out with their 5th album since their debut ten years ago, Dreamscape is not a band that have done a lot of albums taken into consideration that they have existed since 1986. The new album have 9 songs and more than 60 minutes of progressive metal, the music can be compared with acts like Dream Theater, Vandenplas, the album is musically variated and shows the potential these musicians have, but it is not all there is, the songs has lots of melodic elements and choruses, which really give it a nice flow along with the change of rhytme and riffs and that definetely makes it listenable. The 14:35 minute title song is in my opinion the highlight of the album, even though I am usually not into long songs but it just has everything you want to hear in this genre. Even though I really cant criticize on the sound or performance on this album, then there are still a few things that keeps them from going to the top, one thing is that the album looses the energy through the 60 minutes of playtime, secondly the music definitely has some Dream Theater compares which doesn't make it all that original, but in the end this is a fine album that lives up to the standard of prog-metal and it deserves attention, that is also why it is shame, that this will be the last effort with the current lineup, where R.Stoll, B.Schmidtler and producer Jan Vacik will leave the band to pursue new challenges.
|
|
Benjamin
|
|
| ** DOUBLE REVIEW FEATURE ** |
|
|
|
|
|
|
DREAMSCAPE
"5th Season" (Massacre Records - provided by Massacre) - 3 out of 5 points - |
|
The final disc, "5th Season", arrives from Dreamscape (at least with the current lineup) and I have mixed feelings on it overall. I've been a long time of Dreamscape since day one, and in spite of their ever-changing lineups and time lapse in between discs, the band has always managed to release quality, melodic, progressive metal discs. "5th Season" is no different, in the sense that it has most of the quality of a Dreamscape release, but with three of the vital members of the band leaving at this time; it seems that the disc reflects that departure in the presentation of the music. The music feels "rushed" and not as deep and thought out as with previous releases. Given the high level quality of their last disc, "End of Silence", and their highly acclaimed performances at the prestigious USA ProgPower shows (in consecutive years I might add), "5th Season" falls short of the magnificence level that has bestowed their previous releases. While the performance can be debated, I find the music to be less "intense" than their previous material, and songs like "Somebody" and the ending ballad "Farewell" (almost appropriate in this case) show the band in its most "poppy" state of being; something we are not used to with Dreamscape. On the other hand, songs like "Phenomenon" and the title track "5th Season" still remind me that the band can and still do write fantastic songs that they are well known for. The intensity level of the mentioned songs are what make and what have made Dreamscape the great band that they are; unfortunately, with the band disintegrating, the intensity level seems to be found in only the vocals of Roland Stoll, who sounds like a madman on a mission. His voice sounds not only better than on the great "End of Silence", but he also sounds like a man whose band is on the verge of breaking it open and calling on the world. His range has improved greatly, and his use of layered harmonies really drive this music and show just how much a vocalist can improve with time. The other factor I noticed is that guitarist Wolfgang Kerrinis has toned down the wonderful solos he is known for. Normally, the songs are laced with shots of Wolfgang's melodic interludes, but here it's almost as if he just wants the songs to be done with and leaves well enough alone on most of the songs. The production is very good, although seems a notch below "End of Silence" in terms of clarity and crispness. The production on "5th Season" seems a little on the raw side, giving their usual melodic warmth a rougher / harder edge. It's a very ironic situation, and since the departure of long time drummer Bernhard Huber, the band hasn't been the same since. From one who has followed this band from the beginning, it's almost easy to hear what is happening to this band through their music, and while paying tribute to Roland Stoll is not nearly enough to call this disc "great" in its own right, having to fast forward through many songs on a Dreamscape disc is certainly disheartening. In addition, if a band is on the verge on calling it quits, it would certainly be more pleasing to fans if they were served up a dose of greatness instead of a dose of songs left void of the intensity that has marked Dreamscape discs all along. Call me biased, and I am, but while I talk about the less-than-stellar qualities of the disc, there are quite a few moments on the disc that makes me think "awesome" and wish that the whole disc were structured that way. Let's hope that the new Dreamscape can recoup the greatness that they truly had, and what we expect from them.
|
|
Larry D
|
|
|
|
|
EYES OF EDEN
"Faith" (Century Media - provided by EMI) - 2 out of 5 points - |
|
A perfect example of music that is basically ok, but which has been heard 1000 times before. Waldemar Sorychta is better known for his axe shredding in Grip Inc. and for producing The Gathering and Lacuna Coil albums (among most of Century Media's releases end of the 90's and early 00's), but here he is with the most irrelevant release connected to his name to date. How can a guitarist of this status release an album without any solo's? Franziska Huth is singing ok, but absolutely nothing more than that. She's a mediocre vocalist that doesn't get the message out into the songs, since there's no energy in her voice. And I don't give a shit, if the record label has decided that she's looking good (what kind of an argument is that to use in a biography…I'd expected more from Century Media). Faith sounds like a less interesting version of Lacuna Coil, with a touch of melody from Bon Jovi on the song "You Give Love A Bad Name"….ooops "Star". Did we steal here? Sorry, but there's not enough energy and passion on this album to make it interesting for further investigation. Stick to the producing of Lacuna Coil, and don't try to make a copy of it, Wademar….
|
|
Lars
|
|
|
|
|
GAMMA RAY
"Land Of The Free II" (Steamhammer / SPV - provided by Target) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
|
Great - a new Judas Priest…eeeh sorry, Iron Maiden…eeeh sorry, Hammerfall…Accept…Helloween. Joke aside, this is the album that Gamma Ray simply stole from all the bands mentioned - Kai has even stolen from himself back from the "Walls Of Jericho" era. It is below this band's dignity and legacy to do an album like this. At the same time, the band has recorded most of the album by them selves and that's obviously a mistake vocally. Kai has never sounded worse and is way out of tune in some parts. It's sad that the band ruins the legacy of part one of the concept with this, musically speaking, castrated follow-up. Gamma Ray's last cool album was "Somewhere Out In Space", but there have been some memorable songs on the following albums. The most memorable parts on this album are the ones that are directly stolen from other bands - like the "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner/The Prophecy" clone - played exactly like Iron Maiden would do it - or the "Flash Of The Blade" clone - played exactly like Iron Maiden would do it. I don't know where Gamma Ray will go after this album, but they need to re-invent the band and begin writing music that is original and not steal with arms and legs from everyone else, hoping that no one notices it. It is beyond me that a band who was able to write a masterpiece like part one of "Land Of The Free" (5/5, if I were to judge it) could make this lukewarm part 2.
|
|
Lars
|
|
|
|
|
HELLOWEEN
"Gambling With The Devil" (Steamhammer / SPV - provided by Target) - 4½ out of 5 points - |
|
After a period of approximately 10 years, where I have been in a totally anti-Helloween mood due to horrible albums (in my opinion), I am now back on track as a pumpkin fan. This album slays! Period. The explanation is very simple: Andi Deris is concentrating on singing, instead of sounding like a child, the songs are dark and energetic and the band doesn't have the pressure on their shoulders to make another incredible album, as they kind of fulfilled people's dreams with their previous effort "Keeper 3" (a rather horrible album if you ask me), and have been free to do whatever they wanted this time, without anyone expecting something big. They have grasped the chance for spreading pure and energetic power metal. This album begins with an evil intro, with circus atmosphere….a wheel of fortune is rolling and you find yourself in the company of the devil. "Kill It" is an extremely aggressive Helloween track - a slap in the face of dimensions, followed by the most melodic song the band has done in the last 20 years: "The Saints". The refrain is out of this world. It's Andi Deris, when he is best and doesn't have to wallow around in 23 notes above the high C for a whole refrain. "As Long As I Fall" is the song with the lyrics that kicks your ass "…as long as I fall, I don't hit the ground - as long as I fall I'm safe and sound…". Did I mention that the music is great as well? "Paint A New World": aggressive stuff again, with cool keys incorporated and a refrain that rocks severe. It simply goes on and on with great tunes. Only minus is the extremely horrible "Can Do It". I don't get the "We wanna do something funny on our albums" way of thinking. Yepp, the goat (or whatever it was) was funny back in the 80'ies, but in 2007 with so many bands trying to rob you of your throne, there's no room for this funny track. Well, let's not dwell with the bad stuff, when there's so much good here. Weiki and guys: I'm back in the fold…Keep up this stuff, and you'll get my vote for presidents of the world. To all you readers: BUY!!!!!
|
|
Lars
|
|
|
|
|
ICED EARTH
"Framing Armageddon" (Steamhammer / SPV - provided by Target) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
|
Iced Earth is hereby declared dead to fans that listened in awe to the 90'ies version of the band. Framing Armageddon is a thin and pale version of what once was. It goes beyond me how Schaffer continues to make record labels believe in the same 3 chords and the "hit the road jack" recipe (E/D/C/B). No matter how cool we are thought to believe the story is in this concept (and it very well might be an extremely interesting story), the music just doesn't justify the overall experience of a band that simply doesn't have anymore to offer. Yes, Owens is a fantastic vocalist, but he sounds strangely "thin" on Iced Earth's material, and at various points, he's directly out of tune. If this has something to do with the constant whiny and screaming backing vocals that cloud his lower range singing, I don't know. I just know that he doesn't sound like the elite front man, he's supposed to in one of power metal's biggest bands. Jon Schaffer's composition skills need no further comments here, other than: boring! I am really not looking forward to the 2nd part, even though it can only get better from here.
|
|
Lars
|
|
|
|
|
JORN
"Live in America" (Frontiers Records - provided by Zink Music) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
|
So this is Jorn Lande's live album recorded at ProgPower VII last year. Lande and his voice needs no further introduction, he is well known from his work with Masterplan, Beyond Twillight and Allan/Lande "The Battle" among others, and he is one of the best singers in the modern world of metal. This is a double CD with lots of songs, the first cd contains songs from his newest album "The Duke". They start off with the catchy "We Brought The Angels Down", and continues with "Blacksong" and "Duke Of Love". The next songs are the Thin Lizzy songs "Are You Ready" and "Cold Sweat" before the drummer gives a solo which i could have been without. The band then start off "Out to Every Nation" followed by another unuseful solo, this time from the guitarist, the first cd closes with a cover of Whitesnake's " Straight Through The Heart". Which again proves Lande's love for hard rock/glam music, and the fact that he used to sing those tunes in the cover band "The Snakes"? The second cd takes the audience back through some of the projects he's been involved with, it start off with the Beyond Twilight song "Godless And Wicked" and continues with "Soulburn" from the Masterplan debut. Devilbird is a guitar intro/solo before the band play another cover song, "Perfect Stranger", it is followed up by "Gonna Find The Sun" which was released on his Gathering album earlier this year, the live album ends with a almost 18 minutes long Whitesnake medley of the songs "Come On/Sweet Talker/Crying in the Rain/Here I Go Again/Give Me Your Love". Cd 2 then have some extra songs, like a 2007 studio recorded version of "Out To Every Nation" and a Black Sabbath medley, with the songs " Lonely Is The Word/Letters From Earth" and last comes "Sacrificial Feelings". This album is good when talking about performance and production for a live album, Jorn Lande again proves his high quality as a singer and the band sounds good and solid all the way through the album. The negative thing in my opinion, is the choice of songs for this album, there are missing some of his earlier work from "Starfire" and "Worldchanger" which could have replaced some of the many cover tunes and the solo's, it maybe have to do with being the headliner of the show in Atlanta and wanting to give a special treat for the fans, the way the bands perform those Whitesnake songs is very impressive though. One thought that comes to my mind though, is there really a need for a live album in 2007, I mean it is a great way to hear if the artist can actually perform outside the studio, but it doesn't really bring anything new to me, it would have been more appealing if this had come out as a DVD, where you can actually catch a little of the feeling and atmosphere of the show, also when the sound has improved so much on these productions, maybe Lande's music is just not suitable for a release like this, in a way of bringing energy from the show into an album, even though he is a great singer, there seem to be missing some connection between him and the audience. Anyway this is an album for the fans, if you absolute can't get enough of Lande's great voice and his rock n roll/hard rock songs, then you should go out and buy this one for your cd collection.
|
|
Benjamin
|
|
|
|
|
KHYMERA
"The Greatest Wonder"" (Frontiers Records - provided by Zink Music) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
|
I wasn't hooked on the first 2 discs by Khymera (the project band of Empty Tremor/Genious main-man Daniele Liverani), but since the saying goes that "third time is the charm", I better give "The Greatest Wonder" a fair chance. Musically we're still moving around in the Journey, Foreigner, Bad English, Hardline territory … meaning VERY melodic hard rock / AOR. What I however notice this time around is that the songs are really wellwritten (apparently Tom & James Martin - two British twinbrothers, known for writing songs for House Of Lords and Ted Poley, wrote the material here) and that Dennis Ward's voice is better fitted for these tunes than on the previous disc. Songs like "Burn Out", "Since You Went Away" and "The Other Side" are good examples of the quality material at hand, and I'm actually pretty impressed by the standard of this album. I still don't believe Liverani should do 3-4 albums each year, but that's his choice and it does seem to work well enough for him to be able to make a living off of it. "The Greatest Wonder" isn't all what the title makes it sound like, but it's definitely one of the better AOR discs of the year.
|
|
Claus
|
|
|
|
|
LANE, LANA
"Red Planet Boulevard" (Frontiers Records - provided by Zink Music) - 2 out of 5 points - |
|
Lana Lane has been very productive over the years ever since her debut back in 1995, with her busy solo career, participating in various projects (including Ayreon) and with her husband Erik Norlander on his albums. So it's no wonder that at some point the well of inspiration would run dry, and that time is now! While "Red Planet Boulevard" is led by Lana's fantastic voice, it's also an album that oozes of nothing but mediocrity, in both songwriting and production. There's absolutely no excitement in the songs, and the sound is really low budget (which is strange considering that most of Erik Norlander's other production are much more powerful). Overall this album safely pludders along in mid-tempo, and not even once do I hear a riff, a melody or anything that makes me go "wow". It's all heard before from Lane/Norlander and never has it sounded this boring. It's time to take a break from the constant release-race and deliver a solid product next time around.
|
|
Claus
|
|
|
|
|
LEVERAGE
"Blind Fire" (Frontiers Records - provided by Zink Music) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
|
It seems like with each month another new Finnish band that I've never heard about appears from out of nowhere. In the case of Leverage I guess I can only blame myself for my ignorance, as "Blind Fire" isn't their first release at all - oh well… Now, thanks to this promo CD from Frontiers Records, "Blind Fire" is my first meeting with Leverage, and I must say I'm pretty impressed. Musically Leverage sounds kind of like a heavier version of Cornerstone/Ten or a softer version of Masterplan (in other words melodic metal with big hints to the old school style of Rainbow, Whitesnake and the like), done with that special Finnish edge for good melodies and a nice atmosphere. Vocalist Pekka does a really good job on the album, (and I swear that I remember him having a horrible lisp on those songs from his other band - Brother Firetribe - I've heard, but here there's no lisp), guitarists Tuomas and Torsti delivers some pretty impressive solos and melodic leads. My favorite songs are the great "Sentenced" (which reminds me of a less heavy Evergrey/Machine Men), the great opener "Shadow In The Rain" (Majestic/Malmsteen but without neoclassic overkill) and the very melodic (and a bit cheesy) "Mister Universe" - all in all this disc is a very welcomed addition of Finnish melodic hard rock / metal to my collection, and if any of the bands mentioned above has your interest, then you could do much worse than checking out Leverage.
|
|
Claus
|
|
|
|
|
MELDRUM
"Blowin' Up The Machine" (Frontiers Records - provided by Zink Music) - 1½ out of 5 points - |
|
Good looking Heavy Metal girls … oooups, what? Hard Rock, hmm well maybe? 3 times Pink wannabee's, I guess that this is more likely compared to introduce them to the Metal world? Well to speak frankly it is actually okay, but that doesn't make me a Pink fan at all!! Or let me put it in another way I wouldn't deny to go to a concert and get really drunk with the guys (if my wife allows meJ) to see these rocking girls haha. Well don't expect a great musical experience from these girls, because there aren't any. The music reminds me of Foo Fighters meets Biohazard and yeah nearly forgot Pink hahaha. Well I guess it is time for me to quit this review before I embarrass myself..
|
|
Benjamin
|
|
|
|
|
MYSTIC PROPHECY
"Satanic Curses" (Massacre Records - provided by Massacre Records) - 1½ out of 5 points - |
|
There's something really wrong with Germany, there really is … I mean, not the country as such or the people living there, but instead the whole mentality of making a semi-interesting band more popular than they deserve to be. Is it the media people who have pushed this one too far? I don't know, but if so, I'm wondering which of the guys in Mystic Prophecy who has been licking the asses of the collected German press, because Mystic Prophecy is getting all too much attention for such a mediocre band. Okay, I actually thought their previous disc, "Savage Souls", was really good, so the band must be capable of doing something right, but with their new album "Satanic Curses" they are oh-so-wrong. First off: the band needs to find a new singer as R.D. Liapakis is very limited (he stays within the one-octave range throughout the entire disc, plus he is letting more air out of his vocal chords than actual singing) and after a few songs he is simply too annoying to listen to. Secondly, they really should start thinking about finding a new lyrical inspiration, as the theme of Satan, demons and dark forces have been done too many times in the past by way too many bands. Oh, and while we're at the topic of lyrics: this is 2007 and NOONE (I repeat: NOONE) should write a song called "Rock The Night" and sing about "We'll rock your soul, we'll rock your world" unless it is a clear joke! And finally - when a young band starts out, it's okay to do a cover version of something as old-school and simple as Black Sabbath's "Paranoid", but when you're on your 5th full length album and you have a name in the biz, you really shouldn't do something as clichee as that. Mystic Prophecy is not my fave-band, I guess that's quite obvious from this review, but they do occassionally come up with some good riffs, and as mentioned earlier on they actually made a really strong album 1½ year ago. But man, I'm telling you in all seriousness, that if I never heard the "Satanic Curses" album again it would in no way ruin my life. Yes, it's THAT bad.
|
|
Claus
|
|
|
|
|
NIGHTWISH
"Dark Passion Play" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 4 out of 5 points - |
|
What can be said about this album that hasn't already been said a thousand times or more? Correct … NOTHING! There's been a million reviews in newspapers, magazines and webzines, not to mention all the posts on various websites all over the world, "Dark Passion Play" is undoubtedly one of the most discussed metal releases of 2007 - if not THE most discussed one. Thus, my opinion on the disc matters infinitely little in the big picture, so I'll just state that I think this is the best produced Nightwish album I've ever heard, with the most exciting songs (ranging from folk-music style songs to powerful symphonic metal) they've ever done, and finally with a lead vocalist who doesn't seem intend on trying to sound like Maria Callas. It's cheesy and it's nothing new in the metal scene, but it's really welldone and it brings a smile to my face. What more could one ask for?
|
|
Claus
|
|
|
|
|
ORDER, THE
"Metal Casino" (Dockyard1 - provided by VME) - 3½ out of 5 points - |
|
Welcome to the Metal Casino….! This follow-up album from The Order to the debut leaves nothing to be desired, when it comes to new thinking, excellent musicianship and one of the strongest voices in heavy metal today! Gianni Pontillo is a dream of a singer, in the league of David Coverdale, Jorn Lande, Chris Cornell and their likes. What an amazing voice!!!! If ever Masterplan needs a new singer….. Well, now it's about The Order, who have a good rock 'n roll'ish approach to their heavy metal. It might be a bit too much hard rock at times, where the American south suddenly shines through in the music. However, the overall sound is strong metal with cool ideas, great riffs and ….ooooh, that voice. At the same time, the production of the album is crisp clear, so what can I criticize? Only the fact that the rock 'n roll songs aren't that great. Less of that on the next album, and The Order will play with the big boys.
|
|
Lars
|
|
|
|
|
PAGAN'S MIND
"God's Equation" (Limb Music - provided by Target) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
|
What has happened to Pagan's Mind ? They started out as a budding, incredible, melodic prog / power band and have evolved into a modern day power metal band right before our very ears. If you track the band's progress from the awesome "Celestial Entrance" and onto the average sounding "Enigmatic: Calling", it is easy to spot the changes taking place in the bands' sound and style. Here on "God's Equation", the band has found its way into some sort of modern / sci-fi power metal sound. That certainly isn't a bad thing to many ears, judging by the excitement generating around the world in anticipation of this release. Add in the fact that Pagan's Mind continue to amaze fans at the critically acclaimed ProgPower in Atlanta, Ga, for the second time now, and I wonder how there could be such a big difference between their live show and their new disc. On stage, the band is absolutely amazing. Led by the high pitch pyrotechnics of Nils K. Rue, and the amazing one-man guitar show of Jorn Viggo Lofstad, the band is simply marvelous in every way, and owned the crowd of ProgPower USA for an entire weekend. With that said, the anticipation for "God's Equation" was equally unique its own way, with fans hoping for a "re-creation" of the amazing show that they put on in a live setting. Once I got my hands on the disc, and eagerly shoved it into the CD player, I wondered if the band had played any of these songs at the show, since I did not feel the energy coming from the disc as I had from the stage. It is quite common for this to happen to a band, since it is understandably difficult to capture that type of energy and put it on a disc. But this is Pagan's Mind for crying out loud. Can a band that constantly blows away their audiences worldwide lose a little bit during the translation from stage to disc? I say "YES" with authority. Littered with processed vocals, filtered vocal harmonies, a very "raw" production, and a reduction in the keyboard style that drove "Celestial Entrance", the disc doesn't do much to capture the attention other than to marvel at the talent of the musicians at hand. The songs don't stay with me, I yearn for more of a "clean" vocal approach from Nils Rue, especially considering the man is a vocal god amongst men, and I keep leaning towards my speakers in the hopes that I just can't hear the keyboards the way I want to. Take the song "Atomic Firelight", which the band made a video of and released it on the Internet, and onto the Special Edition of "God's Equation". The song is a perfect example of how the band has evolved into "experimenting" with sound and effects while incorporating them into more of a power metal style than anything else. Throw in a little makeup to make Nils look like the perfect example of an atomic zombie, and it causes me to raise my eyebrows questioning the direction of the band as a whole. There is no argument from me that the band is super talented and plays with a vengeance lacking in a lot of bands these days. My disappointment comes from the lackluster songwriting and use of "special effects" from a band that certainly doesn't need this to get their point across. Even a rousing cover of David Bowie's "Hallo Spaceboy" at ProgPower just doesn't translate into greatness on this disc. I have played this disc over and over in the hopes that some of the songs click with me and make me hum them when the disc isn't on, but alas, it appears to be all in vain as I reach for my "Celestial Entrance" and hear the greatness I expect from a band of this caliber and fan appeal. By the time I get to the last song, "Osiris Triumphant Return", it's too late and I'm wishing that this song was placed at the end of "Celestial Entrance" instead of here. There is certainly nothing wrong with progressing and changing up sound and style, but you have to have the songwriting staying power to achieve that, and Pagan's Mind seems more bent on experimenting with new sounds rather than getting down to business and writing awesome songs to go along with that. In their defense, I can't think of another band that sounds like Pagan's Mind, and I put them up there with the best in the talent dept; however, in the writing dept. the band has left something to be desired here. I hope with the next release, they decide to concentrate on writing better songs and leave the sound effects and experiments home. It is just all too convoluted here, and the disc becomes just a mish-mash of sounds and "pieces" of songs thrown together with virtually no direction. This band is in a class by itself. When you look at the talent of the musicians, their awesome stage shows, and right down to their creative and atmospheric CD artwork, you would hope that what is inside the matches the outside. Unfortunately, that marriage did not take place. Hopefully on the next disc it will.
|
|
Larry D
|
|
|
|
|
POODLES, THE
"Sweet Trade" (AFM Records - provided by Target) - 4½ out of 5 points - |
|
If there's a poll for "Best Album Of The Year", I truly believe that it's only fair if there's a poll for "Funniest Album Of The Year", as The Poodles then would have a chance of winning a prize. The thing with The Poodles is that there's no way they'll ever come up with an original album, or an album that will blow away the critics, but The Poodles have what 99.99% of all other bands lack in spades: the ability to write simple hard rock / melodic metal songs that sticks in your mind forever - and THAT is an accomplishement! "Sweet Trade" is an album that makes me smile like nothing else, it's the only album I've heard in years that immediately made me start dancing (yes, me .. dancing … !!!), and I must admit I've fallen completely in love with this disc. Musically it's easy to compare The Poodles with bands such as Pink Cream 69 (the early years with Andi Deris), Gotthard, Motley Crue, Fate and whatever other "party metal" band you can think of. But there's also something more METAL to some of the songs - perhaps not Judas Priest or Iron Maiden, but you get the idea. Seriously, this could be what happened if Benny and Björn from ABBA decided to write songs for Hammerfall or At Vance, or if The Beach Boys accidentally fell in on Bon Jovi's rehearsal room back in 1985. With a line-up of very experienced musicians (including the phenomenal Pontus Norgren on guitar and the brilliant Jake Samuelson on vocals), "Sweet Trade" and The Poodles accounts for this years nicest surprise in melodic metal / hard rock. Now, back to the dancing …
|
|
Claus
|
|
|
|
|
PRIMAL FEAR
"New Religion" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 3 out of 5 points - |
|
In all honesty I think that the interest in the one-trick pony called Primal Fear has vanished from not just my p.o.v. but also from the broader public. It's not like the band is bad in any way - on the contrary; Ralf Scheppers is a fantastic vocalist (and live a brilliant frontman), Mat Sinner is a great songwriter and overall the band and their new album oozes of power and attitude. But - and this is the problem - we've heard it all before, and eventhough they are trying something new such as the inclusion of a ballad with Simone Simons from Epica doing the duet with Ralf it basically seems like it's all a rehash of the other Primal Fear albums. This is power metal done the German way, with a good deal of Judas Priest worship thrown in. It's musically (performance and production) of very high standard and better than 95% of the other releases out there within this style, but in terms of originality this is as bad as it gets.
|
|
Claus
|
|
|
|
|
RIDE THE SKY
"New Protection" (Nuclear Blast - provided by VME) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
|
Some bands sound completely like a mixture of a few others, as in the case of Ride The Sky. At Vance, Masterplan, Helloween and Avantasia comes to mind immediately here. The album is not bad, but neither the best in 2007. The 2nd song of the album is directly stolen from Avantasia "Reach Out For The Light…". There are several other melody lines on the album as well, where one can't help to think about copyrights and what it means to copy other people's riffs so directly. The drums on this release are played by no other than Uli K….sorry - mr. Drum machine! Simply horrific, when you know how good a drummer this man is…Overall, I am a bit disappointed, as I'd expected more from these musicians. After all, they are not new to the scene, but through their excessive stealing they behave as if they were newcomers. Good album, but heard before through other artists.
|
|
Lars
|
|
|
|
|
RITUAL
"The Hemulic Voluntary Band" (Inside Out / SPV - provided by Target) - 4 out of 5 points - |
|
With a title and cover artwork linking to one of Sweden's most interesting "childrens" books and cartoons "The Moomintrolls" by Tove Jansson, Ritual's 5th album really peaks my interest, eventhough I thought that the last album I heard from their side (their 1999 effort "Superb Birth") was a horrible sleeping pill. But since I've always found "The Moomintrolls" fascinating, I immediately wanted to give Ritual another chance with this disc. This is neo-prog in it's purest form, mixing everything from old school King Crimson, Zappa, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Yes, Beatles and Jethro Tull with modern day Änglagard, Anekdoten, Spock's Beard, Landberk, Hedningarna, Pain Of Salvation and (unfortunately) even the occasional Flower Kings reference. This mix works really well, and the emotional concept totally moves under your skin (especially in the fantastic folk-ballad song "Late In November" carried forward by passionate vocals, acoustic guitars, flutes and strings). The albums final opus, the 26 minute "A Dangerous Journey" is a real tour-de-force in how to create a prog-rock tune drawing on all possible influences. Impressive! I'm hooked on this - no doubt about that.
|
|
Claus
|
|
|
|
|
RCOK, ROB
"Garden Of Chaos" (AFM Records - provided by Target) - 3 out of 5 points - |
|
Take the left overs from Bruce Dickinson's "Tyranny Of Souls". Add a voice that is not as catchy as Bruce's. Then you have this album. The songs are not bad, but they are definitely not catchy either. It seems the music is much too easily composed, and most of the riffs are not really worked through, as they would have been, had a band created the music together. This unfortunately reeks of pre-ordered work that you put lyrics upon. I might be wrong about it, but Rob Rock and band need to focus on creating music together, not just copying other stuff there and adding another vocalist. Having said that, there are a few songs that stick after a couple of listenings. The title track is one of those. Another is "Millenial Reign", where Rob delivers vocals that are outstanding, and the refrain keeps you wanting to come back for more. Sad that the disc overall is mediocre. Great production, by the way.
|
|
Lars
|
|
|
|
|
SAINT DEAMON
"In Shadows Lost From The Brave" (Frontiers Records - provided by Zink Music) - 4 out of 5 points - |
|
2008 starts of with quite an impressive Scandinavian release, Saint Deamon's debut album "In Shadows Lost From The Brave". Comprised of 3 Swedes and 1 Norwegian, Saint Deamon is actually a very experienced bunch of musicians, who have appeared on a bunch of albums prior to making this debut album together - from Hammerfall, Dionysus, Ride The Sky, Primal Fear, Sinergy, Cans, Nation to Highland Glory - these guys have been everywhere. Main man in the band is drummer Ronny Milanowicz, who writes most of the material (as he also has done for his previous band Dionysus, and the occassional song writing credits for Hammerfall, Sinner, Primal Fear etc.), and his melodies are outstanding. This is what good songwriting is all about - big melodies, cheesy pop refrains and good riffs in abundance. Musically I guess this could be compared to Firewind, Helloween, Hammerfall, Manowar, Iron Maiden and a tiny bit of AOR here and there. Nothing new about that at all, but it's so well crafted that you can't help nodding your head in acknowledgement on its qualities. Songs like the ballad (and first single) "My Heart", the opener "My Judas" or "Black Symphony" are all great examples of how a REAL song should be done. And, it really does help that vocalist Jan Thore Grefstad (the Norwegian in the bunch - ex-Highland Glory) is one of the most versatile vocalists up here in Scandinavia, who delivers an incredible job here in Saint Deamon. If it hadn't been because of the obvious lack of anything "new" on this album I'd probably given it a 4½ rating, but for now I'm sticking with the 4 out of 5 points score. With that said, this album is wonderful, and I'm hard pressed not to find it one of the best melodic (power) metal albums of the past year.
|
|
Claus
|
|
|
|
|
SEVEN TEARS
"In Every Frozen Tear" (Frontiers Records - provided by Zink Music) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
|
Seven Tears is a young Swedish band balancing on the line between pompous AOR and melodic progressive metal - okay, the "progressive" part isn't really that big, but there are parts here and there that reminds me of Vanden Plas or Dreamscape in their most melodic moments. Most of the time though, the band sounds closer to the AOR / melodic hard rock of Journey, Saga or Foreigner. By songs like "Hollow Ground" they add a certain Evergrey-touch, and it fits the gritty tone of vocalist Zoran Djorem pretty good. Still, Zoran is the weak link in the band, as he sounds very forced most of the time, but I'm willing to let that pass as something to do with his age (yes, the band is VERY young) and hoping that he can become better with time. The rest of the band however are definitely good musicians, and keyboardist Kristofer von Wachenfeldt (from Platitude) feels really at home here. For now Seven Tears deliver a passable output, and I must admit that I like bands that cross over between AOR and prog (such as Stride, Seventh Wonder, Circus Maximus), and although Seven Tears still hasn't reached the quality of the aforementioned bands, they could become another good band in this genre.
|
|
Claus
|
|
|
|
|
SHATTER MESSIAH
"God Burns Like Flesh" (Dockyard1 - provided by VME) - 2½ out of 5 points - |
|
Here's some energy! If you like your power metal to be aggressive, dark and evil, you have come to the right place. There are a few problems connected to this release though. First off, Greg Wagner keeps on singing in tones that are not compatible to the guitars/bass. It's ok for the human ear to listen to short intervals of atonal singing, but a whole album??? It's as if Wagner has listened to Warrell Dane, and decided to use everything Dane does, except for the beautiful parts…At the same time, most of the music on this album is a 90% clone of what Nevermore does - just not carried out with the same skills. It's ok to take influence from a certain artist, but trying to be a complete copy is just not ok, especially, when your fantasy doesn't allow for verses that go beyond one note….lemme guess: E?? (maybe lowered ½ a note or a full note), but nonetheless an open E string that is molested to the hilt. The best part of this album is the drumming and the production, both of which are superbly carried out. If the band could find a bit more melody within their ranks and define their own style, they will be much better off. This album will definitely hit my shelves and stay there.
|
|
Lars
|
|
|
|
|
SINAMORE
"Seven Sins A Second" (Napalm Records - provided by Target) - 3 out of 5 points - |
|
As someone who really liked Sinamore's debut album "A New Day", I find myself not entirely convinced about the quality of the songs on their second output, "Seven Sins A Second" (what a wonderful album title!). It seems to me that the band struggled really hard to come up with something more commercial than what they really have on heart - it sounds forced and not "real". Then again, they are playing a style of music which isn't easy to do much new within, the melodic goth-rock style (imagine modern day Paradise Lost, HIM, Sentenced, To/Die/For or even The Rasmus). Sounding very Finnish is the closest the band comes to having something that shows who they are (or at least where they are from), but then again, most of the bands in this style nowadays are from Finland, so … I really don't know what to say, because on one side I really like this band and think they write and play some pretty cool tunes, but on the other side I'm disappointed by the lack of something "original" in their songwriting.
|
|
Claus
|
|
|
|
|
STREET, THE
"The Divine Debauchery" (Music Buy Mail Gmbh - provided by Artist WorXX) - 2 out of 5 points - |
|
Opening with a sleazy rock'n'roll tune that sounds like a mixture of Skid Row, Little Ceasar and Circus Of Power really gives one a wrong impression of this album; first of all it's a song that sticks out like a sore thumb in terms of writing skills (yeah, the purpose of a sleazy tune imho is to "groove" - this one doesn't), second of all it just doesn't match the rest of the material on the album that much as it's much more than just a sleaze rock/metal disc. In fact I'd rather compare the band to melodic hard rock bands such as Shark Island, House Of Lords, Tesla or Keel (more melodic, less hairspray and less sleaze) with a little bit of harder edge to it here and there (think Lance King's old band Gemini or even the cult act Kidd Robin). However, the band really doesn't write memorable songs, and as musicians there are far better ones out there. Apparenly this is their 6th full-length album, and they've never came to my attention before, which I guess is evidence that they just don't have "it" to get any further than being some local insider-tip. I'm not impressed, but I'm not entirely thrown off either - just rather neutral.
|
|
Claus
|
|
|
|
|
SYMPHONY X
"Paradise Lost" (Inside Out / SPV - provided by Target) - 4 out of 5 points - |
|
I must admit I wasn't very keen on this new album when I got it for review. It sounded very confused and blended. On top of it, Russel's vocals are harder than ever before. I still can't get into the vocals, as I do find Russel Allen to be one of the 3 finest vocalists in the World today and therefore I am still to understand why on earth Symphony X choose to destroy the beautiful sound of it, to an almost animalistic growl. Beats me, but it's obviously the way the band and Mr. Allen himself want to go with the vocals. The music however has really grown on me and there are a lot of fantastic songs, spiced up with the most incredible riffing and energy I have heard in a long time (though still done better on "V - The New Mythology Suite"). A song like "Seven" is smashing the room around you and makes you raise the horns instantly. "The Sacrifice", is so beautiful in its tranquillity that it gives you goosebumps - and here, Russel uses his immensely fantastic voice to the full, without having to growl. More fantastic songs are to be found on this album. I'd go as far as to say that there are no weak songs on the album - a unique feature in todays overcrowded market of crappy bands and wanna-be musicians. I have been edging between 4 and 4½, but there are some things that drags this down from being the true masterpiece that "V" was. First of all, the growling vocals from Russel Allen. He can do better than that. He proved it himself on several albums. Second, the drumming is not as powerful as on the last 2 albums, where Jason Rullo has slayed en masse. It's as if the super-progressive elements have been thrown away. This doesn't make the songs weak or anything like that, but it's as if there's a tiny bit missing all the time. The production though is of the absolute highest class. Get back the clean vocals on next album (and do not wait another 5 years, PLEASE), and I'll climb up the character hill.
|
|
Lars
|
|
|
|
|
VOYAGER
"Univers" (Dockyard 1 - provided by VME) - 3 out of 5 points - |
|
Interesting turn to the better that the 3 guys and 2 girls in Australian band Voyager have taken since their debut album "Element V", which I really disliked quite a lot. "Univers" is a very diverse album and while there are a few "misses" here and there, the overall quality is really high and shows a band with a good idea of what they can blend together without overdoing it and without sounding forced. From opener "Higher Existence" (that in part reminds me of Orphaned Land), through "Deep Weeds" (that sounds like Depeche Mode meets Tiamat in a prog metal setting), "Everwaiting" (that has the poppy goth sound as the Finnish bands To/Die/For or HIM), the video single "Sober" (which has the same kind of punchy groove-goth as Moonspell's "Opium" infused with a brilliant guitar/keyboard solo trade-off section), the awesome "Cross The Line" (again back in the To/Die/For style) to the rock'n'rollish "White Shadow" (where they finally pull out the aggressive vocals again), Voyager comes across as a band with a lot on heart, both composition-wise and in terms of orchestrating it all. Now, the biggest problem with Voyager, and probably the reason I didn't care about the debut at all, is the fact that they focus too much on the melodic pop elements and too little on the metal stuff, which is why the opener with it's heavy riffing and aggressive vocals as well as the brilliant "Pulse 04" with it's majestic choir part and proggy upbeat riffing is the best parts of the disc. They have the chops to mix it all into something unique, gothic pop-rock in a prog-metal setting, but they don't really reach their own goal on all tracks, and that's a shame.
|
|
Claus
|
|
|
|
|
WORK OF ART
"Artwork" (Frontiers Records - provided by Zink Music) - 3 out of 5 points - |
|
Ultra-melodic AOR/Westcoast rock from Frontiers Records is kind of everyday-news, right? Nothing really new and exciting about this, right? Well yeah … that's probably true, but mostly the releases are of a certain quality, and with the Swedish band Work Of Art they've found a really good band within the style. Sure, there's absolutely nothing new about it, in fact "Artwork" sounds like a long-lost Toto album, tell me that song "Camelia" doesn't sound like a typical Toto tune - and either you like that or you don't. Since I think Toto is awesome, I naturally like WOA too. A singer with a great voice (listen to Lars Säfsund's vocals in the ballad "Once In A Lifetime"), nice guitars (definite Lukather inspiration there), solid songwriting ("One Hour" is an awesome tune) and brilliant (read: clear!!!) production - "Artwork" is nothing that's gonna change the world, but a much more than just acceptable product.
|
|
Claus
|
|