Lord, has it REALLY been 10 years since "The Cage 2"!? Fans of the first two Dario Mollo/Tony Martin collaborations have been foaming at the mouth in anticipation for Album Number Three. So was "The Third Cage" worth the wait? Are you kiddin`? This is a MONSTER Rock album all the way, and the magic Mollo/Martin combination always seems to bless us with some of the finest Heavy Rock music around. Dario`s amazing production work, crunchy riffs and dazzling solos mesh perfectly with Tony`s always engaging vocals and clever lyrics. Stylistically, this CD is similar to the other two, just more of it. Every damn track here is a winner, so don`t ask me which one is my favorite! The can`t-miss combination of these two never fails to yield spectacular results, and deserves the highest chart position possible. But c`mon fellas; don`t make us wait so long next time, okay? Highly, highly recommended!!!!
First off, I`m not going to dwell on the VERY tired subject of who`s the better vocalist; Annette Olzon or Tarja Turunen? Who cares? Both are different and both are great in their own way. And while the zillions of Symphonic Power Metal bands littering the landscape look for new ways to copy "Oceanborne" for the upteenth time, Tuomas Holopainen and company have moved on. Nightwish upped the ante for their particular genre with "Dark Passion Play", and with "Imaginaerum", Holopainen has reached for even greater heights. And while an artists reach should always exceed his grasp, Toumas manages to grasp more than many. "Imaginarium" is in fact intended to be a soundtrack of sorts to an upcoming film of the same name, written by Toumas, of course. Lofty ambitions, to be sure, but given the success of the album, the band is once again on the mark. In terms of grand, epic themes and orchestration, "Imaginareum" is "DPP" on a much larger scale, a daunting task to be sure. After the intro, the first single, "Storytime" kicks off in bombastic fashion, recalling “Amaranth” and “Bye Bye Beautiful” from their previous album. Marco Hietala again shares vocal duties on tracks like “Ghost River”. “Slow, Love, Slow” is a real surprise; a Jazz number that morphs into an orchestrated Metal piece towards the end. It might put off those listeners who want to hear "Wishmaster Part II", but I think it`s brilliant and highly original! “I Want My Tears Back” features great vocals from Annette, while “Scaretale” is doubtless one of the best songs Nightwish has ever recorded; it encapsulates all the bands` best qualities and is certainly one of the highlights of the album. “The Crow, The Owl and the Dove” is a wonderful ballad with excellent performances from both Annette and Marco, while “Last Ride of the Day” is another track as equally brilliant as "Scaretale". Then we have "Song Of Myself"; the first half of the track is more of Nightwish at their heavy and melodic best, while the last half is a spoken word piece with background orchestration. This may put off some listeners, but within the context of the entire album, it fits in perfect and I`m glad they had the guts to include something like this. Overall, this album meets and exceeds my expectations, and no doubt many others feel the same, given the reception its` received. How Toumas will ever top this is beyond me, but probably not beyond him. Maybe. One of the years` best!!!
Belgian guitar virtuoso Dushan Petrossi returns with the best Iron Mask release yet! Not only is it IM`s debut on the awesome AFM Records label, it`s also the debut of vocalist Mark Boals on most of the songs [Goran Edman performs vocals on "Magic Sky Requiem" while previous IM singer Valhalla Jr. appears on "Evil Strikes In Silence"]. Never thought they could top the previous release, "Shadow Of The Red Baron", but they have, believe me. Dushan leaves the complex arrangements to his Magic Kindom project; song is king with Iron Mask, and all 13 tracks RULE! Twist my arm and I`ll point to tracks like "Feel The Fire", “God Punishes, I Kill”, “Absence”, the breath-taking “Genghis Khan” and the crushing, high velocity “Nosferatu”. Riffs, hooks, melodies, it`s all here. Dushan wields his gutar like a flamethrower throughout. While listening to this CD, I`m often reminded of a scene from the movie "Gladiator"; when the Roman Legion is shooting thousands of flaming arrow down through the trees onto the fleeing Barbarian hordes. I`d say this album is the audio equivalent of that scene. But don`t take MY word for it; buy it and see/hear for yourself. "Black As Death" gets my vote for Metal album of the year, so far anyway!
"Show Me How To Live" marks the triumphant return of D.C. Cooper to Royal Hunt, a very welcome bit of news for fans of the Power Metal genre. While his replacements [John West and later Mark Boals] weren`t exactly slouches, the first two RH albums with D.C. are held in particular regard, as they helped establish and define the band`s sound. For this album, keyboardist/songwriter/producer Andre Andersen eschews the more grandoise and conceptual themes of recent efforts for a more straight forward approach. Royal Hunt has always been more on the Melodic end of the Hard Rock spectrum than Power Metal, though there are moments of that, as well. As Royal Hunt were never a guitar riff oriented band, it`s Andersen`S keyboards that tend to be the dominant factor, along with Coopers always-amazing voice. There aren`t really a lot of surprises on the CD, but it IS a worthy addition to the Royal Hunt canon. Songs like “Hard Rain’s Coming”, "Half Past Loneliness”, “Another Man Down”, "Angel`s Gone" and the 10-minute title track are but a few examples of what makes this band so great, and why they have such a rabid following. I hesitate to say it`s "better" than previous RH albums, as Royal Hunt have always released quality albums with all their lineups, and "Show Me How To Live" continues that tradition. Recommended for ardent Royal Hunt fans, as well as fans of of Melodic Hard Rock in general!
The boys from Borlänge are back! "Jerusalem" is the 6th studio outing from Astral Doors, and is something of a concept album, dealing as it does with various military campaigns, modern and ancient. No new ground is broken here, and the band hasn`t re-invented the wheel [though they HAVE been known to "Burn Down The Wheel"!;)], what they have done is deliver another Rock-solid slab of Classic Metal in the vein of Dio-era Rainbow and Sabbath [Dio and Martin-eras]. Astral Doors fans know what they`re gonna get with each album, and the band delivers, simple as that. "Jerusalem" is yet another fine addition to the AD catalog; first rate production, top-class musicianship, and of course great songs. And of course VERY cool art, to boot! Among the best tracks are "7th Crusade" "Child Of Rock `n` Roll", "Pearl Harbor", "Babylon Rise", "Lost Crucifix", and "The Batle Of Jacob`s Ford", to name but a few. Of course the highlight of any Astral Doors track is Nils Patrik Johanssons` vocals, which have never sounded better. All told, yet another winner for one of the best Metal bands of the last 10 years, and another great CD that you just HAVE to get!!
