Shining Star - Enter eternity 3.5/5
Reviewed: 3-31-06
Tracklist:
1. Nightmare
2. Insanity
3. From now on
4. Dangerous game
5. Insomnia
6. Never too late
7. Just a man
8. No more
9. Lady of the night
10. Travel through time
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This is the 3rd CD I've reviewed in the last several months that features Lance King (ex-Balance of Power and others) on vocals. The Avian debut 'From the depths of time' and Pyramaze's 2nd CD 'Legend of the bone carver' are the others, but I've found that Lance's vocals probably fit the music style of Shining Star's 2nd CD 'Enter eternity' the best. The CD sits mostly in the melodic metal style (with a touch of power), but also contains a hard rock influence and some progressive moments. I should mention that the band's debut 'Fatal mistake' does not feature Lance King on vocals, so fans of his voice will surely want to grab 'Enter eternity' first.
The CD is one that has really grown on me over time and I've surprisingly taken to the different music styles that exist. Track 1 "Nightmare" is one of the faster/power metal songs and kicks off the CD perfectly. Unfortunately, the song most (and too much) in the hard rock realm, "Insanity", follows and is the only song I don't like. Although, those who still dabble in hard rock will probably enjoy it. Thankfully, track 3 "From now on" is great with its symphonic/keyboard parts and excellent chorus. This is also the song where the guitar work begins to stand out, as guitarist Fabio Rocha (who is also the band's creator) has obviously put a lot of thought into making sure there are plenty of catchy rhythms and well played guitar solos.
Track 4 "Dangerous game" picks up the pace as the other faster song on the CD (besides the opening "Nightmare"), and the majority/remainder is full of catchy melodic metal. Track 5 "Insomnia", track 7 "Just a man", track 8 "No more" and the final track "Travel through time" are all outstanding for the style. Track 9 "Lady of the night" is the one slow song, which is well done, but isn't one of the better songs on the CD. I prefer the more upbeat moments by far. An all around fantastic production ties it all together and this truly might be Lance's finest hour, in my mind.
As far as band comparisons, I think fans of At Vance, Last Tribe, or perhaps bands like Stormwind, Reptilian, Treasure Land, Meduza or even Altaria (one of my favorites!) will probably enjoy this. Although I don't really hear a neo-classical presence on 'Enter eternity' that exists with some of these mentioned bands, pure melodic metal is a big part of all of them. So Shining Star is somewhere in the middle of these bands, excels in the style, and will hopefully become one of the better bands in this group. Nicely done!
CLINT
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