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Some non-Nevermore (and thus less long-winded) acquisitions

 
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Tyrannorabbit



Joined: 04 Oct 2000
Posts: 3985
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Tue Aug 12, 2003 2:54 pm    Post subject: Some non-Nevermore (and thus less long-winded) acquisitions Reply with quote

Lost Horizon, _A Flame To The Ground Beneath_
As the world of pure power metal continues to get increasingly crowded with no pressure release in sight, fewer bands in it seem capable of inspiring the enthusiasm which I had in greater abundance around 1998. But there's something about this band that makes them stand out...soaring vocals, awesome playing (check out the solo in "Lost In The Depths Of Me"), good hooks throughout...no, it's not any of those things, which would not by themselves draw attention to a single band in the power metal maelstrom. I guess it comes down to the basics - the riffs and the songs, LH offering both of a quality well above those offered by their contemporaries. That, and the mood, one of great cosmic adventure; not Gamma Ray happy, not Bal-Sagoth melodramatic, but maybe somewhere between, with way better singing than either. One song is based on the movie _Highlander_ - and for its first half, it's as bad as I'd feared but it sure comes to a hell of an ending. This might well be the quintessential album that, years ago, I might've imagined we'd be listening to in 2003. LH has added an "Equilibrian Epicurius" and a "Perspicacious Protector" to their lineup for this album; I don't know what they do, but they must be doing it well. Since then, they've lost their main songwriter Wojtek Lisicki (I don't know which one that is) and it is my understanding that they don't intend to replace him, so maybe we'd better enjoy this band while we can. On the downside, out of nine tracks, three are ambient/instrumental intros or outros. This leaves only six real songs, making this album a little shorter than expected, and those instrumentals are a little patience-testing. With another real song of the caliber of "Pure" or "Think Not Forever" instead of those, this might've been as much as a full point higher.
Rating: 8.5

Running Wild, _Blazon Stone_
If ever I wondered what "pirate metal" was supposed to sound like, this album would've answered that question with a finality I would never have imagined prior to hearing it. Yes, this is pirate metal. This is metal for sailing the seven seas, ravishing bawdy wenches, plundering booty, yarrh! These particular pirates are from land-locked Germany, but I won't hold that against them. This would be, I believe, four albums deep into their pirate sound, though it's the earliest example of it I've yet heard. The melodies throughout have that bagpipey character to them which I find so appealing in Suidakra, and I like it here to in a less caustic, more overtly cheery form. Despite a couple of cheesy moments ("Slavery" and "Fire & Ice" I could've done without) this alternates between damned good and wonderful, as much pure fun as most any metal CD you're ever likely to find. Of course, in reality, pirates were the vilest of the vile and were probably not conducive to inspiring music this bright and enjoyable. The pirates of Running Wild are the pirates of Hollywood swashbucklers - the only kind of pirates anyone would want to be around. Speaking of piracy, I wonder what Rolf's take on filesharing is?
Rating: 9

Battlelore, _Sword's Song_
If ever a band did challenge you to take them seriously in spite of their goofy image, Battlelore has to be that band. Seven members, and they're all dressed up like The Lord Of The Rings characters. For example, Gollum plays guitar! They might even do that live, but I kinda hope not. The other guitarist is a tree! Battlelore single-mindedly writes songs about The Lord Of The Rings, and apparently nothing else. Two singers (female melodic, male usually grunted) and the fact that this is on Napalm might lead you to believe this is one of their many, many beauty-and-the-beast bands, but no, this sounds something like a cross between Nightwish and latter-day Samael, with the goth tendencies of neither. I think the star of this band has to be singer Kaisa Jouhki, who dresses up like an elf and has a perfect voice to match - clear, serene, neither belted out nor too breathy. "Forked Height" could've been a pop hit for her, in the 80's anyway. Dark Symphonies' promo for this disc makes reference to "the powerful organ of the Uruk-Hai" (stop your giggling), but I think all keyboards on this disc are played by Galadriel. The riffs are simple but effective, the vocals are excellent (even the male - the Uruk-Hai, I think - has a great L.G. Petrov thing going on when he's growling), and if the keys are a little cheesy sometimes, they're pretty sparse and are more often used for transient flourishes than non-stop washes throughout the songs. Doubters should check out "Songs Of Riddermark" and "The War Of Wrath" - if you don't like those, you'll probably hate the rest.
Rating: 8

Annihilator, _Waking The Fury_
Annihilator as a band is a relatively recent concept, and _Carnival Diablos_ made it seem like one that was working. So expectations were high for this followup, the only time Annihilator's had the same singer for two albums in a row (not counting the times when mastermind/guitarist Jeff Waters did the vocals himself). CD was a diverse and skilled return to form; WTF doesn't exactly make me say "WTF?" but it does throw the band back a ways. Joe Comeau is the most diverse singer Annihilator's ever had, but here he's usually using the same borderline tuneless hardcore shout. Riffs throughout are good (I hear AC/DC in "Nothing To Me", Slayer in "Cold Blooded", even Powermad in "Ultra Motion"), and the solos are awesome - I think this is the first time Jeff let the second guitarist not only record his own parts on the record, but let him solo, and I'm having trouble telling whose are whose. They're all good. But the songs are a little generic beyond the riff level, and the recording is extremely mechanical, more than _Remains_ was. Comeau's one-dimensional performance is like cardboard icing on the cake. But he's gone now, not like we didn't see that coming. Maybe two albums is too long for anyone singing for this band.
Rating: 6

Winds, _Reflections Of The I_
If ever you did meditate upon the possibilities of Yanni or John Tesh starting up a metal band, meditate no further. I can't tell what the differences between those two are, but I'm willing to bet they'd be no more apparent if both of them started to adorn their music with metal guitars and drums by Hellhammer. So basically, this is even more ridiculous than anything by Yanni or John Tesh. Alternately, you could describe this as Yngwie, slowed down to three or four heartbeats per minute by rhinoceros tranquilizers (the solos are pretty tasteful), tampering with a bunch of Nightingale songs. If the guitars dominated the sound, this could've been metal; if the guitars were much lower in the mix, this could've been what it apparently wants to be. But the guitars are somewhere in between, loud enough to be an absurd addition to otherwise full-on new-age music. It's very pretty, and kinda moody, but it really is not much more than Yanni with some distorted guitars. This would've sounded like a really cool idea to me in 1995, but that was a terribly confused time in my life. These days, not so much. My copy has five bonus tracks, comprising the entirety of their EP _Of Entity And Mind_. Track for track, it's better than the main album.
Rating: 5
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Jake



Joined: 02 Mar 1999
Posts: 4963

PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2003 3:35 pm    Post subject: Some non-Nevermore (and thus less long-winded) acquisitions Reply with quote

It's good to hear that Blazon Stone is good, cause I ordered that album months ago and I'm waiting for it to come in.
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Jayrod



Joined: 10 Jul 2003
Posts: 49
Location: IA

PostPosted: Thu Aug 14, 2003 8:45 am    Post subject: Some non-Nevermore (and thus less long-winded) acquisitions Reply with quote

I was just about to ask if anyone had any opinions on Lost Horizon and that CD in particular. They've popped on my Launch player a few times and got my attention. I'll have to look into getting that CD.
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Raider



Joined: 12 Aug 1999
Posts: 1286

PostPosted: Thu Aug 14, 2003 1:20 pm    Post subject: Some non-Nevermore (and thus less long-winded) acquisitions Reply with quote

Oh yes, BLAZON STONE is indeed a great album. But their best, IMO, is PILE OF SKULLS. BS is probably a close 2nd, but POS tops it (funny how those abbreviations works out, isn't it?).

And not to be nitpicky, but Germany isn't completely landlocked.

OK, that is nitpicky, but try and stop me from saying it anyway! [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
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Tyrannorabbit



Joined: 04 Oct 2000
Posts: 3985
Location: Canada

PostPosted: Thu Aug 14, 2003 2:02 pm    Post subject: Some non-Nevermore (and thus less long-winded) acquisitions Reply with quote

They're not? I thought they were. Well...what about West Germany? There were two Germanies when this album came out, right?

No?

Goddammit.
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iwarrior



Joined: 05 Apr 2002
Posts: 3526
Location: Pittsburgh,PA

PostPosted: Thu Aug 14, 2003 9:34 pm    Post subject: Some non-Nevermore (and thus less long-winded) acquisitions Reply with quote

I liked Annihilator's latest a lot. I'd give it an 8. As a matter of fact,the last two Annihilator cd's are their best yet IMO. I wish Comeau would have stuck around. He was their best singer ever.
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