I consider "Rebirth" to be Angra's magnum opus, their swan-song, etc. Whatever you want to call it, it is one of the works that I feel is nigh-unequaled in metal. This is Angra after their schism. The departure of Ricardo Confessori, Andre Matos, and Luis Mariutti paved the way for their replacements. Aquiles Priester, Edu Falaschi, and Felipe Andreoli respectively put the band into overdrive with their arrival in 2001, releasing a speedy and emotive power metal masterpiece. While less progressive than most of Angra's catalog, "Rebirth" proves that Angra are also absolute masters of the power metal genre in a simpler form as well.
Reviewing "Aqua" earlier this week put me in the mood for some of the rest of Angra's work. It's not that often that I return to listening to "Rebirth" in it's entirety, and this week marks the first time in a long time. If you're not so familiar with this album, please check out a couple of these links!
The British masters of melodic power metal, Power Quest have announced on their website that they have completed recording on their upcoming 5th studio album "Blood Alliance". The album is now being mixed and is set for a February 2011 release date. I am extremely pleased by this news, as Power Quest is a favorite of mine and had been having some lineup troubles in past months after the departure of their Italian members, followed by some shuffling about of British members as well. However, with the illustrious Chity Somapala now taking up vocal duties, the band seems ready to take off once again with their incomparable brand of speedy, keyboard-laden metal.
It will be hard to replace Alessio Garavello and Andrea Martongelli, as they were trademarks of the band's sound. I have complete faith however, in Steve Williams and his new lineup to provide us another quality album. Here's a great song off of "Master of Illusion" to get you in the spirit:
When I learned about “Aqua”, I began acting like a giddy fanboy, prancing about with my hands clapped to my head, emitting brief shrieks of joy every so often (not that much of an exaggeration either, if you ask my fiancee). You'll have to forgive my ridiculous posture, but Angra was one of the first bands that really got me into metal, and has never failed to release material that I have found consistently excellent. After “Aurora Consurgens” and the troubles with their manager, I had begun to despair, fearing that Angra had gone the way of bands like Lost Horizon and Wintersun. So you can imagine my ecstasy (and perhaps share it) when I learned that a new full length was being released in August.
Upon first listen, I was mildly underwhelmed. I of course, was fantasizing about a bombastic return to “Rebirth” era speed and glory. While I still hold hopes for an album like that someday, “Aqua” is indeed not such an undertaking. Actually, if anything, “Aqua” is even more mellow and thoughtful than ever before (At least for the modern era of Angra). I've heard it claimed both that “Aqua” is a thematic album based on water, and instead a concept album based on “The Tempest”, the former seems more apt to me. The band themselves state that water is the inspiration for the album, and from the stormy heights to the serene depths, the analogy is a striking one.
After the obligatory but not unpleasant short intro piece, “Arising Thunder” kicks off the album in true Angra fashion. While perhaps a bit sparser vocally and instrumentally, this track is an exemplary piece of Angra's work. It is the liveliest and quickest-paced song on the album, and sits pretty well as the first full-length composition (the storm, after which there is peace, if you like), while setting the stage for the reminder of this very aquatic and progressively flavored album.
Now, power/prog isn't anything new for Angra, but they're breaking new ground here for themselves, moving beyond their past two efforts. They continue to grow in this direction, and manage continuously to become stronger songwriters while moving away from conventional power metal. Songs like “Rage of the Waters”, “Spirit of the Air”, and “Hollow” illustrate just how brilliantly the band can execute complex and well-written songs while maintaining the accessibility and wonderfully memorable solos and vocals that have become their hallmarks. As always, touches of folky percussion and Brazilian tonality creep into the recordings from time to time. Along with the ever-impressive guitar talent of Bittencourt and Loureiro, this makes for a very technically sharp album, one of the best I've seen this year.
It's a testament to Angra's ability that they're able to continuously float away from the kind of metal that I and others claim to be our favorite, while keeping us hooked completely. I refuse to give a full track-by track of “Aqua”, but the songs are all good, while many rise further above that. Better people than I will give you a track-by-track, and I won't waste your time with my occasionally redundant writing. For now, suffice to say that “Aqua” is one of the best metal releases of the year, regardless of genre. It is deep and continuously fresh, profoundly energizing, and brings the band instantly up to form. It's not quite on par with “Rebirth”, but it's getting there.
Greek power metal is always a grab bag. I don't know what it is about this country that inspires such a wide spread of styles within power metal, most of them sadly being unimpressive. There are some standouts of course (ELWING, NIGHTRAGE, EMERALD SUN), but on the whole the Greeks have a large quantity of mediocre-quality metal. Unfortunately for MINUETUM, I am going to go ahead and lump them in with many of the others. Granted, they do have a different style to go along with some talent, but not enough of either to make them stand out amongst a veritable ocean of their south European brethren.
I will hit the biggest point first, Dimitris Zaharopoulos is one of the poorer vocalists that I've heard in recent memory, and really taxes this album for me. He sounds strained, out of tune at times, and without a great deal of range that one typically wants and expects from a lead vocalist in this genre. My other issue with this album is the production. Nothing is really heavy, and maybe this is to be expected from a keyboard-dominated band, but the drums don't hold a lot of substance, and the rhythm guitar is never heavy or chunky. This wouldn't be so much of a problem, but there's some rhythm work that would benefit so much from some extra crunch.
In and of themselves however, the guitar lines are well written and well-played. There is some catchy and pleasant guitar work here which fits the mood and style of the band like a glove. Unfortunately, the guitars are often either too weak to stand out, or are buried beneath the poor vocal performance. It's especially sad on songs like “Ghost King”, when the vocals and guitars play in unison during the chorus, and the otherwise nifty sounding guitar lick is completely wasted. Mercifully, the vocals leave off as you'd hope they would during the solo section, and Jason Mercury (stage name?) shows us that he's capable of a bit of handy guitar shredding.
The other highlight of this album is the keyboard work. Dimitris Melidis is clearly an accomplished-keyboardist who is stuck in a position where he's the saving grace of the band rather than one of several important elements. This is very keyboard-heavy metal, and it's quite prominent in the mix, even when only playing backing chords or pedal tones. Probably a little too heavy, which will also prevent this album from becoming an excellent release.
So, what we've got with “Haunted Spirit” is a freshman release with the machine running full tilt, yet plagued by mechanical deficiencies (don't worry, there aren't any breakdowns here, at least). The keyboards and guitars make this an interesting listen-through, but the lack of really catchy tunes, the sub-par vocalist, and no presence of heaviness make for an album that doesn't have real staying power when matched up against any more prestigious group. I would go so far as to say that if the band keeps their current vocalist, they don't have much potential. There’s a whole lot of room for improvement.
2010 has been an incredible year for new music. We here at Black Wind are compiling a year's end list, and it's probably going to be prodded and fixed a bit before the end of the year, with a couple of releases yet to come.
With 2011 fast approaching on the horizon, we've begun looking ahead at next year. From November's standpoint, it doesn't look like as stunning a year as 2010, but things continue to take shape! I've raked together a few of the notable melodic releases that are coming up next year to make things easier for all of us!
February
Norther- Circle Regenerated
Sirenia- The Enigma of Life
Moonsorrow
Jag Panzer
Blackguard
March
Crimfall
Yggdrasil
Paragon
Sonata Arctica!
April
Iced Earth
Dragonland
May
Hammerfall
Devin Townsend- Ghost
Wolf
June
Avian- Midnight at the Tower
Communic
Leaves' Eyes
Late 2011/Unannounced
Nightwish
Desdemona Falconer- Armod
Megadeth
Crystallion
Amorphis
Rush- Clockwork Angels (Yes, I know this isn't metal, but I reserve the right!)
Lunatica
Wintersun- Time (I don't know if they actually mean this, we've been hearing this for a looooong time)
Insomnium
Not disappointing at all! Of course, if you're into other sorts of music, you may have to do some digging on your own. Hope you appreciated the list, cheers!
After Gaia Epicus invaded my ears a while back, I've been combing my collection and the internet for any more quality power metal from Norway, a nation better known for it's black metal, as well as some excellent progressive work. The end result? There's really not much there, and the really good bands can probably be counted on one hand, but this is my attempt to let these bands see the light of day and give them some well-deserved attention.
Characteristically, there's not really much that's unique about Norwegian power metal. It's speedy, double-bass and rhythm guitar driven lines draw pretty heavily off of their Swedish and German relatives. The country doesn't really have a big enough scene to have a lot of individualism, though some of the bands certainly do. Aside from the previously mentioned Gaia Epicus, a speedy neo-classical rocket, here are most of the other notable Norwegian acts, along with some samples:
Keldian
Keldian are probably my favorite Norwegian power metal act. The vocals aren't the most refined, the music isn't very heavy or deep, but blast if it isn't catchy and uplifting! Keldian has two fine offerings, and here's a great track off of 2006's "Heaven's Gate".
Conception
If you're a fan of Kamelot, you're certainly aware that Roy Khan's prior gig was with this Norwegian band. Conception is a little older than the other bands here, dating back to 1989, and with their fourth, final, and best album "Flow" being released in 1997 before Khan's move to join Kamelot. Conception also has progressive metal leanings, but walks the line a bit closer than Communic.
Beautiful Sin
Formed by elite German power-metaller Uli Kusch in conjunction with some of the member's of prog act Pagan's Mind, Beautiful Sin plays a pretty straight-up version of German-styled power metal. With a heavier punch and some excellent female vocals courtesy of Magali Luyten, Beautiful Sin are a capable act, and their single release "The Unexpected" is a very good piece of work. Here's "This is Not the Original Dream"
Communic
Some may call them overrated, but this prog/power metal band has made a pretty hefty splash in their seven years of existence, with three quality releases under their belt. Communic work with longer, more complex song structures, and are more of a progressive outfit than power metal, but are worth a mention regardless, as their work is pretty accessible and enjoyable for metalheads of any variety. Guardians of Time
Another short-lived band with not much material, Guardians of Time released their breakout album "Machines of Mental Design" in 2004. Falling back into the more traditional style of speedy power metal, here's a track off of that album:
Highland Glory
Mid-paced power metal that reminds me of several German acts, Highland Glory play a tasteful brand of classy power metal that's relatively free of progressive touches. The lead vocalist Jan Grefstad reminds me a bit of the lead vocalist of the French band Nightmare, which gives this band a pretty distinct sound. At times, this leans more towards classic heavy metal, and will likely be enjoyed by those who aren't as impressed by the sheer speed of other Scandinavian acts. Here's a track off of "Forever Endeavor", titled "Edge of Time."
And that, as they say, is that. Plainly, Norway has precious few solid power metal acts, and fewer still that are still active. If I have missed any, please let me know. I'm fairly certain I've nailed all the pertinent bands, but no one is perfect. Hope you've enjoyed this!
Dominating my playlist thus far this week has been Savage Circus's most recent offering, "Of Doom and Death". A very foreboding title, but not completely reflective of the contents of the album. As most are probably aware, Savage Circus is often referred to as a mid-era Blind Guardian clone, when the band was playing very galloping, uptempo power metal. While this is a delightfully apt description (Drummer Thomas Stauch was an 18 year veteran of Blind Guardian before creating the band, though he has since departed), it is not a fair one of the band's talent.
I personally believe that this band is now beyond anything more than a skin-deep comparison to Blind Guardian (in fact, I'm not even going to say that name anymore). Sure they still have a similar style, but they don't play it just because it was popular with a lot of fans, they play it because they love it and are pretty darn good at it. If listeners take some time to drop elitism and pre-conceived notions, the music on this album and it's predecessor "Dreamland Manor", is quite excellent. Stop making comparisons, and you'll likely be pleasantly surprised by the listening experience on "Of Doom and Death".
