People, we are alive. The site has been dead for a very long time but we are finally ready to press forward with it. There shall be a momentary gap while we take our exams but you can expect this place to busy itself up over the coming months.
Also, a warm welcome to Paul who is the new co-admin of the site, and will be contributing reviews as well.
Stay heavy,
the power metal reviews team
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A new Sonata Artica album is an exciting occasion for me, and of course many other fans. So as you can imagine I was very eager to pick up my cd after ordering it. As soon as I opened it a cd fell out (this was taken as a sign of the CDs eagerness to enter my player). On further inspection it turned out there were two identical CDs in the same CD case (this was taken as a sign of how Sonata Arctica naturally favour me and want me to have two of their CD). Whatever was happening, I knew for certain the power metal Gods had shown me favour, and this was a sure sign I should drop whatever I was doing and put this CD in its rightful place: the cd player. So I did. I pressed play. For a moment I expected to be bombarded with the blistering speed common of all Sonata Arctica releases to date. This did not happen, in fact I really didn’t like it. The only song which I really liked was the song “Paid in full”, and I had a vague idea that I was rather fond of “The Harvest” as well. The rest seemed foreign and slow. The melody changing far too much for me to tell whether I liked it or not. But don’t despair humble reader. No, don’t despair. For I now find myself in a situation where “Paid in full” is one of my least listened to songs on the album, and the rest, well I regard that as some of the best stuff I’ve heard from the band. It just takes a few listens to get used to it. There’s something a lot more complex about the release than usual. “In black and white”, starts off the album mixing in the new Unia style with that of the old one. It has the usual catchy Sonata Arctica chorus we are all used to, but it’s wrapped in the newer progressive style they’ve been developing since Reckoning Night. The second song. “Paid in full” is one done very much in their old style, it struck me as the odd one out when I listened to it on the album. However, this does not make it a bad song. It’s done with speed, and has a great chorus (it also has a video of the band in anoraks). This moves on to a song called “For the sake of revenge”, a much slower song much more immersed in what I have referred to so far as the “Unia style”. Once you have listened to it a few times you will realize the rhythm is just as catchy as any of the older faster songs. It also has a progressively led up to chorus, which with the strong vocals of Tony Kakko helps bring the song to a climatic ending. In my mind there are two obvious contenders for best song. “Caleb” - tells what I’ve heard is the back story to “The end of this chapter” and “Don’t say a word” - Is a progressive epic of a track, showing the band’s capabilities off perfectly and leaving the listener with a deep sense of tragedy. The other song contending for this is “It won’t fade”, a song also fully immersed in the new style with some great vocals to accompany it. The latter might not instantly appeal to the listener, as songs such as “The cage” did, but after a few listens it would be hard to postulate that their newer slower style, makes a worse song. The album has two rather softer songs present. “Under your tree” is a song about the death of a dog told from a child’s perspective but can easily be understood as being a metaphor for the death of anyone as a youngster. It has one of my favourite keyboard moments out of any Sonata Arctica song, as well as just generally being an exceptional song – even if it does have a tendency to get a little boring in the middle. The second is “Good enough is good enough”, an even softer song than the former. It’s probably one of the softest they’ve made, but even barring this fact it does not have quite the punch the rest of the album comes with. It does however make a nice ending to the album. “The harvest” takes a traditional turn to some of their older songs, but along the way seems to have developed a complexity lacking in them. While “My dreams but a drop of fuel for a nightmare”, presents the listener with a slower song, which while being melodic and easy to listen to in places, can also appear a little clunky at times. Conclusion: The band has certainly come a long way from it’s beginnings. We saw a more complex, progressive style developing in “Reckoning Night”, but that was no where near as larger gap as the one between their old material and Unia. What we are presented here is with a very grown up Sonata Arctica, and in my opinion, some of the best Sonata Arctica. Although their new style might alienate some of their older fans. Pros:
Cons:
Overall Rating: 93% |
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Video Sample: Sonata Artica - Paid in Full (Unia)
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There is no doubt that Dragonforce are one of the biggest things to happen to power-metal since sliced bread (well obviously sliced bread is not related, but I struggled to find anything to compare it to). Poor analogies aside, Dragonforce are important. Although they claim to be the beginnings of “extreme” power metal, they do still follow a lot of traditional values of power metal, this album however strays from their traditional sound to quite a large degree, and what we get is well, a sound similar to what an inhuman rampage would most likely sound like.
Starting off with through the fire and the flames we get a taste of what the album is like compared to the old ones, the melodic singing above fast guitar and double pass peddling drumming are there as well as slightly to quiet keyboards, however there is more of a studio produced sound to it, not in the sense that they have enhanced it, they seem to have just added industrial sounds to it, which will probably be pretty hard to capture live. It is quite clear however with though the fire and the flames that dragonforce have absolutely no intention of slowing down their music, as this is probably some of the fastest stuff they have ever produced.
After Through the fire and the flames we find ourselves listening to revolution deathsquad, another sped up song with a good melody and a great introduction, it might be considered one of the finer tracks on the album. Storming through the burning fields and operation ground and pound offer a pretty similar sort of sound, and this is mine (as well as many other’s) main gripe with this album, a lot of the songs sound the same, the first time I listened to it I had no idea that the tracks had changed at all.
Body Breakdown provides an entirely different sort of song to the first four, it has a much more powerful chorus but is generally slower, and grungier in its qualities. Cry for eternity and flame of youth are both good songs, neither one I would pick out as the best on the album, but they are both certainly good songs.
Trail of broken hearts ends the album in the traditional power metal ballad style, from what I gather it seems to be about a warrior’s quest being over. It is an OK song, but it rather pales in comparison to some of the earlier ballads off sonic firestorm and Valley of the damned Conclusion:
Dragonforce have provided another excellent power metal album, to show that us Brits still have it in us to maintain our fair share of the power metal scene. While not being as varied as the other two albums, it appears that musically they have matured and surpassed themselves in terms of speed and ability.
Pros:
Cons:
Overall: 78%
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Sample Video: Dragonforce - Through the fire and the flames (Inhuman Rampage)
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I have always held suspicions that the band formerly known as Rhapsody had not faced any copyright issues at all, and had in fact changed their name to “Rhapsody of Fire” as an excuse to make their name even cheesier. In this review though I must note that I will be referring to them simply as Rhapsody, as that is what I know them to be called. As any new album from Rhapsody, “Triumph or agony” was eagerly anticipated. I can say that the album is very different from Rhapsody’s previous offerings. It I most definitely their most melodic offering to date, a lot of the songs sound like they could have been the soundtrack to Lord of the Rings, or similar epic movies. I would even go as far as saying that it has changed from a power metal band with symphonic touches, to a symphonic band with power metal influences. So while this album has received a number of negative reviews, it is really personal preference as to whether you like the new album. The fantasy themes we have come to expect from Rhapsody are there and as strong as ever, proved by the 16 minute epic “the mystic prophecy of the demon night”, which rhapsody had felt the need to divide into chapters. Orchestrally, the music is the best I have ever heard from Rhapsody, and the general musician work is excellent, made even better by excellent recording quality. Conclusion: Rhapsody of Fire are probably the best of their kind of music, and this album is probably the best of it’s type this year. I do not feel it is one of their best, as it lacks the strength of some of their other albums. More focus has been put on the Orchestral side of things, and while it sounds as excellent as ever, I can’t help feeling that the Rhapsody I loved, is not as present in this album. Pros:
Cons:
Overall: 75%
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Dragonforce were one of the first power metal bands I listened to. I can honestly say they were the biggest reason I decided to explore the genre more. I actually ended up working backwards through their collection of music, but “Valley of the Damned”, has always been my favourite and most enduring album of theirs. Of course “Valley of the damned” is similar in certain aspects to the their later albums, the fast guitar soloing/shredding is still present, even if it is not as refined as it is on later releases. As well as keyboard symph effects, fast drumming, and a whole bunch of stereotypical power metal lyrics. Compared to the other two albums I have always found that Valley of the Damned had the most variety of original songs, the later album’s songs sort of blend together. Unfortunately, there is one thing which lets the album down, which will be noticed from the start. The singing sounds like it is coming from either a cave or a bathroom, or a bathroom in a cave. They have a great singer, but the recording quality really does detract from his voice. Almost to the point where I still listen to the demo track, instead of the album version of “Valley of the damned”. The album starts off with a short intro track. It is not entirely exciting as intro tracks go, but it is not bad and it is only 13 seconds long. You might not even notice that there is an intro track at all. The first song on the album “Valley of the damned” was the first song I heard from Dragon force, and it is the song I associate them with. It is one of the most melodic songs they have produced, and a fair bit slower than most of their other stuff. Even at it’s slow pace “Valley of the damned” has some awesome guitar solos and an awesome chorus, which make it a serious contender for the best track on the album. The album speeds up again with one of the fastest tracks on the album “Black fire”. This matches the speed of some of their later songs, and has some great guitar and vocal work. The album slows down again for “black winter night”, another Dragon force classic, featuring some fantastic vocals and great keyboard parts. It starts off with a slightly weak intro, but the further you get into the song the better it gets. Next you get the typical power metal ballad track. “Star fire”, not a bad song as the soft ones go, but by no means one of the best on the album. The background water effects are quite nice though. The next two songs “Disciples of Babylon” and “Revelations”, both are speedy epics with some very detailed guitar work. “Evening star” is another contender for best track of the album. After hearing the intro I thought it was going to be another ballad. I couldn’t have been more wrong, the music was as good as on “Disciples of Babylon” but with much better vocals and a catchier chorus. Dragonforce could not have chosen a better track to end with than “Heart of a dragon”. While not being as musically complex as the rest of the album, it has a charming quality, which you can’t help but love. Not only that but it has the catchiest chorus on the album. Conclusion: Dragonforce’s first album is perhaps their best, and at any rate some of the best metal to come out of Britain in a long time. It manages to blend the violent/speedy riffs associated with DF with a more melodic feel than the other albums. Pros:
Cons:
Overall: 90%
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Sonata Arctica were a band I put off listening to for quite some time. Now I think back on it, I have no idea why and I seriously regret it. After listening to “Reckoning Night”, I can quite honestly say I am thoroughly impressed with what they have to offer.
The album starts off with the fast paced “misplaced”, which follows a traditional power metal style of fancy keyboard solos and fast double bass peddling, but with excellent harmonic vocals stuck over the top of it. All in all it is a great opener to the album, providing a taste of their sound but still leaving some of their best for later on. “Blinded no more” slows it down a little, with what it is one of the heavier songs on the album. The vocalist shines here, as he does on the entire album. The vocal harmonies have been perfected for this release and I feel that I can say with some confidence, that Tony Kakko has one of the best voices in power metal.
The album speeds up again with what in my opinion is the best song on the album, “Ain’t your fairytale”. This is one of those classic power metal songs which is almost guaranteed to get stuck in your head. The talent from all the band members and especially the singer shows through in this one in heaping amounts. “Don’t say a word” is` one of the heavier songs on the album, and features some great vocal symphonies. Especially during the chorus.
I have heard a lot of people say that a lot of the album sounds very similar, but I find myself disagreeing with this. They have the faster tracks such as “Misplaced” and “Ain’t your fairytale”, but they also have more progressive songs to keep listeners interested such as “White Pearl, Black Oceans” and Reckoning Day, Reckoning Night, curiously enough an instrumental track placed towards the front of the album. Similarly “Wildfire” has a heavy thrash feel to it, which provides one of the most interesting results on the album, especially when the cheesy, yet eerie narration at the beginning and end is added to it.
“Shamandalie” is a perfect example of a progressive, melodic power metal song and a great way to end the album. It lacks the raw power of some of the earlier songs on the album, but it provides its own unique style to the album.
Conclusion: “Reckoning Night” is a solid and well varied power metal album. Sonata Arctica bridge a gap between the heavier power metal (Dragonforce) and lighter power metal (Power-Quest), it is something fans of the Genre and even people who do not like the genre can enjoy. I find it is the lyrics which make it more accessible, even my mother enjoyed it!
Pros:
Cons:
Overall: 90% |
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When I first heard of Power Quest I was a little sceptical, they were showered with praises by fans, yet few, including myself seemed to have heard of them (A condition typical of many good power metal bands). Eventually I gave in and looked for their first release (Wings of forever), this appeared to be to no avail as I could not find a copy anywhere. I eventually gave up on that search and bought a copy of their second album “Neverworld”. A decision which did not disappoint as it served to be a perfect introduction to what would later became one of my favourite bands in the power metal genre. Power Quest’s music can be described as melodic power metal, influenced by bands such as Rhapsody as well as by eighties bands such as Scorpions. This creates an interesting twist on modern power metal, and gives them a sound currently quite unique. Add to that powerful vocals, catchy keyboard parts, fast drums and competent guitars/bass, and you have a winning formula. The Cd starts off with a long progressive epic track, sharing the name of the album. The song is a perfect introduction to the album, it showcases both their ability and sound. The next two songs “Temple of fire” and “edge of time”, are much shorter and faster paced. They also make you realise how keyboard orientated the band is, this however is most definitely not a bad thing, as the keyboard parts are some of the best I have ever heard in power metal. Following that is “Sacred land”, which can only be described as one of the catchiest song I have ever heard. If the rhythm doesn’t get you, the chorus will, if the chorus doesn’t get you, the keyboard solo will. It will have you tapping your foot, humming or singing in no time, guaranteed. Following that is a Power metal ballad, which seems to have become a power metal tradition. “When I’m gone” is definitely as fine a example as any, with deep lyrics which provide a massage without having to resort to any of the cheesy power metal stereotypes. “For evermore” is another catchy track akin to “sacred land” and “temple of fire”. The exact same can be said of the next two tracks. The last track breaks power-quest’s usual mould, it is the longest track on the album. It is a beautiful epic, featuring a female backing singer. Conclusion: A solid power metal album, with no bad songs and a lot of excellent ones. Power-Quest have created a formula that works for them and they are sticking to it. Which is fine by me. Pros:
Cons:
Overall Rating: 90%
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