Awaken Solace – “In Nightfall’s Embrace” (2012)

Independent Release

Review by Tony Cannella

Formed in Brisbane, Australia in 2010, the symphonic metal band Awaken Solace has just released their debut album “In Nightfall’s Embrace” and it is one of the more ambitious debut albums I’ve heard in quite some time. “In Nightfall’s Embrace” features 14-songs and over 70-minutes of music with epic, cinematic arrangements and classy metal.

“In Nightfall’s Embrace” comes with some cool packaging and two CDs. The first disc is the normal album, while the second disc features symphony versions of the songs. From the packaging to the music, it’s all well done and it is obvious that Awaken Solace put a lot of hard work into this. The opener “Moonlight’s Wake” begins ominously as the kick-in and transforms this into a bouncy, up-tempo first song. Continue reading »

Eluveitie – “The Early Years” (2012)

Label: Nuclear Blast Records

Review by Tony Cannella

When it comes to Folk Metal, it simply doesn’t get much better than the Swiss band Eluveitie. The band formed in 2002 and in 2004 they released their first EP “Ven”. In 2006 they released their debut full-length “Spirit” and have never looked back. Earlier this year they released their latest album “Helvetios” and now they are back with some newly released versions of old songs.

The first 6-songs that makes up “The Early Years” is a re-recording of their rare “Ven” EP; and next 11-songs is their debut album “Spirit” which has been re-mastered. The re-recordings of the songs from “Ven” (with their current line-up) are a huge highlight, since as I mentioned the EP is a rare and very hard to find these days. The songs on “Spirit” run the gamut of traditional folk-ish influenced numbers to poundingly heavy tracks like “Of Fire, Wind & Wisdom” and the re-mastering gives the songs an added kick. Continue reading »

Touchstone – “Wintercoast” REISSUE (2012)

Label : SPV/Steamhammer

Review by Tony Cannella

The U.K. progressive rock outfit Touchstone’s second full-length album “Wintercoast” was originally released in 2009. Now, thanks to SPV it has received the re-issue treatment. Two live bonus tracks complete this 80-minute journey of classy, melodic, progressive rock. This was the second album to feature Kim Seviour and she is fitting in quite nicely at this point and has become firmly entrenched as the female voice of Touchstone. Her style meshes nicely with the David Gilmour/Roger Waters-esque vocals of keyboardist Rob Cottingham.

“Wintercoast” starts with a “Prelude” featuring narration from world renowned actor Jeremy Irons. This is a great starting point and segues into the epic “Wintercoast”. It’s somewhat of a rarity when the longest song opens an album but this 11-minute track is a great choice. Throughout the album there are plenty of shifts in tempos and atmosphere. From the Van Halen-ish opening guitar riff of “Strange Days” to the moody “Original Sin”, there is a little bit of everything. Other highlights include: “Voices”, “Solace” (a great, haunting ballad), the symphonic prog of “Line in the Sand” and the two part opus “The Witness Part I and II”. “Wintercoast” is concluded with two live songs “Shadow” and “Joker in the Pack” raps things up nicely. Out of all of their albums, I think “Wintercoast” may be their most ambitious and therefore challenging albums to listen to, but once it is allowed to grow, “Wintercoast” fits right in there with the rest of the Touchstone catalog. Continue reading »

Therion – “Les Fleurs du Mal” (2012)

Label : Adalruna 

Review by Tony Cannella

Whether you like the avant-garde metal band Therion or you don’t, there is no denying that they have done things their own way since they were founded by Christofer Johnsson in 1987. Going back to their debut EP “Time Shall Tell” in 1991, Therion has morphed from a Death Metal band to an experimental symphonic metal juggernaut and with their latest opus “Les Fleurs Du Mal”, the band marches on. 2012 marks the 25th anniversary of Therion and “Les Fleurs Du Mal” is part of commemorating such a milestone. The album title is based on Charles Baudelaire’s writings and poems and the title “Les Fleurs Du Mal” (English translation is “Flowers of Evil”) is the title of a collection of poems from Charles Baudelaire. Therion’s avant-garde approach is happily intact throughout this 15-song 45-minute effort. As always Christofer Johnsson has surrounded himself with some top tier musical talent, including vocalists Lori Lewis (she sounds amazing as always) and metal veteran Thomas Vikström. Some of the strongest moments are: “Poupee De Cire, Poupee De Son”, “Initials B.B.”, the hypnotic “Mon Amour, Mon Ami” and “Lilith”. The whole thing is quite grandiose and is simply huge in sound and scope. One thing Therion has proven over the years is that they are not afraid to take chances and they do exactly what they want. For better or worse, “Les Fleurs Du Mal” is another shining example of this.

Rating – 83/100

Tracklist

1. Poupee De Cire, Poupee De Son
2. Une Fleur Dans Le Coeur
3. Initials B.B.
4. Mon Amour, Mon Ami
5. Polichinelle
6. La Maritza
7. Soeur Angelique
8. Dis-Moi Poupee
9. Lilith
10. En Alabama
11. Wahala Manitou
12. Je n’ai Besoin Que De Tendresse
13. La Licorne D’or
14. J’ai le mal de Toi
15. Poupee De Cire, Poupee De Son

Line Up

• Thomas Vikström – Vocals
• Lori Lewis – Vocals
• Christofer Johnsson – Guitar
• Christian Vidal – Guitar
• Nalle Påhlsson – Bass
• Johan Kullberg – Drums

Links

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Ivory Moon – “Dark Time” (2012)

Label : Spider Rock Promotions

Review by Tony Cannella

Prior to the release of their 3rd (and latest album) “Dark Time”, the Italian male/female fronted power metal band Ivory Moon changed female vocalists. Gabriella Aleo brings her ultra operatic style to the outfit in conjunction with Sandro Manicone’s male vocals. Ivory Moon’s last album came out in 2007, so it has been awhile between releases. A great majority of male/female duel vocal bands use the ‘beauty and the beast’ method. That is not the case with Ivory Moon. The male vocalist Sandro has a gravelly (sort of reminds me of Andi Deris from Helloween at times), but clean metal style and as already mentioned Gabriella’s style is very operatic – and a bit over-the-top at times. Musically Ivory Moon offers the listener some nice power metal with atmospheric symphonic elements, with some good riffs, musicianship and nice melodic songs. The opening track “New World Order” is a fine opener and a good introduction to Gabriella. The next song, “New Horizons” is more of a mid-tempo song and sees Gabriella’s vocals more subdued – which I like better than her all out operatic style – although this lady can really belt it out. This is a killer track and definitely my favorite song. The next song “Darkness” is a straight-forward metal track with Sandro adopting a meaner style. I loved the chorus and melody on this song. Sandro does the majority of the singing, but Gabriella chimes in on the chorus and melody. This song accentuates the heavy guitars with only minimal input from the keyboards. “Apocalypse” is another heavy one with a great chorus and solo. As the album progresses it becomes apparent that the majority of vocals is handled by Sandro, Gabriella does a great job in a support role when she is called upon. “Heroes” is one the few songs where she handles the majority of the vocals. Other highlights: “Away”, “Soul Disguised” and “The Merchant of Venice”.  ”Dark Time” is 11-songs and 50-minutes worth of well played power metal. Ivory Moon is definitely improving with each album. I think the choice of female vocalists was a good one and after five years, “Dark Time” is a strong return for Ivory Moon.

Rating – 83/100

Tracklist

1. New World Order
2. New Horizons
3. Darkness
4. Apocalypse
5. Away
6. Soul Disguised
7. Heroes
8. Out of Control
9. Endless
10. The Merchant of Venice
11. Rogue

Line Up

• Gabriella Aleo – Vocals
• Sandro Manicone – Male Vocals
• Fabrizio Zucchini – Guitar
• Davide Calisse – Guitar
• Filippo Natoli – Keyboards
• Fabrizio Sclano – Bass
• Emanuele Valabrega – Drums

Links

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