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Review:
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Whilst traversing the vast oceans of the WWW, one of
my elite spies gave me reports of a rock/metal combo that
had managed to remain hidden, deep in the mountainous snow
wastes of Switzerland, so I sent out a crack team of agents
to check them out. Two great singers, male and female, tick.
Catchy rock/metal and ballads, tick. Excellent keys player,
tick. Recent release easily available, tick. Having fulfilled
all the criteria, I now I sit with this beauty before me.
With a history going way back to 1997, this is the follow
up to their debut, 2005’s Evolution, and the first to be
released internationally (although their debut can be purchased
on CD Baby). Fronted by Matthias and the luscious Franzisca,
both blessed with powerful rock voices, this is melodic
power rock/metal with more hooks than a fishing tackle shop.
The closest parallels are with Sonata Arctica’s melodic
power metal, especially with the vocal style of Matthias,
who reminds me of the great Tony Kakko (Sonata Arctica).
No need to pick out highlights, all the songs are first
class, from rockers like ‘Endless Journey’, to lighter wavers
like ‘Angel of Affection’, to symphonic anthems like ‘Surrounded’.
The superb lyrics are inspired by a veritable who’s who
of great writers, JRR Tolkien, Anne Bronte, Joseph Cotter,
Emily Dickenson, John Bunyan, Robert Browning and Oscar
Wilde, makes a refreshing change from ‘ooh baby I wanna
luv ya all nite long’! This should sell by the truckload,
appealing to a broad church of melodic rock/metal fans,
from Nightwish to Bon Jovi, from Sonata Arctica to Rainbow.
Easily available from all the usual outlets, CD Baby, and
from Karthago
records,
9 out of 10
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