Brazen Abbot
Bad Religion

 

1. The Whole World's Crazy
2. Nightmaresba.jpg (19261 bytes)
3. Two Of A Kind
4. I Will Rise Again
5. Day Of The Eagle
6. We Don't Talk Anymore
7. Wings Of A Dream
8. Bad Religion
9. Father To Child
10. Love Is On Our
Side
11. Empire Of The Sun

The Album

This is one of the most solid releases I have heard in a long time.   The huge European metal sound is prominent here, and the main showcase for 8 out of 11 tracks....the other 3 are really HUGE power ballads that will instantly earn classic status in the metal world.  The hard hitting tracks range from the addictive rhythm hard rock paced songs to all out pieces of metallic beauty kept caged inside a neatly produced package.  The vocal performances are more than outstanding, but when you have three classic vocalists swapping back and forth their places in the spotlight, you can expect nothing more.  The spectuacular, Joe Lynn Turner, the bluesy sounding Goran Edman with his rich foreign accent showing its true colors, and Thomas Vikstrom, who I am not familiar with prior to this release...all share vocal duties on this.  The multiple vocalist thing works very well, the music retains a fresh sound, and each singer has different abilities, vastly changing the mood back and forth on the cd and each vocalist gets to do a ballad...the two most heartfelt ones being the Turner and Edman ones but maybe that opinion is just because of my preference for these two singers.  But I have discussed the sound of the cd, and the singers, but the whole Brazen Abott project is driven by the guitarist, Nikolo Kotzev, who writes all the music, produces the cd, and everything else imaginable.  He also plays the violin parts too among other things, which was just amazing that one person could undertake a project like this...and even more amazing that it would get so little recognition.  So that's what I'm here for, to introduce you to this masterpiece.  So get ready for a whirlwind song by song review of one of the classiest cd's of the 90s!

 

The Songs
1. The Whole World's Crazy (Joe Lynn Turner-voc): beginning in true epic fashion, with the dramatic keyboards and everything, this song then turns into a very solid rocker with some great backing guitar and JLT's bluesy sounding voice layed on top of it.  Not one of my favorites, but its growing on me slowly, mostly because Joe Lynn sings on it, and it is a good song to set the tone for this cd. 
2. Nightmares (Thomas Vikstrom-voc): This is my favorite out of the 3 songs Vikstrom sings on, its pace is furious and brings you right into the nightmares torturing throughout this song.  I love the chorus and the bluesy spin on the vocals.  Its a very solid and memorable hard rock song, not quite classic status but close, and the guitar provided by the ringleader, Kotzev, is just wonderful.  I don't see how he does it. 
3. Two Of A Kind (Goran Edman-voc): A heartstring tugger if I have ever heard one, this song really does stretch the hard rock blues based ballad type to its fullest...and just rips the heart apart in the process.   Goran Edman's voice is naturally bluesy sounding to me anyway, he can just vibrate each note with such passion that it hurts the heart to hear it.  When the chorus kicks in and Goran starts begging to not have to beg...oh my...the whole song just lifts up and the guitar squeals with the same urgent need..."all I need is just a little bit of sympathy".  Just beautiful...someone hand me a kleenex quick.  And then when it all winds down and his voice just pours out of the speakers, with the softly lapping acoustic, and the final few notes drift away...a definite classic.
4. I Will Rise Again (Joe Lynn Turner-voc):  Oh Joe Lynn, you just had to show out after Goran's plea there...this is a toe tapper, swing to the music, feel good, JLT classic.  Its so evident that JLT wrote the lyrics, but the music is pure Kotzev, the guitar is gorgeous, my my is he ever good!  And Joe Lynn provides the voice that is so full and strong and just the spotlight for this song, although a few of the guitar rhythms will have you whistling them for days (pitiful! whistling guitar rhythms! yeah I'm a strange one!)  One of the best, straightforward hard rockin' tunes of 1997, and one of JLT's best songs from the 90s. 
5. Day Of The Eagle (Goran Edman-voc): Wow, is this ever a treat, 3 absolutely killer songs in a row! The guitar just blazes at the beginning, bubbly riffs with a squealing guitar in the background, taking advantage of that feedback....the music background for this song is very interesting, and this is one of those screaming metal tracks, that just burns up the night.  This is a very highpaced metal song, and another of my favorites from this cd.  The violin in the middle was quite a surprise at first, and I just hated it and then for some reason it grew on me, and now I just love this "fiddle" solo...played by Kotzev too, isn't there anything this guy CAN'T do?  And trust me, it fits the song, strangely, but after you have heard 10,000 metal songs, something so different and surprising is a welcome change, and sticks in your head.
6. We Don't Talk Anymore (Thomas Vikstrom-voc): a very VERY pretty ballad, starting out very soft and emotional, about a very common problem...when two people get in a habit of taking each other for granted after they have been together awhile, and the pain and realization of what is going on in this heartbreaking situation.  It comes across as being a very sweet song...and Vikstrom's "oooh's" are very nice.  The guitar becomes very upbeat near the end, but the dramatic riffing before exploding back into the main chorus is a nice touch. 
7. Wings Of A Dream (Joe Lynn Turner-voc): getting back into the more "screaming metal" sound, Joe Lynn Turner is the man to do it here.  Nothing too notable, especially after some of the really unusual sections in some of these other tracks, but this song is a very slickly produced, classy metal song, one that you just can't go wrong with.  It safely stays within those metallic boundaries, complete with a very fast paced blistering solo with all the neoclassical beauty one can take. 
8. Bad Religion (Goran Edman-voc):  Goran does it again, I swear this guy managed to talk the ringleader, guitarist, over all genuis, into letting him sing vocals on some of the best tracks on here.  The opening guitar keyboard thing is just SO addictive, I just LOVE this song, it sounds SO different with the layered keyboards and the guitar is so different sounding, and once Goran's foreign accent starts serenading the listener, well, by this time you will be crying, not from saddness, but just because you pity all the other metal bands that release such standard stuff! This song has a hard bassy, drum pounding background to work with, but the keyboard rhythms and the melodic vocals make a great contrast that blends and works well together, feeding off of each other's differences and energy.  The fiddle enters again for another shocking appearance, it seems completely out of place at first, but then the very symphonic violins seem to whisper that its alright and then you get used to it, and look forward to its grand entrance.  Fantastic!!!!
9. Father To Child  Thomas Vikstrom-voc):  Vikstrom's opening scream sounds wimpy, then he "hummmmmmm's" like David Coverdale, and the song settles into a very hard rocking groove, another high paced heavy metal song.  For some reason this song didn't get off on good terms with me the first go round, but it seems better on the second go round.  The ending really is better than the rest of the song.
10. Love Is On Our Side (Joe Lynn Turner-voc):  Be still my heart, and take my advice, if you are a hopeless romantic or ballad lover, do not and I repeat, DO NOT play this for the first time with company on hand, or else you WILL make a fool of yourself.  And keep a kleenex on hand.  I normally gravitate towards ballads, they capture my interest first and hold it the longest, and this one is something special.  The opening piano tells all, its gentle sorrowfulness a cry from the depths of a broken solo, and Joe Lynn's voice, so perfectly suited for ballads, just echos this feeling.  And the way he sings "don't ask why" is just absolutely...one of the most beautiful things I have heard.  The tears are welling up now...just listening to it once again.  Oh I love this song.  And the chorus is to die for, soulful but more upbeat, offering solutions to the problem that's breaking his heart, and all of ours too.  This song is brilliantly written, the music, the lyrics...and the performance is top notch, the production clean and crisp and just beautiful.  The emotions are so pure and flowing, and dealt out evenly over the whole song so you don't go into overload and just go into a boohoo'ing fit.  Maybe I'm just one of those hopeless romantic ballad lovers...but I think that anyone that has any kind of heart will be affected emotionally by this. 
11. Empire Of The Sun (Goran Edman-voc):  from the straight between the heart and soul emotional impact of Love is On Our Side to the strangeness of this...hmm...but it seems to flow together...the beginning is very odd, with creepy distorted vocals of someone talking...and then the voice sounds almost demonic!!  With epic sounding but yet spooky music, complete with dramatic drum poundings and chimes.  But it straightens out into an awesome hard rocking song with another catchy chorus.  Goran gets to finish off the cd with a huge bang and delivers yet another absolutely fantastic vocal performance, stretching it all to the limit.  The guitar just RIPS in this, and he sings his heart out.  A fittingly awesome finish.  Just hear that ending, you won't forget THAT!

 

Overall

WOW WOW WOW!!!!  I am blown away.  I just have to wonder, how come these guys don't get more recognition.  The lineup is awesome, with 3 members of Europe being the rest of the band, including John Leven and Mic Michaeli.  So how come Brazen Abbot isn't a household name?  Why can't they get a record deal in the US?  Why do they make me pay so much for an import?  these questions may never be answered, but one question unmentioned so far is an easy one to answer...This cd is worth any price you pay for it.  It is purely awesome, a superb balance of hard hitting metal tunes with a few mid paced rockers and three blow-you-away ballads thrown in just for good measure.  Some people may be apprehensive when approaching the thought of buying this cd, simply because of the fact the 11 tracks are shared between 3 different vocalists, but have no fear, as I have said, it keeps this cd sounding fresh, and each are matched with songs that compliment their vocal abilities.  The guitar is beautifully performed by Nikolo Kotzev who proves to be more than just your average musical genius.   Nikolo Kotzev is a very VERY talented guy that deserves alot more than to be releasing great stuff like this album only to fall into obscurity.  If you can get ahold of this, buy it, I strongly recommend it. 

Production Songs Lyrics Performance
10.0 9.8 9.5 10.0

 

 

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