Song Reviews
The Second Part
Song Reviews
The Second Part
Lethal-"Immune" rating=8.0/10.0 |
TNT-"Tell
No Tales" |
| I love the way this song begins, with the gentle lapping of the acoustic guitar, and the voice of a sorrowful angel. I just adore this guy's voice, its so pure and strong and just gorgeous, I have yet to hear him sing a ballad, but am just dying to hear what it would sound like. His vocals just drip with emotion and set the mood for a very soulful song. By the time you are lulled into a comforting yet depressing mood, then the feeling created is shattered by the thunder of the full band exploding in, and this song explodes suddenly, which comes as a complete surprise. Yes this works well and keeps the listener on the alert, but it just made me crave for more soulful wailing from Tom Mallicoat. The lyrics are just wonderfully delivered and the way he sings "just for a moment, I have to turn away" are just breathtaking, his vocals are so convinced. You begin to believe just maybe he is immune from the pain...and then at the end you begin to think...or is he? | Fast riffing, that classic pounding drum rhythm and vocals that come off as quite screechy...that basically sums up this song. Its quick, fast, speedy, speed metal with vocals that just scream with lots of vibrato, the solo is dizzingly fast and is well suited to the song, and is another shining example of fretboard heroics. The basic lyrics of the song is "tell no tales" which is screamed out at the top of the vocalist's lungs, and then just as suddenly as the song starts, it just shuts down and a spray of chimes ends the song on a thoughtful note. This is defintely a quick song, it clocks in at a little over 2 minutes and 20 seconds, even if you blink however, I doubt you will miss it. |
Crimson
Glory-"In Dark Places" |
Gamma
Ray-"Tribute to the Past" |
| One word describes this song...HAUNTING. From the thundering drums and the addictive rhythms introduced at the beginning of the song, to the wraiths of night calling in the background, to Midnight elegantly belting out the lyrics with his own air of mystery and wonder. When he breaks into the main chorus my heart just leaps, and his voice reaches the highest point and spirals down and the addictive rhythm resumes its course through the darkest places. This song should mesmerize every listener, tangling you in its web...and the way Midnight seems to beckon like a spirit in the night..."in dark places..." is one of the things that make this song so haunting. Clutching upon your soul and pulling it through the deepest parts of emotion and leaving you there to fend for yourself, and make your own conclusions about the mystical feel to this song. Jon Drenning's axeslinging takes on a different sound, shrouded in the phantasmagoric riffing in the night. The acoustic that is peppered into the song near its end is fascinating, and just adds to the haunting feel of this song. Dim the lights, turn up the stereo and let the feel of the music wash over you in great waves...allow the music to look inside yourself and discover your own dark places. | Good Lord!! Make sure your speakers are turned down just a little when cranking this up, because the drums of doom that make up the intro to this song will startle you right out of your chair. Now this is true speed metal, but with a huge progressive chorus of voices aids the vocalist in his almost gutteral screechings at times. And YES he is capable of making a scream sound wimpy. The center of this song where a very fast and typical guitar solo should go is replaced by music that reminds me of the sky falling down and it causes kind of subconscious headbanging with the eyes open wide, THEN and only then does the typically blindly, ear searingly fast solo kick in. They actually tone it down just a tad and inject the song with a bit of soul after the solo only to break out of that by a half hearted scream followed by the huge cushioning vocal background, then the lead singer does his screaming thing again and just when you think it ends, the drums bang a little longer, the guitar squeals for an extended period of time, and then it crashes to an end. This is the kind of music that will irritate most non metal fanatics, and some that absolutely adore metal...I have heard better from Gamma Ray, but maybe this takes an acquired taste. They really are trying to speed the past out of here, and on into the future, sheesh!! |
Shadow
Gallery-"Ghost Ship Part 1" |
Shadow
Gallery-"Ghost Ship Part 2" |
| This song is just sooo cool, an awesome epic that has that is just bathed in that progressive sound. The wandering synthesizer that darts all throughout the layers of sound during the intro is an attention grabber and from there on you will be hooked. This band has a special way of creating little things that they tease you with in their music that keeps you on the edge of your seat, craving and wanting more. Their vocalist has a pure voice that can handle most everything, I love the sound of the way he lowers it and sings the verses in a rushed sense, and then a booming of voices takes over, this creates a very epic sound that just pulls you right into the music feeling inspired. The lead singer's voice trails back into the spotlight again, and then is rejoined by the legion of voices before the main riff kicks in again and then the chorus returns shortly after. This song has the power to just make you love it, giving that all around epic feeling, and that rush of energy one gets when a song is really REALLY great. The guitar is fleeting, fast, with neo-classical beauty, and just as you think the song is really about to get going, as the band is painting pictures of a setting that should get cranked up to a really awesome storyline...it just ends...ahh yes, that's why there are more parts to it. But this particular section is breathtaking. Listen, and enjoy it to its fullest. | This continues the first part, and gets down and dirty (dirty?) with a really bluesy feeling and a very fast neo-classical solo that drips with vibrato and sounds alot like Yngwie Malmsteen during parts of it. The guitar is faded out to be replaced by haunting sounds, very much like what the spooky part of a horror movie would have, and then it ends. Its hard to rate this part! it would be easier to rate the song as a whole and not piece by piece! go buy the cd!!! *pout* I want to hear more! |
Stratovarius-"Before
the Winter" |
The gentle lapping keyboards begin this song, a gorgeous tinkering sound, that gives a very full, expansive feeling...like the way it feels before the snow falls, when you walk outside in a cold world...so lonely and alone, the trees seem to cry out for their spring foliage, but the land still feels alive and the atmosphere feels inviting...yet quiet...the silence a comfort but yet urgent...this is what the beginning of this song seems to conjure. That delicate keyboardmelody is one thing that stays consistant about the tune...and then the vocals begin, very beautiful and operatic, full of vibrato and emotional power. And then the drums start in, and then shortly after it all erupts with guitar filling in the shallow parts. The emotion being unleashed in this song is overpowering, and gives plenty of space to slip into the song...especially when the violin and the tinkering begins after the musical eruption, which seems to echo of what is to come, the beginning of that first snow maybe, or in this case, the prelude to a heartstopping neo-classical influenced guitar solo, that fades into the main keyboard melody and some slightly distorted vocals, like the guy is singing from very far away and then the musical power is unleashed again and crashes down upon the tinkering hiding it behind the guitar and the overall dramatic sound created by the blend of instruments and the singer's expressive voice. As he sings the final phrase and it ends like a leaf blown to the wind, the song ends as it began, only this time with violin in the background to close it out. A powerful song, yet relaxing, brimming with emotion and to me sounds very unique. You have to hear it. Definitely a progmetal ballad. |