Demon And Wizards - Touched By The Crimson King 2005

Here is finally the second album from Demons And Wizards, after 4 years of silence and a logical silence since the combo is no other than a common project of two very busy musicians, namely Jon Schaffer from Iced Earth and Hansi Kürsch from Blind Guardian. I've been a Blind Guardian fan for years now while I was into Iced Earth until "Horror Show" ruined my mood, and Hansi is my ultimate favorite singer ever, so I was expecting this album with high hopes. Maybe, too high.

From the first listen, one can already hear that the formula hasn't really changed with a production that emphasizes everything but the drums, which sound more like a background rhythm. The main advantage of that is having the riffing of Jon and the vocals of Hansi straight in your face [well, your hears actually].

The opening track, 'Crimson King', is their most elaborate song to date and appears to be the favorite of many already. With strong, raw guitar riffs and first class vocals from master Hansi. 'Beneath These Waves' continues in the same direction with a slower tempo but a catchier structure. At this point into the album, one has to pinpoint that Hansi's vocal abilities have even improved since their first album and that unlike previously fewer layers of his voice are superposed at one given time, giving a rare clarity to the main melody. 'Terror Train' sounds like pure Iced Earth with a way better singer and constitute an impressive trilogy of songs with 'Crimson King' and 'Beneath These Waves'.

The album is full of ballads and mid-tempo melodies with 'Seize The Day' [with a reminiscence of Iced Earth's 'Watching Over Me'], 'Love's Tragedy Asunder', 'Wicked Witch' and 'Down Where I Am' contrasting with their more energetic first album.

Some surprises are in stock with a great cover of Led Zeppelin's 'Immigrant Song' and for those fortunate enough to grab the special edition version of the album, 'Lunar Lament', which sounds like it could be straight from the sessions from 2001.

On the other hand, some other songs just don't do anything for me such as 'The Gunslinger' and 'Dorian'. They sound like recycled pieces from "Horror Show". They are there, they are somewhat okay, nothing more.

At the end of the day, "Touched By The Crimson King" is a good album but it lacks the homogeneity of their first masterpiece. It hosts the same formula, great riffing with excellent vocals, which is very unlikely to change your view on the project Demons And Wizards. If you liked the first album, you'll dig that one to a slightly lower level and if you though that it sounded like the same Iced Earth riffs over and over again, well, that's what you'll hear once more.

Highlights: 'Crimson King', 'Beneath These Waves', 'Seize The Day', 'Lunar Lament'

Track List I
01. Crimson King
02. Beneath These Waves
03. Terror Train
04. Seize The Day
05. The Gunslinger
06. Love's Tragedy Asunder
07. Wicked Witch
08. Dorian
09. Down Where I Am
10. Immigrant Song [Led Zeppelin cover]

Download Song : Demons And Wizards Touched By The Crimson King

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Drakkar Album Razorblade God 2002

Drakkar made their debut in 1998 with their first full-length, QUEST FOR GLORY, followed by GEMINI in 2000. Both albums are of the typical Italian style, melodic and symphonic power metal, solid, though not overly impressive. Following the release of GEMINI, Drakkar underwent massive lineup changes, replacing every member of the band save for two founding members, guitarist and songwriter Dario Beretta, and drummer Christian Fiorani.

On RAZORBLADE GOD, Drakkar take a new path separate from most of their Italian colleagues, this time playing a heavier, speedier, more aggressive, and riff-based flavour of power metal. With the new blood comes new life, including a powerful new vocalist Davide Dell’Orto, who would just as easily fit well into a classic 80s metal band, his voice having the edge that is complementary to Drakkar’s new style.

The change in Drakkar’s style is evident from the opening riffs to the leadoff title track, a straightforward power metal track. Not leaving the symphonic element completely behind, this track features some nice synth fills courtesy of new keyboardist Corrado Solarino, as well as a fairly typical Italian catchy chorus. The style carries over through the next track, “Man and Machine” until “To The Future,” one of the best songs on the album. This song opens with a deceptive, mellow piano intro before blasting into some killer speed metal. Beretta and Solarino trade some mean guitar and keyboard solos towards the middle of this track. Dell’Orto really shines on this one, as does Daniele Persoglio with his prominent basswork.

Unlike Drakkar’s previous two albums, RAZORBLADE GOD is not a concept album. The lyrics on this album range from the sci-fi “Man And Machine,” and “The Matrix” the voyage of Lief Erikson on “To The Future,” Dante on “The Inferno,” and pay homage to Tolkien on “Galadriel’s Song.” Almost surprisingly, the ballad “Galadriel’s Song” is one of my favourite tracks on the album; the lyrics, acoustic guitar, and delicate keys creating a mournful track fitting for the Elf Queen. My other favourite track on the album is “Witches’ Dance,” which opens with a catchy bass intro before blasting into an excellent riff/synth combo to get my head banging instantaneously. Closing out the album is a very cool cover of the classic Magnum song, “Kingdom of Madness.”

The production on RAZORBLADE GOD is clean, though I feel it could be crisped up a bit more in some places. Also, while the songwriting has improved considerably from the first two, I feel that a couple of the songs tend to sound the same and run together after a couple of spins. Still, this album is a huge step up for Drakkar. With hope and luck, this lineup will remain stable, and we will have more releases to come from these true Italian metallers. The packaging on the CD is very nice overall, despite being in digipak format (which I abhor), and includes the music video for “To The Future,” which is a great touch. Fans of classic, speed, and power metal as well as any fan of the Italian scene would do well to check out Drakkar’s third and strongest release.

Track List :
1. Razorblade God
2. Man And Machine
3. To The Future
4. Inferno
5. The Matrix
6. Galadriel's Song
7. Lo Shan Shen Long Pa
8. The Next Generation
9. Witches' Dance
10. Kingdom Of Madness

Info :
Artist : Drakkar
Album : Razorblade God
Release Year : 2002
Size : 64.43
Country : Italy
Genre : Power Metal

Download Song : Drakkar Razorblade God
Download Cover : Drakkar Razorblade God

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Sabaton Album The Art of War Released 2008

Released May 30, 2008 Recorded Abyss Studios, Sweden Genre Power metal Label Black Lodge Records Producer Tommy & Peter Tägtgren

The Art of War is the fifth album by Swedish power metal band Sabaton.
The lyrics of the songs are about famous battles or war, mostly based on the battles of World War II or based on the The Art of War by Sun Tzu, for which the album is named.



Track List :
01-sabaton_-_sun_tzu_says.mp3
02-sabaton_-_ghost_division.mp3
03-sabaton_-_the_art_of_war.mp3
04-sabaton_-_40-1.mp3
05-sabaton_-_unbreakable.mp3
06-sabaton_-_the_nature_of_warfare.mp3
07-sabaton_-_cliffs_of_gallipoli.mp3
08-sabaton_-_talvisota.mp3
09-sabaton_-_panzerkampf.mp3
10-sabaton_-_union_(slopes_of_st._benedict).mp3
11-sabaton_-_the_price_of_a_mile.mp3
12-sabaton_-_firestorm.mp3
13-sabaton_-_a_secret.mp3

Album line-up :
Joakim Brodén – Vocals
Rickard Sundén – Guitars
Oskar Montelius – Guitars
Pär Sundström – Bass
Daniel Mullback – Drums
Daniel Mÿhr – Keyboards

Download Album : The Art of War Sabaton album
Download Cover : The Art of War Sabaton album

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