ANTHROPIA – THE EREYN CHRONICLES, PART I: THE JOURNEY OF BEGINNINGS (
Progressive Power Metal)
Anthropia is a French progressive power metal band, the creation of a young man by the name of Hugues Lefebvre (Hugo, for short).
The Ereyn Chronicles, Part I: The Journey Of Beginnings is, as one might assume, a fantasy-based concept album, the first of three installments. The story takes place in the fictional world of Ereyn, ruled by Queen Lunne. As with most fantastical concept albums, the land has fallen into chaos. The main character, Amryl, is on a mission to find the “all-knowing oracle” which will save his people. A disastrous shipwreck, however, sets him on a separate course; one that sees him searching for self-discovery, as he rose from that near-fatal shipwreck with amnesia. Amryl is a hero in the loosest sense; he’s naïve and not so much a warrior, the typical character trait for a story such as this. Of course, the story is secondary; what of the music?
Musically
The Ereyn Chronicles is a very impressive album. Heavy progressive metal is the main course; but symphonic metal and classical are also on the table. The album starts with the typical atmospheric intro: orchestration, chanting, etc.
“Question Of Honor” follows and immediately makes its presence known with heavy riffs, killer solos, keyboards, a great chorus, chanting, and the one thing that I feel plagues this album most: bum vocal notes.
I can’t hold much against Hugo, he’s done everything here but the drums; however, while his vocals sound excellent for the most part, he occasionally hits some notes in a higher-range that simply sound a bit off. I’d say the average music fan wouldn’t pick up on it; but one attuned to this sort of thing may find their face crinkling up a bit when he hits those notes. Luckily, it’s not a common thing throughout the album; and, aside from a few mediocre moments, Hugo consistently shows his skills and songwriting prowess on songs like
“Lords Of A World,” the semi-acoustic
“Forgotten,” “In The Maze Of A Nightmare,” and the epic prog-rock heavy closer,
“The Desert Of Jewels.”
Anthropia, for me, was one of the biggest surprises of 2006.
The Ereyn Chronicles, while not perfect, is a very good album that does much more than hint at great music to come when the inevitable parts two and three are released.
Rating:
75/100
Website:
http://www.anthropia.org
MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/anthropiachronicles
Downloads:
Lords Of A World (Clip),
The Maze Of A Nightmare (Clip),
Where Secrets Lie,
Question Of Honor (Video)
SONATA ARCTICA – DON’T SAY A WORD (EP) (
Power Metal)
I picked up this little gem through lala.com for $1.75—you can’t beat that!
Sonata Arctica, if you’re unaware, are a Finish power metal act; one of the best out there. Back in 2004, before releasing
Reckoning Night, the band released a two-track single and a four-track EP for the song,
“Don’t Say A Word.” The EP features the brilliant title track and another great one from
Reckoning Night,
“Ain’t Your Fairytale.” The bread and butter of this EP, though, is the two exclusive tracks:
“World In My Eyes” and
“Two Minds, One Soul,” both covers.
“World In My Eyes” was originally done by
Depeche Mode. It would have been easy for them to cover
“Personal Jesus” or
“Enjoy The Silence,” which are the two standard
Depeche Mode covers; but
Sonata Arctica chose a more obscure track from the classic
Violator album.
Sonata’s version of
“World In My Eyes” begins with a brutal scream from Tony Kakko and a heavy-as-hell riff—both, sadly, do not make return appearances without being subdued by electronic effects; the song, then, settles into a slight industrial, electronic heavy jam that unfortunately stays decent and nothing more.
“Two Minds, One Soul,” originally by the underrated
Vanishing Point, from their
Tangled In Dream album, is the better of the two covers. The song fits
Sonata’s style much better; thus, wouldn’t be found out of place on any of their albums. It’s a mid- to fast-paced tune with a great, catchy—yet subtle—chorus. It stays true to the original, so, if you’ve heard the
Sonata version, you should well know that
Vanishing Point is a band you need to check out (if you’ve not already).
Obviously the EP isn’t readily available—at least for us in the US—so this one is more or less for the serious fans. If you can find it, however, definitely grab it; the two covers are worth it.
Rating:
70/100
Website:
http://www.sonataarctica.info
MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/sonataarctica
Downloads:
Don’t Say A Word (Video),
Misplaced (Live video)
KOTTONMOUTH KINGS – HIDDEN STASH III (
Hip Hop)
This year marks the ten year
Kottonmouth Kings anniversary; and
Hidden Stash III is the second
KMK release this year after
Koast II Koast, which was released in June. It’s been five years and six albums since
Hidden Stash II. As one could imagine, with that many albums recorded, the outtakes, remixes and unreleased material can pile up inside the vaults; thus,
Hidden Stash III comes equipped with thirty-six songs over two CDs, and a bonus DVD with twenty-three videos. Saint Dog, Judge D, Big B, and other Suburban Noize Records—
KMKs self-owned label—stable mates also make appearances through the two CDs and DVD. And, as with most albums of this type, you can’t expect brilliance on every track; however, there are most definitely some brilliant songs here.
The disc one opener,
“Gone Git High,” is typical of the
KMK style: pro-marijuana prose laced over a bass-heavy beat, great verse flows, and a boisterous sing-along chorus.
“The Underground” has Daddy X sounding like Eazy E, even borrowing from E’s verse flow from the
NWA classic,
“Boyz-N-The Hood;” a great chorus is provided by Big B.
“That’s How It Goes” is an unreleased
Kingspade—
KMK members’ side-project—track, and showcases another side to
KMK and their side-bands/projects: melody. The track is rife with piano, some orchestration, positive lyrics about life, and a melodic chorus that is so good it literally gives me goose bumps. Other standouts include
“Still Smokin’,” “Police Story,” “One Life,” and
“Hit That”—which, not surprisingly, is about alcohol and weed, not women.
Disc two is similar to the first disc, though it fares a bit worse due to some too-similar-to-the-original remixes (except the remix of
“The Lottery”) and just a few more weaker tracks than on disc one. The aptly titled
“Hidden Stash” kicks off this disc, and it’s a good tune, but a little weak for an opening track. The following track,
“Keep A Lookout,” would have been a better, catchier opener.
“Remember Me” incorporates some reggae into the mix, while
“Losin’ Streak” has an electronic/industrial feel; very good tunes.
“Flyin’ High,” “Lady Killer,” “Last Daze,” and
“Rip N Tear” are also great tunes.
Fans of traditional mainstream hip hop would probably hate
Kottonmouth Kings. The lyrics are generally very positive and intelligent, even when the songs about woman, and some about smoking weed, often seem to contradict that notion; but overall
KMK are a very positive and talented band, and there’s no denying a good song regardless of what the lyrics are about. And, while this album isn’t without some mediocre material, it’s a gold mine for fans of the band.
Rating:
80/100
Website:
http://www.kottonmouthkings.com
MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/kottonmouthkings
Downloads:
Where’s The Weed At? (Video from
Koast II Koast),
Everybody Move (Video from
Koast II Koast),
Put It Down (feat. Cypress Hill) (from
Kottonmouth Kings),
King Klick (from
Kottonmouth Kings),
Bring It On (from
Fire It Up)
AVALON – VISION EDEN (
Melodic Progressive Power Metal)
Avalon is a new band for me. I recently read a great review on their
Eurasia album, and after added them to my Want List on lala.com. This album came shortly thereafter. Chitral Somapala (current
Domain vocalist) sings on this album; and a fine job he does, indeed. The music is similar to
Circus Maximus, though a little less epic and progressive. The band formed in 1992, released four albums, the last,
Eurasia, in 2000, and broke up sometime thereafter.
Upon hearing
“They Are In Between Us,” the opener, a heavy and melodic metal masterpiece, I expected nothing but brilliance to follow. Unfortunately, the album couldn’t sustain that same level of excellence throughout the entire disc. It is, however, still a very good album.
“Lord Of Dignity” is an awesome mid-paced gem with a great chorus, excellent piano work, and some killer vocals—which should be expected from Somapala.
“Age Of Salvation,” “Children Of War,” and
“Gene Genius” are three other great tunes; more outstanding hooks, and superb vocals and musicianship. All is not perfect, however;
“Dancing With The Devil” is a song that reminds me of
Nightwish’s
“Devil & The Deep Dark Ocean” and
“The Pharaoh Sails To Orion,” all of which are good songs but marred by laughable, processed guttural male vocals.
“Road To Eden” is a light acoustic number that reeks Michael Kiske-like AOR—coming up with the same boring results.
While not perfect in any sense of the word,
Vision Eden is a damn good progressive power metal album; well worth checking out.
Rating:
65/100
Website:
http://www.somapala.com (Chitral Somapala)
Downloads:
They Are In Between Us (Clip),
Lord Of Dignity (Clip),
Age Of Salvation (Clip)
