Can't hear any bass so score is chair/10
Wednesday 27 May 2015
Wednesday 20 May 2015
Cain's Offering "Stormcrow" review
amazing art
Cain's Offering, a project of Jani Liimatainen, started ~2009 with Mikko Härkin, Timo Kotipelto, Jani Hurula and Jukka Koskinen. Well shit, talk about almost perfect supergroup for me: My favourite vocalist of all time, 3rd favourite guitarist, 3rd favourite bassist, second favourite keyboard player and only the drummer is unknown to me. As predicted, their first album was a total hit for me, mixing Sonata Arctica's catchyness with Stratovarius more serious and progressive approach. Highly anticipated tour never came to life and the project slowly withered away, leaving only a handful of idiots (including me) bothering Jani non stop on his blog to make more CO.
And yet again history showed that being an asshole is the best way to get things done, Cain's Offering returns with album nr 2 and more promises about the tour, but with a different lineup- no more Mikko (what a surprise.. That guy has some major problems staying in one project for more than 1 album), no more Jukka
but with some guys I was too devastated to even check their names.
Oh well, let's give it a try: Jonas Kuhlberg on bass, probably one of the forgotten Jonas brothers aand..
Jens Johansson.
WAITWHAT!?
JENS THE TOILETSLAYER?
JENS THE GUARDIAN OF FABOLOUS KEYBOARD DUCKS?
Let's just add an extremely fancy art on the cd and I'm creaming myself like a 16 yo fangirl. A 16 yo fangirl with their parents credit card actually as I bought 5 damn copies of it, including 2 japanese ones.
But a review is still a review, so let's check it track by track.
Stormcrow
Sharing the name of the album, the track wastes no time for intros and just jumps into the epicness with it's bombastic choir. Talk about chorus that will stay in your head for good. Actually it starts to piss me off, everytime I hear "the prices are RISING! FROM THE ASHES! A DARK MESSENGER OF SORROW!", ekhem, see? The track is pretty straightforward most of the time, before the solo it starts to take more progressive turn and the "hit radio song" turns into Pathfinder-like epic song, blasting the audience with a great solo (absent in first CO album) and Timo's vocals cast a big shadow on everything else, ending this song with so much power it right what up writing fucks ?! now my hell the
The Best Of Times
I like the first vocal parts sounding so far, like Timo from Stormcrow passed through some dimensional barrier with his scream and tries to go back. The track starts with some heavy blasting and I just love to hear Jani riffing- last 12 years of watching that guy's guitar playing was a pure joy- from a young
A Night To Forget
Mid tempo song, again with heavy focus on vocals and those wonderful lyrics. I write some stuff myself, but that bastard Jani can write some killer lyrics, and even when melody is hard to keep up he has a support of Timo Kotipelto, who can sing the shittiest lyrics with awesome results. Most important part of the song- I can hear bass!! And it's good, playing along in the intro until guitar makes it go to the background. Come on, focus on something else than Timo wonderful work during the chorus.. Sorry Jens, Jonas and Jani nr. 2 - those 2 totally dominate the sound so far. You are doing a great job supporting, but it's hard to focus on something other than vocals and guitars.
I Will Build You A Rome
Finally some good drums and bass can be heard from the start of this song. Title is weird, but it fits the song. A typical hit radio song with a decent speed but no sound overload. Jani is heard riffing somewhere behind Timo vocals and the drums finally have some killer double bass pedals well heard. Jens is going wild during the solo. I think. Sometimes I have difficulties distinguishing guitar solos from keyboard solos (if my reviews can suck even more). The lyrics are extremely cheesy, but are surprisingly fitting and catchy. Just don't sing it too much to your loved one, she might puke out of unicorn-rainbow-lovely-dovely-overload
Too Tired To Run
Yay, finally a flaw on this so far awesome album :D The song? No, it's great, maybe the best on the album. The problem is it's placement on the album. It's too soon, it sounds like an album climax to me and would work perfectly as next-to-last song on the album. Placing it as 5th song has some benefits of course (it's a slow song, so it fits between 2 fast songs, also it makes the first half of the album totally flawless and wonderful) but for me it would fit way better after few more songs.
The song is a slow tempo ballad with some amazing orchestrations and almost solo Timo performance during first half. And damn those lyrics, damn you Jani! The Liimatainen, Hurula is awesome, no hate here bro! I can totally see this song performed by Kotipelto&Liimatainen duet. The climax of this song will probably send a shitload of shivers down your spine, plus it's split in half so tease level is over 9000. Finally vocals are silent and the orchestrations deliver a long awaited orgasm. Calm outro just breaks the borders of perfection into the deep unknown
Constellation Of Tears
Maybe the fastest song on the album with a catchy chorus that made me wonder if I should finish writing my second single "A Shark That Could Bark" because the chorus is a little bit similar in style. Oh well, only the time will tell. Jens goes crazy here, and solo intro is just plain awesome, drums also deliver some fast and heavy work. But as mentioned in the previous song- this song doesn't fit for me here, after Too Tired To Run. I would move I Am Legion here to have a instrumental break before going back to fast songs. But well, it's just me, song is good.
Antemortem
The Nightwish© song. No, seriously, that intro just doesn't remind me of anything else :D That style of riffing&drum work screams Nightwish©. Also the chorus lyrics and Jani's habits (the Liimatainen scum, Hurula is awesome) make me think of it as a drinking song. Big plus for bass here, heard loud and clear, perfect for deaf fucks like me. Some very progressive elements late in the song, where Hurula shows some nice skills drumming before Nightwish© riff. Great outro
My Heart Beats For No One
Another stupid title, this time isn't supported by good lyrics (but some awesome guitar bits in the background). Actually the weakest song on the album, with a little bit too emo lyrics ("I'm not ok, I'm not fine" bit is great though). Also a bit too many progressive elements to swallow it on the first listen. Good drums and bass moments so in the end remember one thing- the song isn't bad, it's just not as amazing as the others here. And again- placement of a fast song after 2 other fast songs doesn't fit very well.
I Am Legion
Instrumental song, so let me apologise as I'm a shitty reviewer of instrumental flicks (the only reason I didn't review Aephanamer "Know Thyself" album). Mixes both calm and loud&epic elements, but for me fails "telling a story". It sounds a little bit inconsistent in it's progression, "Gather The Faithful" track was way better in this regard. But don't listen to me, it's epic, guitar part during calm half is great, and drums following with choirs is nothing short of amazing. The outro is also wonderful, ending as it started. Oh, a good title as well
Rising Sun
Extremely catchy guitars with fast drumming after just a few seconds on intro surprise with calm and mid tempo part afterwards. Finally way better lyrics than in "My Heart...", the tone is also way more positive. Maybe I'm missing some important message, that the I Am Legion was the thing that changed the person from "My Heart..." into someone more positive. Maybe I'm just overthinking it. The song is so catchy and positive it is almost sure to send some delightful shivers down your spine and skin. The solo allows Jens to go crazy one last time on this album, and Jani also shows some skills, which is great as on Gather The Faithful I thought Jani was holding back too much with solos. In short another hit radio song with cheesy lyrics
On the Shore
Slower, mid tempo song and a perfect album outro (well, at least if I didn't buy the japanese version, huehuehue), another lyrics that make me jealous as fuck. Hurula is also doing a great job because my leg can't stop moving while listening to it. Timo after the scream is so hugged right now, he will need a help of toiletslayer to stop me. And fuck that cliche guitar during the outro, Liimatainen, stop being so fucking perfect!
Just out of pure lazyness I won't review Japanese Bonus track, I will keep it's secrets to myself, muahaha
To sum things up- it's a great follower to Gather The Faithful, I can say that the thing is much less progressive than the first album but Jani said that before Stormcrow came out. He stays as my 3rd favourite guitarist, just behind Syu and Jari Maenpaa. But when it comes to pure songwriting&lyric writing he is the best. I didn't have a favourite one to this moment, now I have one. All bandmembers are amazing, even the Jonas brother, and if anything from this review offended You guys then go on tour- I will totally be there somewhere and You can all kick my stupid ass! :D
Final score:
Guitars 10/10
Vocals 11/10
Bass 9+/10
Drums 10-/10
Keys 10-/10
Additional:
++lyrics
+ stormcrow art
+ flawless mixing (everything has a perfect sound volume)
I won't give any minuses, but (very nitpicky of me) the tracks on the album could be placed better, also japanese version has the same cover as european, I loved the difference with Gather The Faithful
Total score: 107,5% I can only hope this year releases from Titanium and Pathfinder can kick your finnish asses :D
only possible way to make it more awesome
Monday 18 May 2015
Unexpected review: Ecliptica vs Ecliptica
... or more like the original kicking shit out of the remake but I haven't started listening so maybe it won't end that way.
Everyone expects me to write about Cain's Offering but fuck it, let's talk Sonata.
I'm too young to remember Ecliptica days, for me the adventure started with Die With Your Boots on when I was ~12 (yarround 2003 I guess) soon followed by Wolf and Raven and the whole Silence album. My first touch with Replica songs started arround For The Sake of Revenge live dvd when I heard an awesome version of Fullmoon (still my favourite, with outro stolen from White Pearl, Black Oceans), as well as 8th Commandement, My Land (japanese audience- I salute you one more time, you guys rock), Kingdom For A Heart and Replica. Naturally I bought the original album after listening to this stuff live and hell, I wasn't disappointed. Every song except for the outro was a hit power metal song.
And now a revisited version, which kinda seems unnecessary, but let's see. Does the original hold up? Can Sonata beat the original with some fancy stuff over the years? Or is it another attempt to squeeze even more money from old fans, as with Pariah Child?
Blank File
The original is as awesome as ever, very agressive drumming accompanied by riffs that may seem poor but they hold up, early Jani was always bad at riffing. Vocals shine here, lyrics are hard to hear but Tony sings extremely high and I won't be upset if he can't sing as high after 15 years. Solo is as crazy as me, guitar and keys turn this song about 720 degrees- it continues like nothing happened but your stomach squeezed its contents through your ass and mouth at the same time . Outro is not worse, fast finish to a super fast song, exciting like a public sex. Sound quality doesn't hold up as well as for example Stratovarius "Hunting High And Low" but it's not bad.
Revisited version has slightly better riffs, Tony sounds way more sad? Tommy's drumming is as good as always, with better sound quality it's a pure joy to hear. I'm kinda disappointed with background, I expected more variety with Henkka keys. Bass guitar is just as unheard of as in the original. Tony doesn't disappoint with chorus, it's not as high but his voice does what it can. Solo is so far the worst, especially when it comes to keys, what the hell happened? Only the solo outro is decent. But wait.. what the hell? Before Tony's vocals jump in there is a small pause with a "bass fart"
Why?
What the hell?
Is my copy wrong and they left it in?
Tony kinda sucks during the talking part, but Elias has a small addition that I like, the rest of the added stuff is also not bad
My Land
if there's a song that holds on with the sound- it must be My Land. First notes make my spine shiver with excitement. Original mix is practically perfect and there's no way remaking this into something better. Jani's riffing is way better than on Blank File, drums are less powerful but vocals and composition is way more complex here, with solos stuffed here and there. It's so good it's hard to write about it, I can't focus on writing while listening to it :D Stop reading this shitty review and listen to it, have a link (I'm so nice today, fuck me).
The outro fucking blasts. Finland must be a country full of retards as they didn't make this song a national anthem or something.
Ok, what can a revisited version do with this monster?
Oh god, they got the first notes wrong. It's not a fantasy-dragon-slaying-song, damn it? Vocals start way better, I also like clearer sound of the drums. Tony is kinda overdoing the vocals during the start, riffs are also worse than in the original. Thankfully during the solo Elias can show some more skillful approach. The worst part of this song are vocals during "You can't keep me here forever", Tony, what happened? You should be able to deliver it, it's not as out of your scale. I also hear some wasted room for additions, why leave them empty? The talking part is ok, but the scream is just awful. I know it's hard to replace but damn, if you can't remake the song, why remaking the whole album? This idea sounds so dumb now, after that failed scream. The rest of the outro is ok, actually I kinda like it how it ends.
8th Commandement
Crazy song but easy to play on the guitar I heard. Original mix has vocals put way too back, chorus riffs are lackluster but solo after them is nice as always. Drums are fast and very Tommy-style.
Revisited has clearer sounding drums which I love, some small guitar additions and Tony's singing is actually quite on the spot. Even additions are not annoying, as the song live is usually sang very lightly. This time Tony can replace high original singing with some good lower vocals. So far it's the best from the remade songs.
Uhh, if not for the solo, why keys are set like that? Who thought it would be a good idea? Outro is good, I think I like the outro more than the original one (again, I forgive Tony that he can't sing as high as before).
After 3 songs I can say this: so far Tony and Henrik fuck this up the most, Elias is great on the guitar and old fart Tommy is fucking flawless on drums. Fuck bass, no one can hear this shit on both versions.
Replica
The serious song. Sang stupidly joyfully live sometimes but fuck it. First song I can hear some bass in, and it's surprisingly good. We all know this song is almost perfect, vocals during the chorus are put too way back, riffing could do some polishing but it's all nitpicking. Should I say how I love drums here? Fine? Oh, how I love drums here. Keys are also neat. Outro is just a madness, with those echo vocals, best possible outro for this pseudo-mid-tempo-ballad
Revisited starts good, vocals pushed more front, and sung with more joyful approach (good, like live), also more like a ballad. As I predicted this can be good song vocally as long as Tony doesn't overdo it with his weird ideas, lets see.. Except maybe for chorus start it's good, Elias also shines here way more than Jani in the original, background keys are also solid, as Elias riffing later, pushed maybe a bit to far front, but I don't mind solid guitar work. Ok, first half solid. Second has finally some good keys, and both solos are solid! A bit too weird moment before the calm part but it can do. Surprisingly solid outro, especially thanks to Elias.
This is the first song I like more than the original (but not more than some live version), less serious and overpacked with additional sounds and better mixing. So at least, in the end I can say that 10% of the cd is good
Kingdom For A Heart
The weird song. Extremely catchy vocals all over the place. Solid solo and interesting part with echo afterwards. Outro is solid and high, typical live song and shouldn't be too hard to remake.
Revisited is set lower, with more interesting vocals. Not much is added, Elias is crazy as always (why was he so ignored in Pariah child? He is really in my top 10 guitarists) but keys suck again (a little). The calm part is done.. differently, but I give it a pass. Nothing much is changed after all and I can't really say I like any of the versions more.
Fullmoon
Titanium's version is better. Ok, shameful advertising aside the original is very serious and epic. I guess I can't really say anything interesting about the band's signature song. Oh, maybe that they 99% of a time skip the "mess on the floor, again" part. I don't really like the original solo compared to all those live versions, keys are set too high and the breaks between keyboard and guitar are too long. Also the final note of the song is weird. This version doesn't hold up well after all that time, let's see the remake
Starts nicer and I actually dig this pretty well, Elias is also trying his best to throw in some additional sounds. Less keyboard oriented than the original, and considering how Henrik sucks on this cd so far it's good. Chorus is a bit overdone with lyrics but I give it a pass. Guitar part of the solo is great, with some heavy drums before the watered down keyboard part which sucks, surprise.. At least they didn't forget heavier keys on the outro (as they often do live). Drums are great as always but an extra mention for heavy focus during the outro.
While some people say that the vocals lack power in the revisited version I disagree- original wasn't much better in this regard, live versions (from live dvds and cds) are better than both album versions.
Letter To Dana
Ah yes, a mother of all power metal ballads out there and it's drum intro from hell. Good riffing for Jani and heavy focus on Tony's vocals which are nothing short of amazing here, I especially love "bad", almost hysterical screams "Dana, Dana, Dana, DAANAA!" and the solo that comes out after it. This whole song is just pure, majestic chaos, like any letter of a emotionally unstable lover would be- perfect song.
Remake starts softer but with slightly more variety, Tony also starts softer. Repeated "be so bad" totally unnecessary. Drums and guitar start is good, and Tony actually delivers some good emotions in the chorus, with worse screams but very passable. I'm still bothered why couldn't he record similar during My Land. The outro isn't great but it's hard to beat the original, so overall "they didn't fuck this up"
Unopened
The only song from this damn album I was decent at singing, original mix has keyboard way up front and vocals shoved in the background, not a great thing but the song is so extremely fucking catchy and fast that I don't care. Poor drumming compared to other songs (so still solid in general). Mostly a keyboard song so I guess remake will fuck it up.
Uh, vocals have a lot of problems here, keys during solo are fucked as predicted. When Elias starts rocking I just want to unplug his guitar, pass him the beer and say "shh, don't try to save it, next time, I promise". I can't even say that drums rock it, I think Tommy could hit a bit harder here, especially during the outro, more crashes. Overall worse than the original
Picturing The Past
My personal favourite from this album, crazy sounds, one of my favourite drum patterns and highest vocals Tony could ever do. As with most Ecliptica songs I can only say that vocals are too much back and Jani's riffing during chorus is lackluster. Oh well, let's see how bad is the revisited version
Tony takes more of a "let's tell a story" approach which is fresh, Elias riffing is slightly better but pushed behind bad keyboards. Chorus is without power, but I guess as good as Tony could make it without growling screams which would ruin it. Drumming is solid, but sudden scream is so unexpected it actually doesn't fit. But way better than I feared it would be, actually now it sounds possible to sing live and be very enjoyable. I give it a huge plus, just for how unexpected it ended up becoming.
Destruction Preventer
Finally, the only not hit song, a typical album outro song. But how different from the others! Intro is just pure Stratovarius, epic and serious. Agree or not, it's a typical "Sonata Arctica long song" like "The Power Of One", "Gravenimage" , "White Pearl, Black Oceans", "Caleb" , "Juliet" , "Wildfire II & III" and, uhh, "Larger Than Life". So many different ideas and tempo changes squeezed into one songs all connected by super strong lyrics. This variety always defined the band as my favourite band for years- sure, they are poppy, predictable and with flashy solos, but songs like these always reminded me that the band can deliver some extremely well thought songs when needed
Revisited version stays true to the original, with guitars and drums as the main force dragging the song. Chorus is sang without the old power, but Tony didn't overdo it, and the emotionless start of the chorus actually fits the mood of the song. Original was sounding a bit too happy (even thought it wasn't meant to, high vocals just sounded like that). Also, Tony made a good job in the middle part, as well as ok job in the climax.
I can't dance cover is just a bonus so I won't judge it.
Ok, some final thoughts. I admit, I was wrong about the remake initially, mostly because I didn't listen to most songs (like last 2 which are good). The main flaw of this album is still one thing: It's unnecessary. Ecliptica holds up pretty well, even if I had some minor nitpicking connected to the mix. If the revisited version was a marketing thing then I have a way better idea: full Sonata Arctica collection, with ep Successor, all singles and ALL BONUS TRACKS. You could throw this revisited album to the bundle to get more people to buy it, and even if they would say that Revisited was bad, then they would have some great bonus songs like "They Follow", "In My Eyes You're Giant" and "Nothing More". As far as musicians are concerned I must say that I gave too much shit to Tony for his performance, it wasn't as bad as i thought, and he didn't overdo it like on Pariah Child so much less experimenting. He actually managed to turn some songs he couldn't perform into something interesting. But when he fails, oh man, it is bad. The first songs are the worst with vocals. Tommy is as wonderful as 15 years ago and I can't praise him enough, fuck bass, Elias shines and really tries to show Jani that he can play too. I won't compare them as I actually like Elias and Jani is one of my favourites so let's go to Henrik.
Mr Henrik. You suck. You turned about 30% of this album to shit. Keyboards are not interesting here and they are set way too high to fit, I don't know whose decision was it but keyboards are really a moodkiller.
Score:
Original
Vocals: 10/10
Guitars: 10/10
Bass: haha
Keys: 8/10
Drums: 10/10
Others:
++ so fucking catchy
Total score: 100%
Revisited
Vocals: 6/10
Guitars: 10+/10
Bass: yea, sure
Keys: 2/10
Drums: 10/10
Others:
- totally unnecessary
- more stuff could be added
- Blank File has a blank spot (maybe it was a clever joke?)
- the album has no interesting artwork and was poorly manufactured in general
Total score: 60% (40% purely for Elias and Tommy, they fucking rock)
Everyone expects me to write about Cain's Offering but fuck it, let's talk Sonata.
I'm too young to remember Ecliptica days, for me the adventure started with Die With Your Boots on when I was ~12 (yarround 2003 I guess) soon followed by Wolf and Raven and the whole Silence album. My first touch with Replica songs started arround For The Sake of Revenge live dvd when I heard an awesome version of Fullmoon (still my favourite, with outro stolen from White Pearl, Black Oceans), as well as 8th Commandement, My Land (japanese audience- I salute you one more time, you guys rock), Kingdom For A Heart and Replica. Naturally I bought the original album after listening to this stuff live and hell, I wasn't disappointed. Every song except for the outro was a hit power metal song.
And now a revisited version, which kinda seems unnecessary, but let's see. Does the original hold up? Can Sonata beat the original with some fancy stuff over the years? Or is it another attempt to squeeze even more money from old fans, as with Pariah Child?
Blank File
The original is as awesome as ever, very agressive drumming accompanied by riffs that may seem poor but they hold up, early Jani was always bad at riffing. Vocals shine here, lyrics are hard to hear but Tony sings extremely high and I won't be upset if he can't sing as high after 15 years. Solo is as crazy as me, guitar and keys turn this song about 720 degrees- it continues like nothing happened but your stomach squeezed its contents through your ass and mouth at the same time . Outro is not worse, fast finish to a super fast song, exciting like a public sex. Sound quality doesn't hold up as well as for example Stratovarius "Hunting High And Low" but it's not bad.
Revisited version has slightly better riffs, Tony sounds way more sad? Tommy's drumming is as good as always, with better sound quality it's a pure joy to hear. I'm kinda disappointed with background, I expected more variety with Henkka keys. Bass guitar is just as unheard of as in the original. Tony doesn't disappoint with chorus, it's not as high but his voice does what it can. Solo is so far the worst, especially when it comes to keys, what the hell happened? Only the solo outro is decent. But wait.. what the hell? Before Tony's vocals jump in there is a small pause with a "bass fart"
Why?
What the hell?
Is my copy wrong and they left it in?
Tony kinda sucks during the talking part, but Elias has a small addition that I like, the rest of the added stuff is also not bad
My Land
if there's a song that holds on with the sound- it must be My Land. First notes make my spine shiver with excitement. Original mix is practically perfect and there's no way remaking this into something better. Jani's riffing is way better than on Blank File, drums are less powerful but vocals and composition is way more complex here, with solos stuffed here and there. It's so good it's hard to write about it, I can't focus on writing while listening to it :D Stop reading this shitty review and listen to it, have a link (I'm so nice today, fuck me).
The outro fucking blasts. Finland must be a country full of retards as they didn't make this song a national anthem or something.
Ok, what can a revisited version do with this monster?
Oh god, they got the first notes wrong. It's not a fantasy-dragon-slaying-song, damn it? Vocals start way better, I also like clearer sound of the drums. Tony is kinda overdoing the vocals during the start, riffs are also worse than in the original. Thankfully during the solo Elias can show some more skillful approach. The worst part of this song are vocals during "You can't keep me here forever", Tony, what happened? You should be able to deliver it, it's not as out of your scale. I also hear some wasted room for additions, why leave them empty? The talking part is ok, but the scream is just awful. I know it's hard to replace but damn, if you can't remake the song, why remaking the whole album? This idea sounds so dumb now, after that failed scream. The rest of the outro is ok, actually I kinda like it how it ends.
8th Commandement
Crazy song but easy to play on the guitar I heard. Original mix has vocals put way too back, chorus riffs are lackluster but solo after them is nice as always. Drums are fast and very Tommy-style.
Revisited has clearer sounding drums which I love, some small guitar additions and Tony's singing is actually quite on the spot. Even additions are not annoying, as the song live is usually sang very lightly. This time Tony can replace high original singing with some good lower vocals. So far it's the best from the remade songs.
Uhh, if not for the solo, why keys are set like that? Who thought it would be a good idea? Outro is good, I think I like the outro more than the original one (again, I forgive Tony that he can't sing as high as before).
After 3 songs I can say this: so far Tony and Henrik fuck this up the most, Elias is great on the guitar and old fart Tommy is fucking flawless on drums. Fuck bass, no one can hear this shit on both versions.
Replica
The serious song. Sang stupidly joyfully live sometimes but fuck it. First song I can hear some bass in, and it's surprisingly good. We all know this song is almost perfect, vocals during the chorus are put too way back, riffing could do some polishing but it's all nitpicking. Should I say how I love drums here? Fine? Oh, how I love drums here. Keys are also neat. Outro is just a madness, with those echo vocals, best possible outro for this pseudo-mid-tempo-ballad
Revisited starts good, vocals pushed more front, and sung with more joyful approach (good, like live), also more like a ballad. As I predicted this can be good song vocally as long as Tony doesn't overdo it with his weird ideas, lets see.. Except maybe for chorus start it's good, Elias also shines here way more than Jani in the original, background keys are also solid, as Elias riffing later, pushed maybe a bit to far front, but I don't mind solid guitar work. Ok, first half solid. Second has finally some good keys, and both solos are solid! A bit too weird moment before the calm part but it can do. Surprisingly solid outro, especially thanks to Elias.
This is the first song I like more than the original (but not more than some live version), less serious and overpacked with additional sounds and better mixing. So at least, in the end I can say that 10% of the cd is good
Kingdom For A Heart
The weird song. Extremely catchy vocals all over the place. Solid solo and interesting part with echo afterwards. Outro is solid and high, typical live song and shouldn't be too hard to remake.
Revisited is set lower, with more interesting vocals. Not much is added, Elias is crazy as always (why was he so ignored in Pariah child? He is really in my top 10 guitarists) but keys suck again (a little). The calm part is done.. differently, but I give it a pass. Nothing much is changed after all and I can't really say I like any of the versions more.
Fullmoon
Titanium's version is better. Ok, shameful advertising aside the original is very serious and epic. I guess I can't really say anything interesting about the band's signature song. Oh, maybe that they 99% of a time skip the "mess on the floor, again" part. I don't really like the original solo compared to all those live versions, keys are set too high and the breaks between keyboard and guitar are too long. Also the final note of the song is weird. This version doesn't hold up well after all that time, let's see the remake
Starts nicer and I actually dig this pretty well, Elias is also trying his best to throw in some additional sounds. Less keyboard oriented than the original, and considering how Henrik sucks on this cd so far it's good. Chorus is a bit overdone with lyrics but I give it a pass. Guitar part of the solo is great, with some heavy drums before the watered down keyboard part which sucks, surprise.. At least they didn't forget heavier keys on the outro (as they often do live). Drums are great as always but an extra mention for heavy focus during the outro.
While some people say that the vocals lack power in the revisited version I disagree- original wasn't much better in this regard, live versions (from live dvds and cds) are better than both album versions.
Letter To Dana
Ah yes, a mother of all power metal ballads out there and it's drum intro from hell. Good riffing for Jani and heavy focus on Tony's vocals which are nothing short of amazing here, I especially love "bad", almost hysterical screams "Dana, Dana, Dana, DAANAA!" and the solo that comes out after it. This whole song is just pure, majestic chaos, like any letter of a emotionally unstable lover would be- perfect song.
Remake starts softer but with slightly more variety, Tony also starts softer. Repeated "be so bad" totally unnecessary. Drums and guitar start is good, and Tony actually delivers some good emotions in the chorus, with worse screams but very passable. I'm still bothered why couldn't he record similar during My Land. The outro isn't great but it's hard to beat the original, so overall "they didn't fuck this up"
Unopened
The only song from this damn album I was decent at singing, original mix has keyboard way up front and vocals shoved in the background, not a great thing but the song is so extremely fucking catchy and fast that I don't care. Poor drumming compared to other songs (so still solid in general). Mostly a keyboard song so I guess remake will fuck it up.
Uh, vocals have a lot of problems here, keys during solo are fucked as predicted. When Elias starts rocking I just want to unplug his guitar, pass him the beer and say "shh, don't try to save it, next time, I promise". I can't even say that drums rock it, I think Tommy could hit a bit harder here, especially during the outro, more crashes. Overall worse than the original
Picturing The Past
My personal favourite from this album, crazy sounds, one of my favourite drum patterns and highest vocals Tony could ever do. As with most Ecliptica songs I can only say that vocals are too much back and Jani's riffing during chorus is lackluster. Oh well, let's see how bad is the revisited version
Tony takes more of a "let's tell a story" approach which is fresh, Elias riffing is slightly better but pushed behind bad keyboards. Chorus is without power, but I guess as good as Tony could make it without growling screams which would ruin it. Drumming is solid, but sudden scream is so unexpected it actually doesn't fit. But way better than I feared it would be, actually now it sounds possible to sing live and be very enjoyable. I give it a huge plus, just for how unexpected it ended up becoming.
Destruction Preventer
Finally, the only not hit song, a typical album outro song. But how different from the others! Intro is just pure Stratovarius, epic and serious. Agree or not, it's a typical "Sonata Arctica long song" like "The Power Of One", "Gravenimage" , "White Pearl, Black Oceans", "Caleb" , "Juliet" , "Wildfire II & III" and, uhh, "Larger Than Life". So many different ideas and tempo changes squeezed into one songs all connected by super strong lyrics. This variety always defined the band as my favourite band for years- sure, they are poppy, predictable and with flashy solos, but songs like these always reminded me that the band can deliver some extremely well thought songs when needed
Revisited version stays true to the original, with guitars and drums as the main force dragging the song. Chorus is sang without the old power, but Tony didn't overdo it, and the emotionless start of the chorus actually fits the mood of the song. Original was sounding a bit too happy (even thought it wasn't meant to, high vocals just sounded like that). Also, Tony made a good job in the middle part, as well as ok job in the climax.
I can't dance cover is just a bonus so I won't judge it.
Ok, some final thoughts. I admit, I was wrong about the remake initially, mostly because I didn't listen to most songs (like last 2 which are good). The main flaw of this album is still one thing: It's unnecessary. Ecliptica holds up pretty well, even if I had some minor nitpicking connected to the mix. If the revisited version was a marketing thing then I have a way better idea: full Sonata Arctica collection, with ep Successor, all singles and ALL BONUS TRACKS. You could throw this revisited album to the bundle to get more people to buy it, and even if they would say that Revisited was bad, then they would have some great bonus songs like "They Follow", "In My Eyes You're Giant" and "Nothing More". As far as musicians are concerned I must say that I gave too much shit to Tony for his performance, it wasn't as bad as i thought, and he didn't overdo it like on Pariah Child so much less experimenting. He actually managed to turn some songs he couldn't perform into something interesting. But when he fails, oh man, it is bad. The first songs are the worst with vocals. Tommy is as wonderful as 15 years ago and I can't praise him enough, fuck bass, Elias shines and really tries to show Jani that he can play too. I won't compare them as I actually like Elias and Jani is one of my favourites so let's go to Henrik.
Mr Henrik. You suck. You turned about 30% of this album to shit. Keyboards are not interesting here and they are set way too high to fit, I don't know whose decision was it but keyboards are really a moodkiller.
Score:
Original
Vocals: 10/10
Guitars: 10/10
Bass: haha
Keys: 8/10
Drums: 10/10
Others:
++ so fucking catchy
Total score: 100%
Revisited
Vocals: 6/10
Guitars: 10+/10
Bass: yea, sure
Keys: 2/10
Drums: 10/10
Others:
- totally unnecessary
- more stuff could be added
- Blank File has a blank spot (maybe it was a clever joke?)
- the album has no interesting artwork and was poorly manufactured in general
Total score: 60% (40% purely for Elias and Tommy, they fucking rock)
Saturday 16 May 2015
You thought I would forget, didn't You?
forever gone yet always by my side
You were there for me when I was alone and forgotten
Now you rule in the otherworld, in this cold and rotten
Just like a ship that passed into the lonely night
You were here and then you were gone
You were here and then you were gone
Sonata Arctica (?) concert impressions
Yea so yesterday I went to Warsaw see Sonata Arctica live for the third time (even though last 2 albums were pure shit). First of all let me tell you that like most of sane people living in Poland I hate Warsaw with passion, the city is always on the move and full of assholes. But also when it comes to metal audience on the gigs the most wonderful memories I have from Warsaw so I have some mixed thoughts about this city.
When I arrived in Warsaw the shit started pouring down on my head, first with the news that Sonata won't play and then I almost got ran over when going from the dinner to my flat and I had to rest for 30 minutes because my legs didn't want to move.
But fuck it, I went anyway as I had a duty of grabbing Sonata autograph for my friend from Kraków, even though polish post office fucked me and not one from 2 last SA albums I bought made it in time (both bought on Friday, in comparison a cd from Russia I bought on Monday made it in time, fuck my life).
I grabbed my friend (random_sexy_girl.hum because when I can spend a gig with a sexy female- I do) and went to see Twilight Force which I didn't know from before. Someone fucked the guitar volume and they were barely heard, still their vocalist had more power than Mathias Nygard from Turisas so the show was saved. Also the whole band went to a school of rocking hard live as their stage presence was very strong for a band I haven't heard from before. After the show I had a long chat with almost all of their bandmembers and I heard their vocalist was offered a job in Pathfinder some time ago and I wasn't surprised, guy knows how to scream.
Signing session with Sonata went fast and Elias didn't remember me so that's all really, there's nothing good I can say about the band anymore, they were all like "5 more minutes and we are done here".
Freedom Call was sounding very good, maybe the vocals had some bad audio levels but they were good. Compared to Twilight their presence was rather poor (just standing there mostly, like the lazy bitches from Titanium). Nothing really more for me to say, I was so angry that I had difficulties getting into the mood. After the show I shared some friendly hugs with their vocalist, told them that I will see them in 3 weeks and made fun of their guitarist. Now I will run to catch a train home and forget about everything that happened.
Warsaw sucks, Sonata sucks, Freedom Call is good&gay, Twilight Force was trying to save them all and actually managed to turn this horrible event into something bearable, thanks guys
When I arrived in Warsaw the shit started pouring down on my head, first with the news that Sonata won't play and then I almost got ran over when going from the dinner to my flat and I had to rest for 30 minutes because my legs didn't want to move.
But fuck it, I went anyway as I had a duty of grabbing Sonata autograph for my friend from Kraków, even though polish post office fucked me and not one from 2 last SA albums I bought made it in time (both bought on Friday, in comparison a cd from Russia I bought on Monday made it in time, fuck my life).
I grabbed my friend (random_sexy_girl.hum because when I can spend a gig with a sexy female- I do) and went to see Twilight Force which I didn't know from before. Someone fucked the guitar volume and they were barely heard, still their vocalist had more power than Mathias Nygard from Turisas so the show was saved. Also the whole band went to a school of rocking hard live as their stage presence was very strong for a band I haven't heard from before. After the show I had a long chat with almost all of their bandmembers and I heard their vocalist was offered a job in Pathfinder some time ago and I wasn't surprised, guy knows how to scream.
Signing session with Sonata went fast and Elias didn't remember me so that's all really, there's nothing good I can say about the band anymore, they were all like "5 more minutes and we are done here".
Freedom Call was sounding very good, maybe the vocals had some bad audio levels but they were good. Compared to Twilight their presence was rather poor (just standing there mostly, like the lazy bitches from Titanium). Nothing really more for me to say, I was so angry that I had difficulties getting into the mood. After the show I shared some friendly hugs with their vocalist, told them that I will see them in 3 weeks and made fun of their guitarist. Now I will run to catch a train home and forget about everything that happened.
Warsaw sucks, Sonata sucks, Freedom Call is good&gay, Twilight Force was trying to save them all and actually managed to turn this horrible event into something bearable, thanks guys
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