Album Review QUEENSRŸCHE The Verdict (03/01)

The american prog band Queensrÿche has been around for a long time and has sold over 30 million albums worldwide since their 1982 self-titled 4-song EP. The band received worldwide acclaim after the release of their 1988 album Operation: Mindcrime, which is often considered one of the greatest heavy metal concept albums of all time. Empire followed in 1990 and was a big commercial success. But after that the band only produced average to bad albums. The poor performance culminated with the original singer Geoff Tate, who is considered one of the great singers in metal, being fired in 2012. A legal drama went on until the band released the thirteenth studio album and the first to feature new singer Todd La Torre. This self-titled LP was well received and so was Condition Hüman from 2015. Now in 2019, we are presented with the third La Torre era album, The Verdict. Interestingly, La Torre played the drums on this record as original drummer, Scott Rockenfield, took paternity leave. The four year gap reflects how much the band has been touring. I've personally seen them live and this line-up crushes it.  Filling in live for Rockenfield for the past two years has been former Kamelot drummer Casey Grillo.

There's a collection of very good tracks in this album with a fair amount of diversity combining their 80's and 90's sound in one disc. "Blood of the Levant" opens The Verdict in great style. The song is classic Queensrÿche at its best. Fast paced, melodic and  with La Torre making it clear why he was chosen to replace Tate. The single "Man the Machine" and track three "Light-Years" follow with the same direction and quality. "Inside Out" shifts gear to the more proggy sound but sustain the quality. The same can be said about the single "Dark Reverie" at slower pace but full of cool instrumental parts. Despite the unnecessary noisy intro "Bent" is a nice 90's inspired track featuring the coolest drum fills and bass lines of the album and great guitar work from the Wilton /Lundgren duo. The controversial "Inner Unrest" picks up the speed a bit with an interesting groove and an alt rock vibe.  Then "Launder the Conscience" returns to the same style and aggressiveness of the first tracks.

Unfortunately this is not a perfect record. "Propaganda Fashion" starts well with energetic and catchy verses, but it falls flat when the chorus enters. And "Portrait" feels like a missed opportunity to close the album with something special. It's instead a low energy ballad which means in subsequent spins, you can just stop after track number nine. La Torre drumming does the job, but it's not a highlight. But my biggest complain is the the keyboard in the mix that really bothers me, it feels completely out of place (e.g. "Dark Reverie").

Overall, The Verdict borrows more from Empire and Promised Land than the last two releases which can become a problem for the die-hard fans of the 80's albums. For me personally, it hasn't been a problem, I truly enjoyed listing to this album albeit some of the issues mentioned. More importantly, The Verdict proves that Queensrÿche is full of renewed energy and they are here to stay. We can be happy that they will continue to tour with an amazing setlist combining the loved classics sang by a vocalist who can handle them perfectly with some good gems from this new phase.

SCORE: 82/100

Album Review CANDLEMASS The Door To Doom (02/22)

Candlemass is a doom metal band established in Stockholm in 1984 by bassist, songwriter and bandleader Leif Edling and drummer Matz Ekström. The band had a defining influence on doom metal, and the genre itself is named after their 1986 debut album Epicus Doomicus Metallicus. Since then, the band has been to numerous lineup changes and hiatus periods  but it remains a defining force of the doom genre, specially the epic doom. The last studio album Psalms for the Dead was released back in 2012. But Leif Edling has also been busy with several other projects (Krux, Avatarium, Doomsday Kingdom), not to mention two Candlemass EPs (2016 and 2018) featuring Mats Levén on vocals. On September 2018, Candlemass announced the return of Johan Langquist to the band after a 32 year hiatus. One year later, the band is releasing their 12th studio album The Door To Doom.

The first full-length to feature Mr. Längqvist since 1986 is a 50-minute love statement to the original roots of Doom Metal. There are no frills or sidetracks, it's just 8 tracks of pure doom metal at its best.
The thick slow tempo opening riffs of "Splendor Demon Majesty" are followed by a groovy fast tempo riff. At this point you know you are in for a doom overdose. Längqvist's vocals are powerful and different than the ones from previous singers. It's less operatic, more striped down, low register approach. "Under The Ocean" starts like many Candlemass classics with a slow paced singing over acoustic guitars, but soon explodes into one of the most engaging verses on the album. It's heavy and yet dynamic as the slower tempo comes back at the mid section which reinforces its heaviness. The drumming in this track is relentless and the guitar solo very well crafted. "Astorolus - The Great Octopus" was the single released before the album and appears third on the record. It features a guitar solo by the legend Tony Iommi. It's again a dynamic song and, no surprisingly, with a Sabbath vibe. The very strong chorus and the solos are the highlights. Then, the shortest song on the record, "Bridge Of The Blind" is a beautiful acoustic, slow tempo song that reminds me of Judas Priest ballads from their early albums. A very heavy intro riff (I love this guitar tone) of "Death's Wheel" follows dictating a nice groove. It's an up tempo song that reminds me of the polished and modern-ish sound of Grand Magus. Fun fact: the 'yeah come on' screen at 5:10 is pure Dio! "Black Trinity" instrumental break with tribal pounding drums supporting the guitar noises is the highlight of this song. Then we get to track seven "House Of Doom" which was previously released as part of the EP of the same name featuring previous singer Mats Levén. The original version is included as bonus track. It's a good song but I am not sure why it had to be re-recorded and added here. The other songs of the EP were also added but as bonus tracks and that's a more suitable strategy. The longest track "The Omega Circle" with over seven minutes closes the album with the old school epic doom vibe. The final minute of the song is certainly an homage to Sabbath's Masters of Reality. Excellent choice. 

While it's pretty much a "back to the roots" album, The Door to Doom is not a retro affair. The production is modern, the vocals are powerful and clear (sometimes reminding of Jørn Lande or Dio). Throughout the record we can hear the diversity of Leif experiences influencing his song writing. Like the modern "Death's Wheel" or the Avatarium-like "Black Trinity" and "The Omega Circle". Throughout the album your attention is retained by great song writing, precise execution and different colors out of Mr. Edling doom pallet. The album cover completes the experience. The simplicity and yet well thought design in addition to great color combination makes it the cherry on top of this doom cake. During this decade we were blessed with some powerful comeback albums, and The Door to Doom is no different. You can count as a comeback of Längqvist or as the newest release in almost seven years, the fact is the album is a superb addition to Candlemass' celebrated discography.

SCORE: 83/100

Album Review DREAM THEATER Distance Over Time (02/22)

American progressive metal band Dream Theater needs no introduction. As of 2018, they had sold over 12 million records worldwide, and received two Grammy Award nominations. DT is not only one of the creators of progressive metal but also still one of the most popular bands in the genre. Distance over Time is the fourteenth studio album and already the fourth with Mike Mangini on drums.

The album opener “Untethered Angel” was the first single and from the get-go we know that DT is back to the early 90's sound. It's a guitar driven song, full of cool riffs (some remind me of "The Mirror") and an engaging chorus. Another video single, "Paralyzed" has one of the coolest instrumental intros I have heard in quite some time. It's a heavy fantastic song that brings me back to the Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence era. The third song and single "Fall Into the Light", like many other songs in Distance Over Time, is a very guitar-riff-driven song with a lot going on in just seven minutes. From the super heavy riffs to the mellow section in the middle, it is classic Petrucci paying homage to Metallica. Another highlight of the album. "Barstool Warrior" brings down the heaviness and speed, it's a mid-tempo progressive track that works well. It brings additional diversity to the middle section of the album. But soon the heavy riffs are back with the modern sounding "Room 137" which features the coolest guitar solo on the album. With "S2N" John Myung brings the bass to the foreground which is really interesting. It is another Six Degrees moment with a hint of Rush during the solo section. It's another example that you don't need super long songs to be progressive, there's a lot going on here as well. The last third of Distance Over Time starts with its longest track "At Wit's End". It features instrumental sections a la Liquid Tension Experiment, melodic verses and a very catchy chorus. Very good song with an epic guitar solo at the end. The mellow ballad "Out Of Reach" is saved by the guitar solo which reminds me of Satriani, probably influenced by the Petrucci touring with G3. But other than the solo, it's a pretty skippable song. The album closer "Pale Blue Dot", which is a cool title for a song, brings back the guitar riffs and that Awake vibe to close the album in a high note. 

It's always difficult to review my favorite bands because I have high expectations and I'm usually more demanding on those bands. In sum, it's a very good album but not perfect by any means. While the instrumental parts, specially the guitars, really shine in this album, most of the song structures are quite simplistic for DT standards. Additionally, verses and choruses are very short hence why this is the DT album with the lowest song length average* of 6:20 (for contrast, note that the debut album was 6:30 and the self titled 7:40). It's not necessarily a bad thing, since I do spot a lot of progressiveness even in "short" tracks. But for a DT album, it's kind of disappointing. Leaving that aside, the album ticks like a clock. The pristine production delivers very dynamic songs and the mix allows you to listen to all instruments. All in all, Distance Over Time is one of the easiest DT albums to digest, probably a natural reaction to The Awakening which is quite the opposite. In that sense it also moves 180 degrees from that operatic experiment to a very guitar driven and direct album combining elements of their best albums: Images and Words, Awake, and Six Degrees but at the same time still sounding like DT from the Maginni/Rudness era. Fans will dig this, to what degree it will depend on personal preferences. But it's certainly very nice to see the NY quintet back to form.

SCORE: 81/100

* excluding The Awakening

Album Review: AVANTASIA Moonglow (02/15)

Avantasia, the all-star rock opera created and led by Edguy singer, songwriter and producer Tobias Sammet, has its roots in 1999 followed by their first LP The Metal Opera Part I released in 2001. One year later Part II was released. After a six-year break, Tobby came back with the fantastic The Scarecrow which reduced the number of guest singers but kept the very high quality. Sascha Paeth came on board and the production was a major step up. The success of the third LP led to other four albums at regular intervals each followed by major world tours. All those seven albums have featured such galactic heavyweights as Alice Cooper, Klaus Meine (Scorpions), Eric Martin (Mr Big), Biff Byford (Saxon), Dee Snider and many more. But three singers have secured a privileged spot on the Avantasia family: Michael Kiske (Helloween), the only one to sing in all albums, Bob Catley (Magnum) only missed the first one and Jørn Lande in all but three.

Now three years after Ghostlights, Avantasia are back with their eighth full-length album, Moonglow. This new 11-song record clocks above one hour and sees Sammet, bringing back Michael Kiske, Jørn Lande (ex-Masterplan) and Bob Catley. Also back are the former Queensryche lead singer Geoff Tate, Pretty Maids frontman Ronnie Atkins and Eric Martin who all have been in the latest albums and tours. Moonglow also introduces new collaborators Hansi Kürsch of Blind Guardian, Kreator’s Mille Petrozza and Blackmore’s Night frontwoman Candice Night. Moonglow is not a concept album in the sense that it doesn't tell a cohesive story from beginning to end. But it is all around the same theme, this nocturnal creature and its challenges. Besides those new singers, music-wise, there's not a lot new here in comparison to the last records.

Like in Ghostlights, Moonglow opens with a song without vocal guests and highly influenced by Meat Loaf. The difference is that this time it's an almost 10-min track where Tobias Sammet makes it clear that despite all the vocalists guesting in the Avantasia albums, this is his gig. It's a great big epic, melodic and operatic track full of passages and chorus backed by a massive choir. The second track "Book of Shallows" brings out the guns with a top tier selection of singers: Hansi Kürsch, Ronnie Atkins, Jørn Lande and Mille Petrozza. As always, Tobby songwriting is great and tailored to the singers involved. This is one of the heaviest (and best) Avantasia songs ever. It's like Blind Guardian and Kreator were the same band. The thrash section sang my Petrozza in the middle of the song is just amazing. Things then cool down with the title track. An engaging ballad sang with Candice Night. Compared to previous mandatory Avantasia ballads, this is one of the best. It doesn't stay too mellow or too poppy, and the vocal melodies by Ms. Night are fun to listen to. The next track was the first single which was a good choice, the 11-min "The Raven Child" is one of the best tracks on the album. It starts with a slow tempo section sang with Kürsch that reminds me of Blind Guardian but then the song evolves into classic Avantasia and specially when Lande sings later in the track, it feels like a lost tune from The Scarecrow. The other interesting choice that worked well here was to create this Savatage-like texture of different vocal lines over each other. A feature that Tobby used in the past on Edguy songs like "Land Of The Miracle". On top of it all "The Raven Child" features an amazing catchy chorus. Overall, a fantastic song. There are two shorter songs in the middle section of Moonglow that don't add much to the album "Starlight" and "Lavender". I mean they are ok, but we've heard Atkins and Catley in much better songs in the past. The good news is that Geoff Tate finally hits one out of the park with the duo "Invincible"/"Alchemy". These are the best songs I've heard him singing since Queensryche. The first song is a 3-min slow tempo intro to the majestic "Alchemy". "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" is the other song featuring several singers together: Atkins, Lande, Martin, Catley and Tate. It sounds like typical Avantasia, good track, but nothing really remarkable about it. Michael Kiske appears in only one song: "Requiem for a Dream", I can't get enough of him, so at least we have 6 minutes of Kiske delivering the goods as he usually does with Avantasia. By this time, we have already 10 tracks and are above the 1hr mark, so it surprises me that there is still one more track and moreover a cover song, "Maniac (Michael Sembello cover)". It's a fun cover and perfect fit for a duo with Mr. Martin. Unless you've been under a rock for the last 35 years, I dare you not to sing it along. But still, it was an odd choice not to put it as a bonus track.

Overall, Tobias Sammet continues to deliver great records under the Avantasia banner. It's difficult to criticize an album that I like and will continue to listen for times to come. However, I have to do so and my only two complains will probably only be relevant if you've been following Avantasia for years. First, this album felt a bit formulated and less spontaneous, most of the same choices of the last two albums were repeated here. The thrash section and the cover being the only two material differences. Second, I'd like to hear a bit less Tobby singing, sorry, but it's true, he is not a bad singer, but given the level of the guest singers, he is definitely the least impressive. So in some moments I wished Kürsch or Lande for example, would just continue singing. But again, those are minor criticisms to a great power symphonic metal record that will add some amazing tracks to an already fantastic setlist to look forward to.

SCORE: 84/100

Album Review: BEAST IN BLACK From Hell With Love (02/08)

A five-piece Helsinki based heavy metal band Beast In Black was founded by Anton Kabanen soon after he had parted ways with Battle Beast in 2015. The excellent debut album titled Berserker was released in late 2017 and was well received by critics and power metal fans, specially those who love  cheese. Oh boy, Beast In Black do not dial down on their cheesiness, love for 80s music and power/traditional heavy metal.

Less then two years after, Beast In Black highly-anticipated sophomore record From Hell With Love is already upon us. While the debut album flirted with 80s synth based music, From Hell With Love goes double force in that direction. Really, I'm talking The Human League "Don't You Want Me" and A-HA "Take On Me" kind of 80's music. But that's fused with Judas Priest and Manowar influences, specially when it comes to  Yannis Papadopoulos vocals. And somehow that works, take the two video singles for example "Sweet True Lies" (homage to early Bon Jovi ) and "Die By The Blade" both excellent and fun songs. Most of the able follows similar blueprint, but there are some notable exceptions. The heavier and fast-paced "Cry Out For A Hero" and "Repentless" (looks like Slayer really created a new word), the Helloween Grapow era-like "This Is War", the ballad "Oceandeep" and "Heart Of Steel" which is waiting to be in the next Rocky movie.

Of course if you are looking for complex progressive music or extreme metal growls, this is not your place. But if, like me, you are in this kind of music (or were 30 years ago) and want to have fun, then From Hell With Love is a sequence of jewels fusing modern and retro 80's from start to finish. In this context, there are no bad tracks. Anton Kabanen is a master of creating catchy music and via Beast In Black he won't apologize or contain his love for the cheesiness of the 80s. I mean, if you grew up in that time, you won't believe that this album is being released 30 years later. His music writing combined with Papadopoulos vocals is a magical combination. In every song Papadopoulos displays his powerful and versatile pipes singing irresistible melodies that will get stuck in your mind. The production is modern and clean and typical for power metal with the added positive that a dynamic range of 7 is quite decent for the genre. At the end of the day, the combination of love and believe for what you do with skillful song writer and talented musicians makes Beast In Black a breath of fresh air while paradoxically being retro. 

SCORE: 84/100

Album Review: SOEN Lotus (02/01)

In 2010, it was announced that Martin Lopez (ex Opeth), bassist Steve DiGiorgio, singer Joel Ekelöf and guitarist Kim Platbarzdis had joined forces in the band Soen. The progressive Swedish band released their debut album, Cognitive, in 2012 receiving positive critical reception. Later both DiGiorgio and Platbarzdis left the band. And I actually came to know Soen with their second release 2014’s Tellurian, a fantastic piece of progressive metal. Martin Lopez describes Soen’s music as “melodic, heavy and intricate”. In simple terms Soen sounds like if Tool and Opeth (the clean vocals version of it) had a baby who was raised by Pink Floyd. Soen’s fourth album, Lotus was released on February 1st 2019.

Albums like Lotus are the reason I keep checking more than 100 new releases every year. It’s that magical moment when you connect deeply with the music and find something truly special. There’s so much to like here, from the beautiful and yet powerful Joel Ekelöf's singing, the incredible drum work by Martin Lopez, one of the best bass sound I’ve heard in a while or the solid guitar riffs and solos. But Lotus is much more than a collection of great musicians, Soen is a band in harmony playing a complex but cohesive piece of music. At the end of the day the music writing is phenomenal and that makes all the difference.

All songs are great, but I'd like to highlight my 3 favorites which are truly amazing. "Lascivious" has a beautiful verse sang over a dominant bass line followed by a heavy guitar riff. Then the bridge leads to a powerful and catchy chorus, pure goosebumps. When you think it can't get any better, Soen included a guitar solo that could've come from a Pink Floyd album. The most impressive thing is that this masterpiece is followed by "Martyrs" which is another jewel. It's a heavier track but equally amazing. The pre-chorus drum fill and bass line work together to create a moving groove that leads to the powerful chorus. There's also another Pink Floydian moment during a slow interlude, magical. By the time we get to the title track and fourth in the album, I was already sold. But Soen continues to deliver a winner sequence and "Lotus" deserved to be the title track. A slow tempo song and maybe the one that reminds me of Opeth the most. It's just a beautiful song with amazing vocal lines and intriguing melodies.

Now, I could go on about every single track, but you get the point. The trademarks are recurrent throughout the album. I now it’s early to call Lotus album of the year but it’s a powerful contender. If it holds itself and stands the test of time, it could actually become a top album of the decade. Masterpiece.

SCORE: 89/100