Jan 12, 2012 16:46
Hard Rock Heavy Metal |Power Metal
Band Ninja
Info: Liberty
Style: Hard'n'Heavy
Years: 1992
Info: CBR 256 kbs
Info: 83.68 Mb
Info: Germany
Tracklist:
01 - Glory Seven.
02 - Ice In You Hand.
03 - Time Time.
04 - Get It All Up.
05 - Killer No 1.
06 - Running In The Night.
07 - Winds Of War.
08 - Scream Out.
09 - Snickers From Space.
10 - Liberty.
Band Talk Of The Town
Info: Talk Of The Town
Style: Melodic Rock / AOR
Years: 1999
Info: CBR 320 kbs
Info: 168,65 Mb
Info: Sweden
Tracklist:
01 - Free Like An Eagle.
02 - Fever.
03 - Sing To The World.
04 - Undercover Love.
05 - I Love The Look In Your Eyes.
06 - Feel My Heartbeat.
07 - Livin' For Lovin'.
08 - You've Got Your Dreams.
09 - In The Night.
10 - The Power Inside.
11 - Wildcat.
12 - Top Of The Mountain (Bonus).
13 - Reach For The Sky (Bonus).
14 - Strange Love (Bonus).
15 - Come On Closer (Bonus).
16 - Wish I Could Fly (Bonus).
17 - Love Touch (Bonus).
18 - Queen Of The Night (Bonus).
19 - Midnight Cowboy (Bonus).
Band Mountain
Info: Go For Your Life
Style: Hard Blues Rock
Years: 1985
Info: CBR 320 kbs
Info: 69,52 Mb
Info: USA
Tracklist:
01 - Hard Times.
02 - Spark.
03 - She Loves Her Rock (And She Loves It Hard).
04 - Bardot Damage.
05 - Shimmy On The Footlights.
06 - I Love Young Girls.
07 - Makin' It In Your Car.
08 - Babe In The Woods.
09 - Little Bit Of Insanity.
Band Burn
Info: Spark To A Flame
Style: Hard Rock
Years: 1995
Info: CBR 224 kbs
Info: 81.24 Mb
Info: UK
Tracklist:
01 - First Time.
02 - Workin' Man.
03 - Like Only A Woman Can.
04 - Diamonds To Dust.
05 - Ain't Good For Me.
06 - Shotgun Justice.
07 - Over You.
08 - Down On Love.
09 - Wanted Man.
10 - Shake Some Bones.
Band Bernie Taupin
Info: He Who Rides The Tiger
Style: Lite AOR
Years: 1980
Info: CBR 320 kbs
Info: 107.57 Mb
Info: UK
Tracklist:
01 - Monkey On My Back (The Last Run).
02 - Born On The Fourth Of July.
03 - Venezuela.
04 - Approaching Armageddon.
05 - Lover's Cross.
06 - Blitz Babies.
07 - Valley Nights.
08 - Love (The Barren Desert).
09 - The Whores Of Paris.
01. Transformed
02. We Are What We Are (The Keeper)
03. Beyond Man And Time (Time Blind)
04. Unchain The Earth (the Scientist)
05. The Ugliest Man In The World (The Ugly) RPWL
6. The Road Of Creation (The Creator)
07. Somewhere In Between (The Dream Of Saying Yes)
08. The Shadow
09. The Wise In The Desert (I. T.W.I.T.D. – II The Silenced Song)
10. The Fisherman (I. High As A Mountain Part 1 & 2 – II. The Abyss)
11. The Moon (the Eternal Moment Of Return)
Band Prism
Info: Armageddon
Style: Melodic Hard Rock / AOR
Years: 1979
Info: CBR 320 kbs
Info: 100,26 Mb
Info: Canada
Tracklist:
01 - Comin' Home.
02 - Jealousy.
03 - Virginia.
04 - You Walked Away Again.
05 - Take It Of Leave It.
06 - Armageddon.
07 - Night To Remember.
08 - Mirror Man.
Band Michael Omartian
Info: White Horse
Style: Pop Rock / CCM / Funk
Years: 1974
Info: CBR 256 kbs
Info: 74.91 Mb
Info: USA
Tracklist:
01 - Jeremiah.
02 - Fat City.
03 - The Orphan.
04 - Silver Fish.
05 - Add Up The Wonders.
06 - Take Me Down.
07 - Right From The Start.
08 - The Rest Is Up To You.
09 - White Horse.
Following in the footsteps of the great neoclassical shred guitarists, Danish axeman Niels Veljyt has taken time away from Infinity Overture, My Empty Room and his own online guitar school to release his sophomore album Sthenic, a marked improvement from début The Predator in both production and composition. It’s relatively short at 40 minutes, but full of proof of his abilities, mixing in various metal styles such as heavy, melodic and progressive.
Enlisting the help of Kris Gildenlöw (ex-Pain Of Salvation) on bass and Jakob Vand (Infinity Overture) on drums, Vejlyt sets out to explore various fretboard techniques such as arpeggios, taps, sweeps and sustained notes, akin to his forefathers Satriani, Vai and Malmsteen, but unfortunately also succumbs to one of their faults: there are very few of the simpler chord progressions and riffs themselves, which means the songs are more divided sections that are repeated, such as in “Rain”. His guitar is like a vocal instrument rather than a stringed instrument, forming complicated and meandering lines that are less memorable than the power-ballad-like sustained notes such as on opener “Heads Up”.
To give the other musicians their credit, Gildenlöw and Vand hold up their ends very well. The bass is audible in several parts, including one multi-layered guitar section in “Die Today” which is particular chaotic. The drums play an interesting role in “My Little Rascal”, opting for a slow groove while Vejlyt flies quickly with tap after sweep, slowing down only when “Kajsa” commences, an interesting ballad intertwining just piano and guitar, and then finishing with the lengthy closer “Winter”, a relaxed acoustic riff and floating bassline that abruptly breaks out into the heaviest song of the lot, in a vibe reminiscent of Symphony X. Certainly an attention-grabbing finisher, but it unfortunately makes the middle tracks slightly forgettable in the build-up.
The world ‘sthenic’ means “possessing a high level of strength and energy”, and that is certainly the case here. For those that enjoyed John Petrucci’s Suspended Animation or the work of Michael Romeo, this comes highly recommended, as well as for any guitar enthusiasts or newcomers to the shred style.
01. Heads Up 03.23
02. Die Today 05.12
03. Rain 04.28
04. Samurai 04.46
05. Meteors 04.47
06. My Little Rascal 04.16
07. Kajsa 04.19
08. Winter 09.16
Before receiving Beyond The Labyrinth's third and brand new release I knew it involved a hard rock vibe in general, but that was all. Truth be told, I didn't know the band before and I was prepared for some dirty tunes, on the contrary though, the album holds a varied aesthetic in terms of expression.
So, Beyond The Labyrinth hail from Belgium and despite the fact they have been around since 1996, they appeared in official discography during 2005 with Signs. Their new attempt's name is Chapter III - Stories and clocks around an hour's time. It is consisted of 12 compositions and each one takes its time to expand, infusing a wide variety of references, influences, genres and sounds, making the sound of the band affected, but not over-abused in terms of technique. We're talking about melodic heavy metal/hard rock with the adjective "melodic" playing a really important role. Apart from the generic but main core of the aforementioned description you will witness generic power metal references that transform into light symphonic metal, progressive metal in the vein of Dream Theater's Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory aura, melodic ballads etc.
The good thing is that this album's vast sound territory can please different listeners of the same core, in combination with the gentle production that doesn't disarm the melodic dynamics of such an album. Along with the eloquent heaviness, the non-exaggerating, beautiful solos, the atmosphere-evoking keyboards and piano parts, the well-accompanying rhythm section and melodic, clean vocal lines that enrich the ambiance the way they should. Also, it's nice witnessing that the compositions work well together as a whole and at the same time they hold a personality of their own. You can see the album like a story book, as the title says, a whole series of stories, but the stories themselves can stand on their own. The bad thing now, 60 minutes may tire a bit, but this can always change according to one's musical tastes, so don't actually count it as something negative, but as a personal array.
Concluding, Chapter III- Stories is a well-performed album deflowering heaviness with melody and at the same time carving the edges of melody with heaviness. It's a balanced work with respect and affection on their influences and what they want to present. Had it been released a few years earlier it would definitely deserve more attention, as for now, if everything you read intrigued you enough and you feel nostalgic you should give Beyond The Labyrinth a shot.
01. The Girl With the X-Ray Eyes
02. Where Kindred Spirits Meet
03. Hidden Agenda
04. Oceans Apart
05. Fear's the Killer
06. The Darkest Page
07. Saturation Point
08. Stories Waiting to Be Told
09. Raise the Horns
10. Hypersensitive
11. The Peter Principle
12. Strength
