Garden Of Shadows -
Oracle Moon 2000 (Usa)
Rating:
90
When I recived this album and putted in the cd player for the first time, I was
amazed of the great riffs and its use of keyboards that these guys (and one
female!), had created. Melodical twin guitars but yet brutal. Somethimes it
remindes me of Bal Sagoth, but dont get me wrong - this is not a rip-off. This
is their debut on Wicked World and as far as I know they have only released a
MCD before. The longest song is 9:55 and the shortest is 8:19, but it dont get
boring because of all the variations. The vocalist has got a cool voice and it
may sound a little like Fisher from Cannibal Corpse. Stand out songs like
Oracle Moon and Dissolution Of The Forms shows how good this band
can be It is a little hard to express what kind of music this is, but I guess
that Atmospheric Death Metal is closest. The label compares it to early Septic
Flesh and Opeth. I'm not going to say anything else than check it out!
Gamma Ray -
No World Order 2001 (Ger)
Rating:
95
Kai Hansen returns once again with a blast. Nothing has changed in the world of
Gamma Ray and I quess the fans are pleased with that. I still find amusing that
Kai writes better songs than the other ones in the band. The intro, "Induction",
is symphonic and works great as an intro to "Dethrone Tyranny". "Dethrone
Tyranny" is a fast, heavy as hell and melodical song - in other words - as usual
- a great Gamma Ray song. One of my personnal favorites is "Eagle". When he wrote
that song it seems like he was very inspired by the "Painkiller" (Judas Priest)
record. The awesome middle section is to me the essence of Melodical Power
Metal, it makes me remember why this in one of my favorite types of music. The
same goes for the middle section in "Heart Of The Unicorn", the feeling I get
when listening to that one is priceless... This record is without doubt the best
power metal record of the year (unless Blind Guardian releases their new
record). If you are a true power metal fan and fan of Helloween, Stratovarius or
Judas Priest - go buy "No World Order" NOW!!
Guns N Roses
1987 (Usa)
Rating:
100
"Appetite For Destruction" got the classic
line up: W. Axl Rose (The greatest frontman EVER!!!), Slash (The Devil with a
guitar), Duff McKagan, Steven Adler and Izzy Stradlin. This line up has released
one of the most selling records EVER music history. "Welcome to The Jungle"
starts the record with a bang! Dirty Rock N Roll without any cheap tricks. The
lyrics deals with Axl own experience when he first moved to Los Angeles
(Jungle). "Nightain" (Cheap wine that the guys used to drink before they got
rich) got a cool guitar riff that only Slash can play. Slash guitar style is
just awesome. Laidback at times but when he kicks in a solo or lead you start
wondering, is he human? One of my personal Guns favorites "Mr. Brownstone"
(Heroin) got this cool vibe and a great groove. The lyrics is also great.
"Paradise City" is one of the most famous guns track. With its melodical
"sing-a-long" chorus this is definately a crowd pleaser live!! "My Michelle" is
another awesome song. Hard and mean rock n roll song. "Think About You" is also
great and you just got to love Axl voice. "Sweet Child O' Mine" is also one of
the "biggest" Guns songs. You may call it a ballad but I wouldnt go that far,
Slash's guitar playing is awesome. "Rocket Queen" also one of my favorite songs.
If you don't like this song you're not a real Guns fan. It got the essence of
Guns N Roses. Heavy rock n roll riff and powerfull but also got a slow middle
section (by the way, the middle section is one of the greatest bits of music
ever recorded). No rock collection is worth a shit without this record and it's
hard to find records without a booring part. A must by.