Год:2006
Страна:Italy
Стиль:Neoclassical Power Metal
Tracklist^
1.Anger Storm- 06:16
2.Roncesvalles' Day- 04:31
3.Theatre of Pain- 06:54
4.Sun and Steel- 07:02
5.When the Devil Calls- 05:48
6.If- 05:58
7.Walhalla- 05:16
8.Townrazer- 05:04
9.Crying My Heart Away- 08:10
10.Battle's Eve- 05:23 Band^
Thomas Vikström - Vocals
Marco Valerio Zangani - lead guitar
Andrea Orciuolo - bass guitar
Luca Iovieno - drums (RIVER OF CHANGE)
Fabio Bernardi - keyboards (RIVER OF CHANGE) special guests: D.C. Cooper-lead vocals Пожалуй
сейчас Италия является законодателем моды на пауэр-метал. Достаточно
вспомнить Rhapsody и The Dogma. Вот и эти парни не ударили физиономией в
грязь. Качественная работа. Гитарные пассажи-просто звуковая фиерия. В
качестве гостя засветился D.C.Cooper (MISSA MERCURIA, SILENT FORCE,
ROYAL HUNT). На пару с ним зажигает Thomas Vikström (CANDLEMASS,
STORMWIND, BRAZEN ABBOT, THERION). Оцените.
(c) пресс-релиз
****
Steel
Seal is a five piece musical group from Italy that plays a style of
neo-classical/power metal that shows the talent of the members as well
as the many facets of the ‘neo-classical’ sub-genre. It is made
noticeable that within the early tracks of the use of keyboards and
double bass drumming, but it’s not overdone it’s actually done with good
taste.
The vocals are generic power
metal vocals often going to high pitched spots and it seems that he
tries to pull a Tobias Sammett singing style combined to someone like
Fabio Leone from Rhapsody with the thick Italian accent that tends to
make the words sound jumbled or hard to comprehend. Either way he’s got a
catchy voice that is talented enough to work well with the music. The
drumming is usually present in all parts and done well without anything
spectacular showing but nothing under-done either. The guitars are
nothing to go wow over either, but play a key role in keeping the melody
flowing as the solos are very melodic and often compliment the
keyboards. Which brings me to the highlight of the album; the keyboards.
It seems that they take a note from Stratovarius with the style of
keyboard dosage in the songs, with possibly just as many keyboard solos
than guitar solos. Jens Johanssen and possibly Warmen are obvious
notable influences either way giving the melodic "happy” feeling
throughout the album.
Onto the songs:
most are mid-tempo, with a couple faster tracks and some slow numbers.
The best part of each song is that the choruses are mostly fun to sing
to and allow the listener to hum or sing to if you can understand the
vocalist. The most enjoyable chorus is on the faster song "When the
Devil Calls” which also boasts a great keyboard solo followed by a
simple guitar solo which is in turn followed by another faster keyboard
solo, then tops that with a faster, better guitar solo; the definite
highlight of the album.
Another
highlight is the song "Roncesvalles’ Day” which is one of the other more
upbeat songs that has another catchy chorus that was stuck in my head
for a while. "Townrazer” is one of the better songs where the guitar
work is more noticeable than the keyboarding, although as you guessed
there is a keyboard solo…after a nice guitar solo. The 8 minute long
‘epic’ on the album is a letdown, considering that the first 5 minutes
or so are boring on all levels, really slow and drags on but picks up
for the last couple minutes with a nice solo and impressive drum work.
The
cons: Songwriting is lacking in variety, some songs are similar to
others and nothing new is present. As well as the singing, hopefully the
vocalist can learn to sing more coherently for a neo-classical
vocalist. Too many mid-tempo songs drag the album down to be quite
similar in structure with little variety as I stated before.
So
to sum up, the album is quite a surprise for a debut, but hopefully the
band can improve on the lack of variety on the songwriting on the next
album. While the album is nothing new or impressive to the sub-genre of
neo-classical metal, it is quite enjoyable for those who love keyboards,
but not overused keyboards, and for anyone who likes power metal.
The_Boss
(c) рецензия на metal-archives.com
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