Novum Initium / Masterplan (2013)

1. Per Aspera Ad Astra

2. The Game

3. Keep Your Dream Alive

4. Black Night of Magic

5. Betrayal

6. No Escape

7. Pray On My Soul

8. Earth Is Going Down

9. Return From Avalon

10. Through Your Eyes

11. Novum Initium

Unfortunately, Jorn left the band once again, and Rick Altzi (Thunderstone/At Vance) joined the band as a new singer. Even though his voice type is very different from Jorn's, he is also has powerful low to mid range. Their last album is still one of my favorite playlist. It had many dramatic songs, yet it was not so commercial friendly. The first impression of this album was that it sounded more like their first album. Songs are more varied and colorful than the last one.

After the opening SE, the album starts with a perfect opening tune, track 1. It reminded me of songs like "Sprit Never Die" and "Crimson Rider". The track 2 is the single from the album. I don't know why, but they always choose mid-tempo tunes as their singles. Overall, they put more up-tempo tunes in this album and created easiness to listen through the album. Tracks 3, 5, and 9 have the same feeling as their first album. 

Before I listened to the album, I was a bit skeptical about the matching of Rick Altzi and Masterplan, but I think he fit well in the sound. I am pretty sure he would manage singing songs from their past catalogues as well. I heard that they would actively play on tour this time and am hoping that they would come to Japan once again.

☆☆☆☆

Super Collider / Megadeth (2013)

1. Kingmaker

2. Super Collider

3. Burn!

4. Built for War

5. Off the Edge

6. Dance In the Rain

7. Beginning of Sorrow

8. The Blackest Crow

9. Forgot to Remember

10. Don't Turn Your Back...

11. Cold Sweat

12. All I Want

13. A House Divided

14. Countdown to Extinction (Live At Fox Theater, Pomona, CA./2012)

Since Dave restarted Megadeth, he has been releasing the albums that meet expectation of Megadeth fans. Especially recent years, his music style has returned to his roots, "Intellectual Thrash Metal".

So, when I heard the leading tune from this album, track 2, I was bit surprised and worried. I was wondering if the band shifted their music direction. However, soon after I listened to this album, I figured that that was needless anxiety. When I first listened to track 1, it confirmed that Megadeth is Megadeth. It was a perfect thrash metal tune for the album. Track 2 is actually a good metal tune as well. 

The listening journey of the album went through quickly. I personally think that the highlight of the album is track 6. This song is very cold and dark yet dramatic. This kind of songs shows that how Dave grew as a songwriter. At the end, this song becomes fast and loud. This dramatic progression shows his true worth as the songwriter. David Draiman of "Disturbed" collaborate with Megadeth in this song. Track 9 is a killer tunes that has good riffs and catchy melody. A cover song, track 11, fits well in this album.

This album was not as exciting as last four albums. I guess the reason why is because this album does not have as many fast tunes as those three. Overall, this album showed that the band kept faith. It has essence of all of their past catalogues in 80's and 90's and successfully mixed them. One thing, I realized was that the tuning of music was dropped by one full note. Well, I understand that Dave is getting old, it was obvious that he was having hard time hitting high notes on the last tour. He still delivers great music, and there is nothing to complain.

In late 80's, Metallica turned into more progressive, their songs became longer. On the other hand, Megadeth  (or I would say Dave) was different. Their songs are complicated and dramatic, but they put that essence in 4 to 6 minutes. I am not comparing those two bands (which many people do, and I seriously think pointless...) but just saying that it is very interesting their music style was very different in this small music genre called thrash metal. It is applicable to bands such as Anthrax, Slayer, and Exodus, and maybe that is the reason why they are all still around today. Megadeth is Megadeth. I really hope that they will tour with this album. 

☆☆☆

The Nexus / Amaranthe (2013)

1. Afterlife

2. Invincible



3. The Nexus

4. Theory Of Everything

5. Stardust

6. Burn With Me

7. Mechanical Illusion

8. Razorblade

9. Future On Hold

10. Electroheart

11. Transhuman

12. Infinity

13. Afterlife[Acoustic]

14. Leave Everything Behind(Early Version)

 

Swedish metalcore/modern metal band, Amaranthe, released their second album. Basically, their music style has not changed from their first one but is more refined and processed. I felt that electronic music influence became more obvious and could hear a lot of synthesizer and keyboard sound.

 

I mentioned before that I had impression that their songs sometimes sounded the same as other songs. My impression has not changed, yet I could see some improvement in songwriting. Each song in this album stands out better than their first album. The songs such as tracks 5, 6, 8 became good accent in this album.

 

Their unique style of having three different types of vocals really stands out in this music scene. I heard Andreas has left the band, but I hope they would keep this style and continue improving their music style.

 

☆☆☆☆



Straight Out Of Hell / Helloween (2013)

1. Nabatataea

2. World of War

3. Live Now!

4. Far From the Stars

5. Burning Sun

6. Waiting for the Thunder

7. Hold Me in Your Arms

8. Wanna Be God

9. Straight Out of Hell

10. Axxxe

11. Years

12. Make Fire Catch the Fly

13. Church Breaks Down

Most of advance reviews I saw have been very positive, so I was really looking for this album. Their last album, "7 Sinners", was very dark, heavy and sharp. The band members have been speaking that this album is typical Helloween style and carries their identity. When I heard the lead singles, tracks 5 (Japan) and 1 (worldwide), I could feel the positive energy of the band. The current line-up has been the longest in their history, and the team is tighter than ever. Especially, track 1 has good riffs and melody lines.

When I first listened to the album, all of the songs just ran through so quickly. I was really impressed by their great skills of arrangement and songwriting. Track 1 is the longest song out of all songs, yet the song progression is really clever. Overall, there were many fast songs such as tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 11, 12, and 13. This album might be the fastest album they have ever made. Nevertheless, those are not just fast songs. They all have good hook in melodies, a lot of rhythm changes, and good chord progression. Tracks 3 is a Helloween style pop metal number. Track 6 is very dramatic. What surprised me the most was that the only ballad in this album, track 7, was written by Sascha. He might become another great ballad composer after Weiki and Andi. Andi said that track 8 was that Helloween version of "We Will Rock You". I don't mention too much of track 10 lol But, it is a catchy song.

Overall, this album is great. Perhaps, I would say that his album is the best one they have ever made since Andi joined the band. This album could not be made without this line-up. I really really hope that they would play many songs from this album. They have been playing only few songs from new albums in last several tour. I would not be upset even if they played the whole album. This album has such convincing quality and energy. In this long career, they released another masterpiece!! 

☆☆☆☆☆

Immortal / Pride Of Lions (2012)

1. Immortal

2. Delusional

3. Tie Down the Wind

4. Shine On

5. Everything That Money Can't Buy

6. Coin of the Realm

7. Sending My Love

8. Vital Signs

9. If It Doesn't Kill Me

10. Are You the Same Girl

11. Ask Me Yesterday

Finally, I bought this album! I was really looking forward to this album. Surprisingly, it has been already 5 years since "The Roaring Of Dreams". Sometimes, when musicians have a long interval between two albums, they often disappoint fans due to musical changes and other things. However, I did not have to worry anything about this band because Pride of Lions is one of few bands that you can fully trust that they will make another great albums. And indeed, they did come back with another masterpiece. 

The first thing I felt from listening to this album was strong positive energy that goes through the entire album. I guess it naturally came from them due to their good condition as a band. This album is another record to Peterik's vision of creating 80's infuluenced melodic rock with modern sound to come true. There are many bands now days that call themselves "Melodic Rock Band". Nevertheless, I want ask them how many of them actually write songs that can compare and compete with those in this album. 

1. Immortal

A great opening number!! It brings fresh air in this album. I love the lyrics as well.

2. Delusional

A leading single of this album. This has another awesome positive lyrics. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ1sTsy2aKw

3. Tie Down the Wind

A middle tempo number with awesome chorus sang by Toby. When it comes from bridge to chorus, it makes feel like coming out from forest to a big broad field.

4. Shine On

There are only few songs that you would immediately know that you are about to listen to another masterpiece. That is exactly how I felt when I listened the intro of this song. It slowly starts and goes up-tempo at chorus. 

5. Everything That Money Can't Buy

Jim Peterik is a great ballad composer as well. This is another typical (I am saying by positive meaning) Pride Of Lions ballad song.

6. Coin of the Realm

I think this song is kind of out of ordinary in their catalogue. This is a guitar oriented rock tune. But, it does not make you feel heavy because it has another great melody line.

7. Sending My Love

Another ballad with Pride Of Lions signature on it. 

8. Vital Sign

The same name as the great hit album by Survivor. I am pretty sure Peterik had a good reason why to name this song lol This is one of the best songs they ever made. If I have to describe this song with one word, I would say "COOL".

9. If It Doesn't Kill Me

Another killer tune. I think the part goes from 8th to 9th song is my favorite piece of this album. Nothing to say. Just listen!!

10. Are You the Same Girl

A minor ballad. This is not an ordinary ballad that they would. It is the sad and emotional part in this album. This does not kill the positive energy of this album, but it has the most beautiful longing melody.

11. Ask Me Lonely

I was little surprised that they finished the album with an up-tempo tune. This is the most powerful song out of all songs in the album.

One thing I realized about this album was that, there are more songs that Toby takes solo and Peterik's singing part became much less compare to their previous albums. I guess it shows how much Toby grew as a singer, this album did show how great he is as a singer although I still love the contrast that Toby and Peterik creates. Pride Of Lions is one of few bands that is worth paying money to purchase a full album.

☆☆☆☆☆

The Power Within / DragonForce (2012)

1. Holding On

2. Fallen World

3. Cry Thunder

4. Give Me the Night

5. Wings of Liberty

6. Seasons

7. Heart of the Storm

8. Die by the Sword

9. Last Man Stands

10. Seasons (Acoustic Version)

The departure of ZP was shocking for all of DragonForce Fans. His unique voice and performance was definitely one of important character of the band. However, they returned with new voice. I saw Marc Hudson of the video that the band uploaded on YouTube. He was singing the intro of track 1. I immediately could tell that he had great range of voice. Then, the lead single, track 3, was released. It was a surprise for me and many DragonForce fans. It was not a fast tune. It was a mid-tempo song. The last album had more variety in songs than the past albums. Nevertheless, this song was in different color. I think it was a statement from the band. They returned as a new band with a new singer. I could tell that Marc Hudson definitely was talented. He has powerful voice with big range of voice.

The only concern was whether their music direction has changed or not. However, my concern was meaningless. When I heard track 1, I could tell that the band still kept their faith in their music. They still play songs that have blast beat, catchy melody, and dramatic progression. Track 2 is the fastest song they have ever played. The lead single, track 3, is very different in kind, yet it has catchy chorus and twin lead guitars. I can tell that this song will be one of their important repertory for the band. Track 4 is one of my favorite DragonForce's songs. However, the highlight of this album is track 6. Track 3 was very different in rhythm, but this one is different in melody line. Their typical song has catchy chorus with high tone scream. However, this song features low to mid-range vocal. This is another new challenge they did.

Overall, they challenged themselves throughout the album. They have returned stronger than ever. For many fans, the sigh of disappointment became scream of joy. At this point of their career, they have made the best album.

☆☆☆☆☆

Address The Nation / H.E.A.T. (2012)

1. Breaking The Silence

2. Living On The Run

3. Falling Down

4. The One And Only

5. Better Off Alone

6. In And Out Of Trouble

7. Need Her

8. Heartbreaker

9. It's All About Tonight

10. Downtown

11. Back Into Your Arms

Whenever the band loses its voice, there is a significant change. In many cases, they usually bring negative and unfavorable results such as Motley Crue, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest (You know what!? these were all in 90's. I guess 90's were the dark age of Heavy Metal lol), Black Sabbath (in some cases). However, there are some positive cases such as Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden, Arnel Pineda of Journey (even though I still love Steve Perry's voice), Andi Deris of Helloween (I don't say he is better than Kiske, but surely he had positive influence for the band at that time). In any case, the vocals have big influence on their bands.

H.E.A.T., to me, is one of the few great bands that are reviving 80's rock in present time. I really liked both of their albums for their musical style and quality. Nevertheless, like many other bands, they also lost their voice. So, they had to find a new voice, and they did, Erik Gronwall. I actually knew him before he joined the band. I watched him singing "Run To The Hills" by Iron Maiden on the Swedish Idol TV show. I think the title of the video was like "Heavy Metal Idol" or something lol However, he sang the song with the original key without fake. His voice was "real". Therefore, I was really looking for their new album after I heard the news that he joined the band.

My review is........ the album was great! It is much better than I expected. Even though they still kept their music style, there are more variations in this album compare to two previous albums. Erik's voice really matches with the band. When I first heard the leading track of the album (#2 Living On The Run), I got goose bumps. Hopefully, they don't have to change the vocal again any soon. Hopefully, they will come to Japan. I really want to hear his voice live.

☆☆☆☆☆