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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
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│ + Zihard - Life Of Passion (Jap. Ed.) + │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Jul-10-2012 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Heavy Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2007 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........10 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.zihard.com ║ │
│║ ║ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Zihard Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Life Of Passion (Jap. Ed.) Label : Soundholic ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Zihard is a neo-classical metal band from Korea. ║ │
│║ Unlike most neo-classically influenced bands, ║ │
│║ Zihard is not power metal; rather, they play a ║ │
│║ straightforward form of traditional heavy metal. ║ │
│║ And they sound a whole hell of a lot like Yngwie ║ │
│║ Malmsteen while doing it. Guitarist Bak Yeong-Su ║ │
│║ is basically another one of those Yngwie clones ║ │
│║ that we're all tired of hearing. He really ║ │
│║ doesn't do anything to separate himself from the ║ │
│║ stereotype either; he plays fast and accurately, ║ │
│║ but doesn't do anything original or unique. And ║ │
│║ that pretty much sums up the album (well, not ║ │
│║ the fast part). ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The songwriting is good, at least. Classical ║ │
│║ music is a huge influence and it shows up ║ │
│║ throughout the entire album. None of the songs ║ │
│║ are overlong and they all generally are ║ │
│║ interesting enough to hold your attention while ║ │
│║ listening. However, the songs generally sound ║ │
│║ the same. There are two ballads, "Strange ║ │
│║ Without You" and the instrumental "Sad Memory", ║ │
│║ but the rest of the songs are medium-tempo. ║ │
│║ There are no songs or even sections of songs ║ │
│║ that go any faster than mid-paced. This is a ║ │
│║ shame because the album really gets boring with ║ │
│║ the same formula being used over and over again. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The riffs are the main emphasis in most of the ║ │
│║ songs, and they are well constructed. However, ║ │
│║ there are only so many distinct riffs you can ║ │
│║ create when all of your songs are the same, so ║ │
│║ overall it feels like ideas are being recycled ║ │
│║ over and over again during the album. The end ║ │
│║ result is that at the end of the album you can't ║ │
│║ remember a single thing you heard (even the ║ │
│║ choruses, while good, simply aren't catchy). It ║ │
│║ takes repeated listens to get anything stuck in ║ │
│║ your head at all, and even more listens to be ║ │
│║ able to distinguish one song from the other. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ As I said before, the guitarist here is a huge ║ │
│║ Malmsteen worshiper. He shreds on almost every ║ │
│║ song, anywhere they could fit him in. It sounds ║ │
│║ really good, but he's not especially ║ │
│║ interesting. He should put his obvious talent to ║ │
│║ better use, and perhaps he would get more of the ║ │
│║ attention he deserves. The other instruments are ║ │
│║ just kind of there. I never noticed the bass ║ │
│║ once during the album. The drums never do ║ │
│║ anything attention-grabbing either; it's mostly ║ │
│║ rock beats and some occasional double-bass ║ │
│║ drumming. Even the vocalist doesn't really catch ║ │
│║ my attention. He, as is to be expected, has a ║ │
│║ distinct Asian accent, but he hits the notes and ║ │
│║ doesnΓÇÖt completely fail when going for the ║ │
│║ higher pitches. There apparently is no actual ║ │
│║ keyboardist in the band, but there is a small ║ │
│║ presence of keyboard here. The songs would lack ║ │
│║ a lot of depth if it weren't for the keyboardist ║ │
│║ sitting in the background with his soft strings. ║ │
│║ He even gets to solo occasionally, and the solos ║ │
│║ are what convinced me that there was a real guy ║ │
│║ on keys and not just a computer. These solos are ║ │
│║ fast and reasonably expressive; I only wish ║ │
│║ there were more of them. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ For a debut, this shows potential. The entire ║ │
│║ album is repetitive and (let's just go out and ║ │
│║ say it) boring, but it's well-written and well- ║ │
│║ produced. After you're done listening you will ║ │
│║ not remember a single thing about it, but you'll ║ │
│║ be able to appreciate this album while it IS ║ │
│║ playing for its numerous good qualities. If ║ │
│║ Zihard manages to increase their originality a ║ │
│║ little bit, their sophomore effort should be ║ │
│║ great. As it stands, this is only worth getting ║ │
│║ if you are a big Yngwie fan. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Kim Seong-Hoon - Vocals ║ │
│║ Jang Jong-Gweon - Bass ║ │
│║ Shim Dong-Nim - Drums ║ │
│║ Bak Yeong-Su - Guitars ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - Intro [01:14] │
│ 02 - Crying In The Midnight [04:19] │
│ 03 - Viper [04:32] │
│ 04 - Strange Without You [04:56] │
│ 05 - Adversity Of My Life [03:57] │
│ 06 - Once Again [04:28] │
│ 07 - Against The World [05:21] │
│ 08 - Sad Memories [05:48] │
│ 09 - Fire In The Sky [05:33] │
│ 10 - Crying In The Midnight (Live In Busan) (Bo [04:48] │
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│ Total Length : [44:56 minn │
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│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
│ │
│ │
│ │
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