┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│■ ■│
│ .-/ .-. │
│ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │
│ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │
│ / || (:/:| \ │
│ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │
│ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │
│ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │
│ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │
│ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │
│ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │
│ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │
│ \:-~ ~-:/ │
│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ P R E S E N T S │
│ │
│ │
│ + Unicorn - The 13th Sign (Jap. Ed.) + │
│ │
│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Jul-10-2012 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Heavy Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2005 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........10 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... n/a ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Unicorn Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : The 13th Sign (Jap. Ed.) Label : Soundholic ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ As many of you are probably doing right now, I ║ │
│║ too chuckled when I saw the cover art for this ║ │
│║ album. Yes, the band's name is Unicorn, and they ║ │
│║ are playing power metal. Hey, there is one good ║ │
│║ thing about naming the band Unicorn: the word ║ │
│║ "dragon" does not appear in the name! Ha. Well, ║ │
│║ I thought this was going to be yet another ║ │
│║ clichΘ filled, heard it before power metal album ║ │
│║ that I would listen to enough times to write a ║ │
│║ coherent review, and then collect dust on my ║ │
│║ shelf. Much to my delight, this debut album from ║ │
│║ Unicorn is very good, and it has stayed in my ║ │
│║ listening rotation for a solid month now. Don't ║ │
│║ let the name of the band fool you, these guys ║ │
│║ have something good going here. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Unicorn is a four piece band from Italy, and ║ │
│║ they play power metal spruced up with some ║ │
│║ wonderful symphonic arrangements. This is one ║ │
│║ the better bands that I've heard in recent years ║ │
│║ hailing from Italy. As I've lost interest in ║ │
│║ Rhapsody with their last release, it's nice for ║ │
│║ a surprise like this to fall in my lap. I've ║ │
│║ found that many startup metal bands from Italy ║ │
│║ are sorely lacking in the lead vocalist ║ │
│║ department as well as the production and overall ║ │
│║ sound quality. Fortunately, Unicorn is an ║ │
│║ exception to both of those observations. The ║ │
│║ vocalist fits the typical mold for a power metal ║ │
│║ vocalist. He has a clean, soaring delivery, yet ║ │
│║ he adds colorful emotion to the songs with his ║ │
│║ voice. In addition to an emotional voice, Axa ║ │
│║ carries a melody very well which is a perfect ║ │
│║ fit for the band's music. He doesn't try to get ║ │
│║ ahead of himself by trying to hit notes above ║ │
│║ his range. This is evidenced by the cover of ║ │
│║ Helloween's Eagle Fly Free. Instead of going for ║ │
│║ the highest notes that Michael Kiske used to ║ │
│║ belt out, some harmony vocals are used instead. ║ │
│║ Despite this, Axa's displays an impressive range ║ │
│║ on this album. While singing in the higher ║ │
│║ octaves, he maintains his power, managing not to ║ │
│║ sound thin or strained at all. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The music itself is diverse and chock full of ║ │
│║ infectious melodies and memorable compositions. ║ │
│║ Roughly half the album is made up of up tempo ║ │
│║ power metal anthems, with the balance of the ║ │
│║ album taken up by mid tempo numbers, and an ║ │
│║ instrumental. As I mentioned before, Unicorn ║ │
│║ employs some excellent symphonic arrangements on ║ │
│║ this album. In fact, that's probably the bread ║ │
│║ and butter of this band; what really gives them ║ │
│║ a much needed identity in this crowded genre. ║ │
│║ Unlike countrymen Rhapsody, Unicorn does not go ║ │
│║ over the top with their symphonic elements. If ║ │
│║ you can picture a mix between Master of the ║ │
│║ Rings era Helloween and Fairyland, you'll have a ║ │
│║ rough idea of where Unicorn sits. Uptempo tracks ║ │
│║ such as Avylonia and One In A Million contain ║ │
│║ majestic harmony vocals and just the right ║ │
│║ amount of keyboard and symphonic elements to ║ │
│║ create well balanced songs. Still, strong ║ │
│║ riffing and classy guitar solos forms the ║ │
│║ backbone of the songs. Mid tempo cuts such as ║ │
│║ Fight for the Wings and Waiting For easily make ║ │
│║ up for a lack of speed by creating an atmosphere ║ │
│║ that brings the listener into their world. In ║ │
│║ particular, Waiting For refuses to bore me no ║ │
│║ matter how many times I listen to it. You won't ║ │
│║ break your neck head banging to this tune, but ║ │
│║ the songwriting is such that it allows you to ║ │
│║ forget about life for a minute and just focus on ║ │
│║ the music at hand. That sums up what I really ║ │
│║ like about this band. While the name might lead ║ │
│║ you to believe that this is a generic band, the ║ │
│║ guys have a knack for writing interesting songs ║ │
│║ that you can really sink your teeth into. ║ │
│║ Unicorn weren't satisfied to just base their ║ │
│║ music around a bunch of catchy melodies. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Once the album concludes, I do feel that ║ │
│║ something is missing. Of the ten tracks, one is ║ │
│║ a typical introduction, one is an instrumental ║ │
│║ (albeit a good one; Dance of Passion), one is a ║ │
│║ not so memorable ballad, and another is a cover ║ │
│║ tune (Eagle Fly Free). That leaves only six ║ │
│║ tracks that make up the meat of this album. I do ║ │
│║ find that a bit short. Another up tempo track ║ │
│║ and maybe another mid tempo track would have ║ │
│║ really made this a complete album. Elysian ║ │
│║ Fields is the ballad that I just referred to. ║ │
│║ While it does get better as it progresses, the ║ │
│║ 8+ minute running time is just too much. The ║ │
│║ first half of the song is boring and uneventful, ║ │
│║ but some dynamic symphonic elements during the ║ │
│║ last half of the song make it salvageable. Eagle ║ │
│║ Fly Free stays almost spot on to the original. ║ │
│║ Maybe it's just me, but I don't really see the ║ │
│║ point of including cover tunes on an album ║ │
│║ unless you're going to personalize it. ║ │
│║ Metallizing non metal tunes is always ║ │
│║ interesting, but "tribute" songs like this are ║ │
│║ never better than the original, and really have ║ │
│║ nothing to offer when they are exact copies of ║ │
│║ the original. Aside from these comments, I find ║ │
│║ tremendous potential with the rest of what I've ║ │
│║ heard on this album. The songwriting is just ║ │
│║ superb. For the 6 standout tracks of the album, ║ │
│║ I hope that they can maintain this level of ║ │
│║ quality for a longer duration with their next ║ │
│║ album. If they can do that, I'm sure this band ║ │
│║ will quickly gain a following in the near ║ │
│║ future. Until then, I will continue to enjoy ║ │
│║ this highly respectable start to the Unicorn's ║ │
│║ career. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Axa - Vocals ║ │
│║ Gio - Bass ║ │
│║ Maxx - Drums ║ │
│║ Ste - Guitars ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - Breath Of Life [00:57] │
│ 02 - Avylonia (That┤s How The Story Began) [04:37] │
│ 03 - Once In A Million [05:14] │
│ 04 - Fight For The Wings [05:20] │
│ 05 - Waiting For... [04:27] │
│ 06 - The Book Of Drake [04:01] │
│ 07 - Dance Of Passion [03:57] │
│ 08 - Elysian Fields [08:13] │
│ 09 - Vampyrial [06:45] │
│ 10 - Eagle Fly Free (Bonus Track) [03:23] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [46:54 minn │
│ │
│ │
│ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│■ ■│
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘