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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
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│ + Europe - Secret Society (Jap. Ed.) + │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
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│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Feb-15-2013 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Hard Rock Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2006 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........12 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.europetheband.com ║ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Europe Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Secret Society (Jap. Ed.) Label : Victor ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Back in 2004, one of the very first reviews I ║ │
│║ got to do for this website was EUROPEÆs ôStart ║ │
│║ From The Dark.ö At the time, I seem to recall ║ │
│║ referring to it as ôthe bandÆs finest release to ║ │
│║ dateöà and I meant ità then! But this is NOW and ║ │
│║ I am about to eat my own words with the release ║ │
│║ of their follow-up CD ôSecret Society.ö ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ItÆs nice to actually be able to hear and ║ │
│║ acknowledge a band that just keeps getting ║ │
│║ better and better as the years go onà a quality ║ │
│║ that most bands lack. EUROPE is one of those ║ │
│║ bands that can pull it off and ôSecret Societyö ║ │
│║ is the next step in this bands natural ║ │
│║ progression. While it is very apparent that this ║ │
│║ is not as heavily an influenced Norum release ║ │
│║ (as was ôStart From The Darkö), ôSecret Societyö ║ │
│║ still maintains all the edginess, downûtuning ║ │
│║ and modern sound of its predecessorà even though ║ │
│║ the ball seems to be a little more in TEMPESTÆs ║ │
│║ court this time around. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Just listening to a few seconds of the title ║ │
│║ track, ôSecret Society,ö it wonÆt take you long ║ │
│║ to realize that thereÆs a hell of a lot going ║ │
│║ on. Layers upon layers of guitars, a powerful ║ │
│║ rhythm hook and some extremely synthesized ║ │
│║ vocals (which make it hard to tell that itÆs ║ │
│║ actually Tempest singing) mold this track into ║ │
│║ something that almost reminds me of what Hank ║ │
│║ Williams Jr.Æs ôAll My Rowdy Friendsö has ║ │
│║ morphed into for Monday Night Football! If ║ │
│║ EUROPE could somehow link this track to American ║ │
│║ Football, IÆd be looking over my shoulder if I ║ │
│║ were you, Hank! Just kidding, Hankà we love ya ║ │
│║ and Monday Night Football would never be the ║ │
│║ same without you. Besides, with ôThe Final ║ │
│║ Countdownö still being blasted through the PA at ║ │
│║ just about any and every sporting event you can ║ │
│║ think of, I think Joey and the rest of the band ║ │
│║ are pretty satisfied with that. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The first single, ôAlways the Pretenders,ö soon ║ │
│║ follows and like most of the tracks off ôSecret ║ │
│║ Society,ö has some very heavy base elements to ║ │
│║ it featuring some amazing guitar work and solos, ║ │
│║ compliments of the always-extraordinary John ║ │
│║ Norum, but still maintains a very melodic and ║ │
│║ powerful chorus, which Tempest excels at. Other ║ │
│║ songs like ôThe Getaway Plan,ö ôBrave and ║ │
│║ Beautiful Soulö and ôLet the Children Playö ║ │
│║ continue on in this vein. Making it even more ║ │
│║ interesting and adding to itÆs already full and ║ │
│║ aggressive chorus, on ôLet the Children Play,ö ║ │
│║ Tempest is backed up by an entire childrenÆs ║ │
│║ chorus for the last few verses giving it those ║ │
│║ haunting over-tonesà ala PINK FLOYD. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ôHuman After Allö and ôLove Is Not the Enemyö ║ │
│║ almost sound like they could have been outtakes ║ │
│║ from Don DokkenÆs solo release ôUp from the ║ │
│║ Ashes.ö Who knows? Maybe they were or there were ║ │
│║ pieces of them tucked away since Norum co-wrote ║ │
│║ both the songs AND actually played on that ║ │
│║ release. Hmmmmàcoincidence? ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Some other tracks of note include my favorite ║ │
│║ track on the release, ôWish I Could Believe.ö ║ │
│║ This is just an amazing track and probably the ║ │
│║ most classic-sounding EUROPE songs off the ║ │
│║ release. ItÆs a bit toned-down as oppose to the ║ │
│║ rest of the CD but is one of the better ║ │
│║ arrangements featuring some very well written ║ │
│║ lyrics and an outstanding chorus. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ôA MotherÆs Sonö is the only true ôballady- ║ │
│║ soundingö songà but be forewarned; this ainÆt no ║ │
│║ ôCarrie!ö Its somewhat foreboding undertones are ║ │
│║ extenuated by some very macabre acoustic guitar ║ │
│║ work and hints of an orchestra accenting the ║ │
│║ melody and guitar solo. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ôForever Travelingö is probably the most ║ │
│║ commercial sounding and melodic track off ║ │
│║ ôSecret Societyö and the album finishes off ║ │
│║ strong with ôDevil Sings The Blues.ö Again, ║ │
│║ sounding very Dokken-ish , this is just an ║ │
│║ incredible song which builds to a peak with some ║ │
│║ of NorumÆs best guitar work on the release (as ║ │
│║ well as my favorite solo) and then just simply ║ │
│║ fades to black. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ok, okà here it comes. ôSecret Societyö IS ║ │
│║ EUROPEÆs finest release to date! If they keep ║ │
│║ putting out albums like this over the next few ║ │
│║ years, I have a feeling IÆll be eating those ║ │
│║ words once again before long. If you liked ║ │
│║ ôStart From The Dark,ö youÆre going to ║ │
│║ absolutely LOVE this. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Joey Tempest - Lead Vocals ║ │
│║ òJohn Norum - Guitars ║ │
│║ òJohn Leven - Bass ║ │
│║ òIan Haugland - Drums ║ │
│║ òMic Michaeli - Keyboards ║ │
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│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - Secret Society [03:36] │
│ 02 - Always The Pretenders [03:55] │
│ 03 - The Gateway Plan [03:52] │
│ 04 - Wish I Could Believe [03:35] │
│ 05 - Let The Children Play [04:11] │
│ 06 - Human After All [04:14] │
│ 07 - Love Is Not The Enemy [04:18] │
│ 08 - A Mother┤s Song [04:49] │
│ 09 - Forever Travelling [04:12] │
│ 10 - Brave And Beautiful Soul [03:47] │
│ 11 - Devil Sings The Blues [05:25] │
│ 12 - Start From The Dark (Bonus Track) [04:29] │
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│ Total Length : [50:23 minn │
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│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
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│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
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