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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
│ │
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│ + Stormlord - Hesperia + │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.nov-16-2013 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2013 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........08 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.stormlord.net ║ │
│║ ║ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Stormlord Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Hesperia Label : Trollzorn ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Stormlord has existed for 20 years or so. Most ║ │
│║ of their career - the time before their previous ║ │
│║ album Mare Nostrum - they were comfortable in ║ │
│║ the genre of mediocre death metal. Their efforts ║ │
│║ weren't particularly bad but... You know how it ║ │
│║ is with mediocrity. In their earlier albums they ║ │
│║ had scattered hints of what was about to come. ║ │
│║ Since Mare Nostrum (2008) which is arguably ║ │
│║ their best work to date, in my opinion their ║ │
│║ magnum opus, they have switched/developed the ║ │
│║ genre and matured musically to a point that ║ │
│║ is... just awesome. No more boring death metal ║ │
│║ guitar chugging, generic minor 3rd harmonies, ║ │
│║ amateurish riffs and song structures and so on. ║ │
│║ Hesperia is said by the band to be a concept ║ │
│║ album. For me it is a second part of a bigger ║ │
│║ concept which does not only entail lyrical ║ │
│║ themes (Greek, Roman mythology, battles, longing ║ │
│║ for those times) but their whole newly-found ║ │
│║ musical path and a dramatic increase in quality. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ That new musical path contains several elements: ║ │
│║ heavy use of synths which are usually the ║ │
│║ driving force of the songs, the use of harmonic ║ │
│║ minor scales which give us that middle-eastern ║ │
│║ feel, slower pace with rhythmically dominant ║ │
│║ guitars, not to mention the epic lyrical themes. ║ │
│║ The interplay and integration of these elements ║ │
│║ is so goddamn perfect that I find myself in ║ │
│║ grave hardships when trying to put it in words. ║ │
│║ It might be argued that the structure of their ║ │
│║ songs is repetitive but they have hit the ║ │
│║ winning formula. Anyone with a reasonable ║ │
│║ experience of songwriting recognizes the sheer ║ │
│║ musical maturity that is present in this album. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ So what is this structurally winning formula? ║ │
│║ The biggest reason I call it "winning" is the ║ │
│║ fact that it is hard to pin-point. The songs ║ │
│║ have a lot of ideas in them - that is certain, ║ │
│║ but the way they transition to one another often ║ │
│║ eludes me. They are so smooth they go unnoticed, ║ │
│║ yet they're evidently there. That is what I call ║ │
│║ musical perfection. The songs tend to start out ║ │
│║ slow with synths providing the melody and ║ │
│║ guitars the rhythm. Then it's essentially a ║ │
│║ black box. I've noticed that guitars often ║ │
│║ develop into a riff of some sort and then to a ║ │
│║ melody which is not imitating the synts at all ║ │
│║ yet fit to a song very well. The songs are near ║ │
│║ the 5 minute mark so the ideas switch up a lot. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ I'd like to elaborate on the pleasant ways they ║ │
│║ use their guitars. Generally, in metal the ║ │
│║ mentioned instrument is a given. It is something ║ │
│║ that is constantly in your face and most of the ║ │
│║ time you are cool with it. However, the constant ║ │
│║ use of the guitar is also counterproductive in a ║ │
│║ sense that it strips the instrument of its ║ │
│║ newness, it removes the sense of wonder from the ║ │
│║ listener and therefore drops the perceived ║ │
│║ quality of the composition that it is apart of ║ │
│║ because it has been heard over and over... With ║ │
│║ the late Stormlord, this is not an issue. ║ │
│║ Instead you wait in awe to see what they are ║ │
│║ about to do next with their stringed instruments ║ │
│║ in any part of their songs on Hesperia. ║ │
│║ Restraint can be a beautiful thing. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Needless to say, the drums are awesome. This is ║ │
│║ a band that likes to show off their drummer from ║ │
│║ what I've gathered: their youtube channel has a ║ │
│║ bunch of their songs being played with the focus ║ │
│║ on their drummer. Their black metal styled ║ │
│║ vocals are one of the best I've heard. In fact ║ │
│║ they are so good that their main function to me ║ │
│║ is that of another instrument not the lyrical ║ │
│║ content itself. That's right, Stormlord is a ║ │
│║ band that can be rightfully considered epic ║ │
│║ without taking account of their lyrical themes! ║ │
│║ As said, those were mythological and grandly ║ │
│║ nostalgic without exceptions. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ So after all that, why not 100% instead of 94%? ║ │
│║ Because of this albums predecessor Mare Nostrum. ║ │
│║ Hesperia is just not as good but I wouldn't have ║ │
│║ expected a better follow-up. I actually thought ║ │
│║ that Mare Nostrum was going to be a one hit ║ │
│║ wonder sort of thing. Gladly I was wrong, it is ║ │
│║ almost as worthy. Here's why. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The first song of this album - "Aeneas" - was ║ │
│║ unimpressive. While it was masterfully crafted ║ │
│║ it's constitutive parts lacked any sort of ║ │
│║ memorability to them. The content was weak while ║ │
│║ it was assembled together pleasingly. I'm still ║ │
│║ a bit unsure about the last song of the album ║ │
│║ which is around the 9 minute mark. It has many ║ │
│║ top-notch melodic ideas, unexpected instruments ║ │
│║ and such but I am left wondering whether this ║ │
│║ could have been packed into a shorter period of ║ │
│║ time, might be too dragged out. My last qualm is ║ │
│║ about the song "My Lost Empire" which uses the ║ │
│║ exact same rhythmic riff as its starting point ║ │
│║ as the song "Scorn" on Mare Nostrum as its main ║ │
│║ riffs ending point. The same phrase repeats ║ │
│║ quite a lot on both songs so it is bound to get ║ │
│║ noticed. I view it as a bad thing, not everyone ║ │
│║ does. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ If you can appreciate the beauty of quality epic ║ │
│║ metal then this album is for you. It would be ║ │
│║ criminal to listen to this album and not Mare ║ │
│║ Nostrum aswell. Both of them - atleast for me - ║ │
│║ take several listens to fully grasp. If the ║ │
│║ first time doesn't do much for you, listen ║ │
│║ atleast one more time. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Cristiano Borchi - Vocals ║ │
│║ Francesco Bucci - Bass ║ │
│║ David Folchitto - Drums ║ │
│║ Gianpaolo Caprino - Guitars, Vocals (clean) ║ │
│║ Andrea Angelini - Guitars ║ │
│║ Riccardo Studer - Keyboards ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - Aeneas [06:06] │
│ 02 - Motherland [04:37] │
│ 03 - Bearer Of Fate [06:45] │
│ 04 - Hesperia [04:19] │
│ 05 - Onward To Roma [06:38] │
│ 06 - Sic Volvere Parcas [01:05] │
│ 07 - My Lost Empire [05:27] │
│ 08 - Those Upon The Pyre [09:39] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [44:36 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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│ │
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