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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
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│ + Human Fortress - Defenders Of The Crown + │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Jan-16-2014 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2003 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........12 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... n/a ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Human Fortress Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Defenders Of The Crown Label : Massacre ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ These guys mean business. Human Fortress is a ║ │
│║ German power metal band in the vein of Swedish ║ │
│║ ones like HammerFall, with midpaced war/battle ║ │
│║ anthems, catchy choruses, and Maidenesque guitar ║ │
│║ harmonies mixed with some galloping, traditional ║ │
│║ heavy metal flavored riffs. Yeah, we've all ║ │
│║ heard of bands like this before, but Human ║ │
│║ Fortress have something different about them. I ║ │
│║ can't pinpoint exactly what this band does ║ │
│║ differently from other heavy/power metal bands ║ │
│║ of their ilk, but they just have a spark about ║ │
│║ them on this album that raises them straight to ║ │
│║ the heavens, far above HammerFall and their ║ │
│║ jokey, cheesy little tunes about templars and ║ │
│║ falling hammers. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Maybe it's the vocals, handled by one Jioti ║ │
│║ Parcharidis, that are very reminiscent of a ║ │
│║ medieval bard. His voice is clear and powerful, ║ │
│║ with a bit of a gritty, rough edge that Joacim ║ │
│║ Cans or Timo Koltipelto could never muster, and ║ │
│║ he sounds fucking fantastic. He sounds quite a ║ │
│║ lot like ex-Lion's Share vocalist Anders ║ │
│║ Engberg, except his voice is far more powerful ║ │
│║ and dynamic. Another good comparison for his ║ │
│║ voice would perhaps be a slightly gruffer ║ │
│║ version of Manowar's Eric Adams, and that is a ║ │
│║ very high compliment! It's just icing on the ║ │
│║ proverbial cake when the band adds layers of ║ │
│║ operatic choirs on top of his voice to make for ║ │
│║ quite the delicious medieval banquet of heavy ║ │
│║ metal. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ It could also be the varied instrumentation the ║ │
│║ band employs; blending violins with their riffs ║ │
│║ to create a very nostalgic, epic sort of sound ║ │
│║ on a few songs here that silly keyboard-wank ║ │
│║ bands like Rhapsody could learn from. The best ║ │
│║ examples of this are "Border Raid in Lions ║ │
│║ March", a fantastic, stirring fantasy epic with ║ │
│║ one of the best choruses ever penned, and the ║ │
│║ closing anthem "The Valiant", which is sort of a ║ │
│║ ballad, but it still sports some of the most ║ │
│║ powerful, emotional violin lines a metal song ║ │
│║ could ever need. The variety here adds a rich, ║ │
│║ glossy spice to the album that few other power ║ │
│║ metal albums could dream of having, and new ║ │
│║ layers of the music are revealed with each ║ │
│║ passing listen. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Or perhaps it's the production, heavier than ║ │
│║ most of HammerFall's output, with clear yet ║ │
│║ crunchy riffs, searing, mystical guitar leads, ║ │
│║ and the vocals in the forefront. The drum sound ║ │
│║ is good, although sometimes it's somewhat buried ║ │
│║ under the vocals or the guitars. The vocals ║ │
│║ might be a bit too dominant, and it'd be nice to ║ │
│║ have the guitars more in the front of the mix, ║ │
│║ but I'm not going to complain too much---the ║ │
│║ quality of the work here is just too good to ║ │
│║ bitch about things like that. Plus, the vocals ║ │
│║ are absolutely first-rate, so having them in the ║ │
│║ forefront isn't as bad as it would be for a band ║ │
│║ with a weaker vocalist. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The songs here are all varied and extremely ║ │
│║ memorable. At first listen, vocalist ║ │
│║ Pacharidis's vocal melodies are rather ║ │
│║ unorthodox and weird, and some people will never ║ │
│║ like them. But give it time to grow on you ║ │
│║ first, let it all sink in before you write the ║ │
│║ band off as flawed. After adequate listens, I ║ │
│║ now appreciate every single song on this disc, ║ │
│║ from the speedy, catchy opener "Knights in ║ │
│║ Shining Armour", to the epic, soaring "Gladiator ║ │
│║ of Rome", to the slightly annoying, but still ║ │
│║ cool 80's true metal assault of "Holy Grail ║ │
│║ Mine", and the renaissance fanfares and violin ║ │
│║ melodies of the grandiose "Border Raid in Lions ║ │
│║ March." From the colossal epic "Schattentor" to ║ │
│║ the best song on the disc, the triumphant, fist ║ │
│║ pumping "Mortal Sinful Wrath", and the extremely ║ │
│║ catchy power metal fun of "Sacral Fire", every ║ │
│║ single damn song on this disc is a winner. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ This disc isn't as instantly gratifying as I ║ │
│║ wanted it to be, but repeated listens yield a ║ │
│║ great many hidden gems within it's tough ║ │
│║ exterior. Human Fortress have crafted a very ║ │
│║ memorable, catchy, mature sophomore album here, ║ │
│║ and I'll be supporting them as long as they keep ║ │
│║ this excellence up. This is a timeless, ageless ║ │
│║ classic, so go get it, now. ║ │
│║ ║ │
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│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - Knights in Shining Armour [03:19] │
│ 02 - Defenders of the Crown [04:17] │
│ 03 - Colloseum [01:31] │
│ 04 - Gladiator of Rome [04:40] │
│ 05 - Holy Grail Mine [04:08] │
│ 06 - Border Raid in Lions March [05:09] │
│ 07 - Siege Tower [05:50] │
│ 08 - Schattentor [05:21] │
│ 09 - Skin and Feather [04:01] │
│ 10 - Mortal Sinful Wrath [05:30] │
│ 11 - Sacral Fire [04:23] │
│ 12 - The Valiant [05:27] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [53:36 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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