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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
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│ + Axxis - Kingdom Of The Night II (Black Edition) + │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Mar-09-2014 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Hard Rock Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2014 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........11 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.axxis.de ║ │
│║ ║ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Axxis Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Kingdom Of The Night II (BlackLabel : Phonotraxx Pub ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ It's been 25 years since Axxis released their ║ │
│║ successful debut album with EMI, Kingdom of the ║ │
│║ Night. My history with this band started that ║ │
│║ year, I was 14 years old. My brother came home ║ │
│║ with a bag of new vinyls and took KotN out and ║ │
│║ handed it to me and told me: I think you will ║ │
│║ like this. Boy was he spot on ! At the time I ║ │
│║ was into bands like Bon Jovi, KISS and Magnum ║ │
│║ and Axxis was soon a band to add to my all-time ║ │
│║ favorites. I've been a die-hard Axxis fan since ║ │
│║ then. So it was with very high expectation that ║ │
│║ I waited for the anniversary album, and Axxis ║ │
│║ didn't disappoint since they released two albums ║ │
│║ at once, a Black edition with stronger, more ║ │
│║ powerful songs, and a White edition that has ║ │
│║ more (for the most part) softer stuff. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ This review will focus on the Black Edition. The ║ │
│║ album starts with the song Kingdom of the Night ║ │
│║ II, and after a few seconds old fans will ║ │
│║ recognize the hooks immediately as this is a ║ │
│║ sort of an homage to the original, Axxis ║ │
│║ deliberately copied themselves on this song and ║ │
│║ updated it, but it's almost the same song with a ║ │
│║ better sound. It's a way for the band to say ║ │
│║ thank you for the songs that made their career. ║ │
│║ I can't help but hoped they would have done this ║ │
│║ with Never Say Never but well... So no surprise ║ │
│║ there with the opener, but it did give me a good ║ │
│║ feeling that the album(s) would sound a lot like ║ │
│║ their debut. Except on a few tracks where the ║ │
│║ rhythm is cranked up a bit, the tone of KotD II ║ │
│║ is pretty similar to what Axxis did in the ║ │
│║ beginning of their careers (first three albums), ║ │
│║ so if you are waiting for a bombastic sound a la ║ │
│║ Paradise in Flames, you might get disappointed. ║ │
│║ But if you're a true fan of their entire ║ │
│║ discography, then KotN II delivers again and ║ │
│║ again ! The guitar hooks are simply amazing, ║ │
│║ with great solos and really catchy melodies. It ║ │
│║ feels like 1989 again and at the same time it ║ │
│║ sounds new and fresh. I fell in love with the ║ │
│║ albums with my first listen, to a point where I ║ │
│║ didn't notice the missing power metal elements ║ │
│║ in their sound. But if you like catchy songs, ║ │
│║ amazing vocals and great guitar work, then you ║ │
│║ should love KotN no matter it's "Power" level. ║ │
│║ Speaking of vocals, Bernhard Weiss is one of my ║ │
│║ all-time favorite singers and I must say that he ║ │
│║ is in top form here ! Like a good wine, he gets ║ │
│║ better with age. His vocals are simply perfect, ║ │
│║ from depth to technique, he is spot on all the ║ │
│║ way through ! ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The band went to great length to sound like they ║ │
│║ did back in 1989 and it shows, they used old ║ │
│║ equipment that they had used on the debut and ║ │
│║ and added some noise & artifacts and old tape ║ │
│║ for saturation to reach this goal. The ║ │
│║ production overall is great and it does help ║ │
│║ feel like a similar sound to KotN but it does at ║ │
│║ the same time sound a little thinner than albums ║ │
│║ like Paradise in Flames, Doom of Destiny or ║ │
│║ Utopia. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ What I love about these albums is that not only ║ │
│║ it reminds me of their debut but KotN II ║ │
│║ actually feels like a compilation of their ║ │
│║ entire careers, songs like The War for instance ║ │
│║ reminds me of The Big Thrill, Beyond The Sky ║ │
│║ with its faster tempo and more explosive chorus ║ │
│║ is more Power Metal oriented and could have been ║ │
│║ in Paradise in Flames. Overall with 22 songs ║ │
│║ spread on 2 discs, I feared the albums would be ║ │
│║ filled with filler tracks. And I'm happy to ║ │
│║ report these are kept to a minimum. I think ║ │
│║ there are only 1 track per album I could have ║ │
│║ lived without. On the Black Edition it's the ║ │
│║ last track Bites Inside, that doesn't do much ║ │
│║ for me, it's still a good song with a good hook, ║ │
│║ but if it wasn't there I wouldn't miss it. Most ║ │
│║ of the other songs have really positive melodies ║ │
│║ and are mostly super catchy. I love Never Again ║ │
│║ that feels like a roller coaster ride both ║ │
│║ vocally and guitar wise, and that can summarize ║ │
│║ what Axxis is all about in this one song alone. ║ │
│║ Most songs are 3 to 4 minutes. There's also a ║ │
│║ German song, Lass Dich Gehn and what a killer ║ │
│║ song that is with a great hook and a powerful ║ │
│║ chorus. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ But I'm not gonna lie, while there is no doubts ║ │
│║ in my mind that this album is a masterpiece with ║ │
│║ fantastic vibe and a great collections of songs, ║ │
│║ I wished there was more songs with a more Power ║ │
│║ Metal vibe (more songs like Beyond the Sky ), ║ │
│║ and I hope Axxis next release will be more in ║ │
│║ the veins of what the band presented in their ║ │
│║ last 4-5 previous albums (since Time Machine ║ │
│║ basically). I have no doubts that original fans ║ │
│║ of the band will absolutely love these releases, ║ │
│║ but the newer fan might experience an Edguy ║ │
│║ moment, wondering where the Power Metal has ║ │
│║ gone. However these albums are true gift for old ║ │
│║ time fans of the band, because they truly ║ │
│║ represent the essence of what Axxis is, from ║ │
│║ slower songs to more bombastic ones (even though ║ │
│║ they aren't that many), the album flows ║ │
│║ naturally and contain some of the best guitar ║ │
│║ work in all of Axxis career. Vocals are also ║ │
│║ perfect and as always the vocal melodies are so ║ │
│║ strong they make the listener want to sing, hum ║ │
│║ or whistle along, and that is the true power of ║ │
│║ Axxis at the end of the day. The albums will be ║ │
│║ released on February 28th 2014, the exact same ║ │
│║ day (25 years later) that Kingdom of the Night ║ │
│║ was released. Happy anniversary Axxis, here is ║ │
│║ to 25 more years of great melodic metal ! Thumbs ║ │
│║ up ! ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Bernhard Wei▀ - Vocals ║ │
│║ Dirk Brand - Drums ║ │
│║ Marco Wriedt - Guitars ║ │
│║ Rob Schomaker - Bass ║ │
│║ Harry ╓llers - Keyboards ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - Kingdom Of The Night II [04:17] │
│ 02 - Venom [03:49] │
│ 03 - Beyond The Sky [04:23] │
│ 04 - The War [03:44] │
│ 05 - Never Again [03:51] │
│ 06 - Soulfire [04:16] │
│ 07 - More Than For One Day [03:26] │
│ 08 - Lass Dich Gehn [04:05] │
│ 09 - Lie After Lie [03:42] │
│ 10 - Mary Married A Monster (Our Version) [03:30] │
│ 11 - Bites Inside [03:57] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [43:00 minn │
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│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│■ ■│
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘