┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│■ ■│
│ .-/ .-. │
│ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │
│ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │
│ / || (:/:| \ │
│ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │
│ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │
│ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │
│ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │
│ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │
│ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │
│ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │
│ \:-~ ~-:/ │
│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ P R E S E N T S │
│ │
│ │
│ + Dragonland - Starfall (Jap. Ed.) + │
│ │
│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Mar-11-2014 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Heavy Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2004 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........13 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.thegreybanner.com ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Dragonland Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Starfall (Jap. Ed.) Label : King ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Come and sit 'round the fire, now, I'm gonna ║ │
│║ tell you kids a story. Progression can be a wide ║ │
│║ pitfall that many bands fail to leap, but ║ │
│║ sometimes there are...exceptional stories. I ║ │
│║ once knew a feisty young Power Metal band whose ║ │
│║ creative energy and instrumental talent seemed ║ │
│║ to know no bounds, roaming their fantastical ║ │
│║ plains of dragons and dwarves and devils with a ║ │
│║ steely sword in hand and a shield in the other, ║ │
│║ mounted on white horses with their heads to the ║ │
│║ clouds, which were opening up in a grandiose ║ │
│║ display of heavenly light. Basking in this ║ │
│║ orangey white glow, the young Power Metallers ║ │
│║ seemed to know their true calling, breaking free ║ │
│║ of their fledgling skin and into a new beast, a ║ │
│║ celestial creature with wings that could touch ║ │
│║ the cosmos, and eyes that held the very power of ║ │
│║ the stars themselves... ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ As you might already be able to guess, the ║ │
│║ band's name was Dragonland, and it took them ║ │
│║ only three albums to achieve such a glorious ║ │
│║ transformation. Where there was once catchy, ║ │
│║ entertaining Power Metal trappings that encased ║ │
│║ the music like a fine-lined electric fence, ║ │
│║ there is now a vast, fruitful arena of musical ║ │
│║ delights, personified in a dense, acrobatic ║ │
│║ guitar base, deep, wide-ranging symphonics and ║ │
│║ keyboard trills, and the soulful, emotive ║ │
│║ meanderings of Jonas Heidgert's powerful voice - ║ │
│║ and here, the man gives a performance of a ║ │
│║ lifetime. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Dragonland's ascent to the celestial bodies ║ │
│║ above is clearly defined in the stunning, moody ║ │
│║ opener "As Madness Took Me" - and note the ║ │
│║ absence of a preliminary intro track, as was ║ │
│║ used on the band's previous outings - with it's ║ │
│║ stuttering keyboard trills and heavy riffs, and ║ │
│║ a chorus that manages to be catchy despite its ║ │
│║ more complex vocal lines. The title track is ║ │
│║ next, and it seems to reside on a whole new ║ │
│║ plane of existence, with a stirring keyboard ║ │
│║ line setting an ethereal, spacey atmosphere that ║ │
│║ will warp your mind away to the very end of the ║ │
│║ world; a white, sandy beach that goes on for all ║ │
│║ eternity, with a bloody red sunset overhead, ║ │
│║ casting a strangely beautiful glow over all ║ │
│║ below - that is what this song evokes. "Calling ║ │
│║ My Name" and "In Perfect Harmony" are darker, ║ │
│║ more epic tracks, and people who dismissed the ║ │
│║ old Dragonland as too generic and flowery won't ║ │
│║ even recognize them now - the former has a ║ │
│║ brilliant chorus that builds up like a shooting ║ │
│║ star, before finally exploding with the titular ║ │
│║ lines, and the latter boasts an exceptionally ║ │
│║ well done synergy between guitars and synths, ║ │
│║ accented by a very catchy chorus. "The Dream ║ │
│║ Seeker," "The Returning" and "To the End of the ║ │
│║ World" are all excellent compositions in ║ │
│║ themselves, and Heidgert's vocal lines are ║ │
│║ better than ever here. Just listen to the ║ │
│║ titular lines in the beginning of "To the End of ║ │
│║ the World," ("We have ARRIIIIIIIIIIVED...") or ║ │
│║ the "No! I can't just break / I have to keep on ║ │
│║ going to the EEENNNNDDD!" bit in "The Dream ║ │
│║ Seeker." Truly amazing stuff. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ I could list several more little gems to be ║ │
│║ found here, such as the electronic slant on "To ║ │
│║ the End of the World" or the Stratovarius-esque ║ │
│║ synth melodies that speed by you like flaming ║ │
│║ asteroids in "The Returning," but the true ║ │
│║ centerpiece of the album, and the best song ║ │
│║ Dragonland have ever written, comes in the form ║ │
│║ of the six minute epic "The Shores of Our Land." ║ │
│║ The band ventures deep into a catacomb long ║ │
│║ forgotten by time, and comes out riding a ║ │
│║ monolithic ship flanked by dragon heads, sailing ║ │
│║ on into a blinding white abyss as the slow, ║ │
│║ mysterious intro segues headlong into a ║ │
│║ majestic, rattling clash of guitars and booming ║ │
│║ symphonics, with Heidgert sharing vocal duties ║ │
│║ with Robert Englund of Evergrey fame. There's ║ │
│║ even a viking choir chant in the middle of it ║ │
│║ (!), before the ship reaches the shores at last, ║ │
│║ as the song fades out with a breathtaking horn ║ │
│║ melody, layered over with delicate female ║ │
│║ singing and finally ending with the sounds of ║ │
│║ the seashore. Moving, powerful, unique and epic. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Dragonland know better than to rest on the ║ │
│║ laurels of that one fantastic song, though, and ║ │
│║ they have one final blaze of glory to go out in. ║ │
│║ They open the Book of Shadows with hesitance, ║ │
│║ but not without flair and class, as here is the ║ │
│║ deepest buried roots of their newfound ║ │
│║ progression, and perhaps the most delicious ║ │
│║ fruits of their labor, as well. The band ║ │
│║ abandons conventional song structures and digs ║ │
│║ deep, finding treasures beyond man's ║ │
│║ understanding. The three "Book of Shadows" songs ║ │
│║ flow as one, layered with rich classical ║ │
│║ arrangements and deep, sea-wide trenches of ║ │
│║ emotion and grandeur, and the album comes to a ║ │
│║ close with a truly arresting display of talent. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ I haven't much more to say about Starfall, other ║ │
│║ than that it is truly one of the best albums of ║ │
│║ its kind, and that few bands in our modern day ║ │
│║ and age manage to create such an innovative and ║ │
│║ powerful work of art. If you are a fan of ║ │
│║ Progressive Metal, or just of melodic Metal in ║ │
│║ general, I see no reason why you wouldn't find ║ │
│║ some form of enjoyment in this album. Truly ║ │
│║ essential. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Jonas Heidgert - Vocals ║ │
│║ Olof M÷rck - Guitars (lead) ║ │
│║ Nicklas Magnusson - Guitars (rhythm) ║ │
│║ Christer Pedersen - Bass ║ │
│║ Elias Holmlid - Keyboards ║ │
│║ Jesse Lindskog - Drums ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - As Madness Took Me [03:58] │
│ 02 - Starfall [03:20] │
│ 03 - Calling My Name [04:50] │
│ 04 - In Perfect Harmony [04:42] │
│ 05 - The Dream Seeker [05:33] │
│ 06 - The Shores Of Our Land [06:47] │
│ 07 - The Returning [04:42] │
│ 08 - To The End Of The World [04:41] │
│ 09 - The Book Of Shadows Part I: As Story Yet U [03:13] │
│ 10 - The Book Of Shadows Part II: The Curse Of [02:52] │
│ 11 - The Book Of Shadows Part III: The Glendora [04:53] │
│ 12 - Rusty Nail (Bonus Track) [05:47] │
│ 13 - Sole Survivor (Bonus Track) [04:08] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [59:26 minn │
│ │
│ │
│ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│■ ■│
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘