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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
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│ + Arwen - Illusions (Jap. Ed.) + │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Aug-26-2014 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2004 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........14 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.arwenmetal.com ║ │
│║ ║ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Arwen Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Illusions (Jap. Ed.) Label : King ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ I was highly skeptical of this album after ║ │
│║ seeing several reviews of its predecessor, ║ │
│║ essentially equating it to a bad version of Dark ║ │
│║ Moor, which seemed plausible as this band ║ │
│║ contained two former members of that band. But ║ │
│║ if that was the case (I havenÆt heard that album ║ │
│║ yet), then there were some major changes in the ║ │
│║ songwriting between that album and this one. ║ │
│║ Although there are some remnants of the ║ │
│║ symphonic tendencies that were found on ôHall of ║ │
│║ Olden Dreamsö, this listens much more like a ║ │
│║ power/progressive album in the vain of later ║ │
│║ Dragonland, Evergrey, and some traces of ║ │
│║ Symphony X. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Like most of the symphonic power metal albums of ║ │
│║ a few years back, we start off with a short ║ │
│║ instrumental prelude that is reminiscent of ║ │
│║ Rhapsody, but what follows is about as far ║ │
│║ removed from the Italian symphonic metal ║ │
│║ pioneers as it gets. ôIllusionsö and ôDance of ║ │
│║ Soulsö have some heavy, down-tuned guitar ║ │
│║ grooves that would be at home on Symphony XÆs ║ │
│║ ôThe Odysseyö, not to mention the modal keyboard ║ │
│║ work in the background. ôRiding Aloneö is an ║ │
│║ interesting mix of orchestral textures, ║ │
│║ synthesizer lines, and some heavy edged riff ║ │
│║ work, almost seeming to marry Luca TurilliÆs ║ │
│║ better solo work with some rather intricate ║ │
│║ rhythmic contrast. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Even the ballad work seems to take on a style of ║ │
│║ its own, occasionally sounding a tiny bit like ║ │
│║ Nightwish, but with some folk-oriented ║ │
│║ instrumentation rather than a lot of electronic ║ │
│║ sounding stuff. ôKeltiaö features female ║ │
│║ vocalist M. Carmen Casta±o, who ironically ║ │
│║ sounds less like Elisa Martφn than her male ║ │
│║ counterpart, and instead marries a smooth ║ │
│║ approach to the occasional rough edged shout to ║ │
│║ give it some needed attitude. ôLullabyö is not ║ │
│║ quite as exciting, pretty much living up to its ║ │
│║ name and being a simplistic snore fest; nothing ║ │
│║ offensive about it, but its skip worthy. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The best part of this album hits right towards ║ │
│║ the center of the album, where male vocalist ║ │
│║ Nacho Ruiz takes command of the fold and ║ │
│║ basically emulates Elisa well, albeit with a ║ │
│║ slightly more masculine voice, and the album ║ │
│║ sounds more like standard power metal. ôFantasy ║ │
│║ or Realityö has a pretty elongated intro with ║ │
│║ the occasional Dark Moor moments, but the ║ │
│║ riffing shifts back and forth between fancy ║ │
│║ Gamma Ray worship and the low end grooves found ║ │
│║ earlier. ôNo more tearsö takes my pick for the ║ │
│║ best track on here, mostly for its incredibly ║ │
│║ powerful chorus, reminding me of the better days ║ │
│║ of power metal in the earlier 2000s. Nacho ║ │
│║ really throws his voice around a lot here, but ║ │
│║ the collective effort of the whole band should ║ │
│║ be accented as well, as this song is about the ║ │
│║ most densely textured anthem out of a power ║ │
│║ metal band in a long time. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The rest of the album is mostly good, but it ║ │
│║ tapers off a bit after ôNo more tearsö, leaving ║ │
│║ you with the impression that it drags on a bit ║ │
│║ too long. ôSomewhere in the Pastö is another ║ │
│║ solid example of good Symphony X worship, but ║ │
│║ other than that itÆs mostly forgettable. If ║ │
│║ there is a fatal flaw to this album it is that ║ │
│║ there was a bit too much of an effort to sound ║ │
│║ progressive and thus the power side, ║ │
│║ particularly the choruses get neglected and the ║ │
│║ song becomes unmemorable. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ If youÆre a fan of any of the bands that I ║ │
│║ mentioned, this would be a nice album to add to ║ │
│║ your collection, especially if you like 2 ║ │
│║ vocalist outfits other than the toneless growl ║ │
│║ male voice, countered by the clean ║ │
│║ pristine/gothic soprano. Nacho Ruiz left the ║ │
│║ fold after this album, which will likely take ║ │
│║ most of the remnants of their Dark Moor sound ║ │
│║ out of the picture when they release their next ║ │
│║ album. People knock this band for having so many ║ │
│║ members, although funnily enough the same ║ │
│║ individuals give lavish praise to bands that ║ │
│║ happen to have tons of guest musicians on their ║ │
│║ work. I say just sit back and enjoy, think of it ║ │
│║ as a power metal version of a big band. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - Into The... [00:38] │
│ 02 - Illusions [04:54] │
│ 03 - Riding Alone [04:47] │
│ 04 - Dance Of Souls [04:36] │
│ 05 - Infinity [04:54] │
│ 06 - Keltia [04:39] │
│ 07 - Fantasy Or Reality [04:42] │
│ 08 - No More Tears [05:02] │
│ 09 - By My Own Sight [04:05] │
│ 10 - One Reason To Live [04:54] │
│ 11 - Lullaby [04:54] │
│ 12 - Somewhere In The Past [03:59] │
│ 13 - Touch The Sky [04:01] │
│ 14 - Riding Alone (Different Vocal Version) (Bo [04:46] │
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│ Total Length : [60:51 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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