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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
│ │
│ │
│ + Stratovarius - Maniac Dance + │
│ │
│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Sep-25-2014 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2005 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........04 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.atratovarius.com ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│ │
│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Stratovarius Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Maniac Dance Label : Sanctuary ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ I donÆt claim to be a soothsayer, nor would I ║ │
│║ even hint at a tendency towards clairvoyance, ║ │
│║ but I could basically see the writing on the ║ │
│║ wall for Stratovarius the minute I saw the ║ │
│║ ridiculous title of this single. This is the ║ │
│║ sort of title that demands bad lyrics for the ║ │
│║ sake of consistency of theme, although as an ║ │
│║ instrumental it would be less offensive in light ║ │
│║ of PrimusÆ quirk ôSpace Farmö and SatrianiÆs ║ │
│║ ôMystical Potato Head Groove Thingö, but this ║ │
│║ isnÆt a band that puts out singles featuring ║ │
│║ genre bending instrumental feats. But the ║ │
│║ reality of this song is even more obnoxiously ║ │
│║ awful than itÆs name would suggest. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ôManiac Danceö, in any of its 3 forms on here, ║ │
│║ is an exercise in drudgery that only a mid-90s ║ │
│║ Machine Head drone could love. Putting aside the ║ │
│║ goofy video game sounding intro, the popping ║ │
│║ Soundgarden drum production, and the rather ║ │
│║ banal and flat vocal display out of Kotipelto; ║ │
│║ what is heard here is hyper-repetitive, over- ║ │
│║ simplified fluff that tries to pretend at being ║ │
│║ heavy. At first listen one might be fooled into ║ │
│║ thinking that the principle riff tries to mimic ║ │
│║ ôEnter Sandmanö, a song that is only mildly ║ │
│║ annoying in spite of being played to death. But ║ │
│║ true scrutiny will reveal something more closely ║ │
│║ resembling the most unmemorable of the filler ║ │
│║ heard out of MetallicaÆs late 90s flop ôReloadö. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ One might be possessed to give this some ║ │
│║ leniency based on the b-side perks found on ║ │
│║ here, but barring even the fact that 2 variants ║ │
│║ on an already terrible song make the majority of ║ │
│║ them, the results here are insulting even to the ║ │
│║ most rabid of Tolkki cultists. The Ritso mix is ║ │
│║ a slight reprieve in that the production is a ║ │
│║ little less obnoxiously loud and pretentious, ║ │
│║ and that the repetition has been cut a little ║ │
│║ bit, but otherwise its just the same smattering ║ │
│║ of dull grooves and idiotic lyrics. The demo ║ │
│║ version simply shows Timo playing a long ║ │
│║ electric guitar, as if heÆs writing the song as ║ │
│║ heÆs going. It might seem interesting to hear ║ │
│║ once if you worship at the Tolkki altar, but ║ │
│║ after that it is little more than used up shelf ║ │
│║ space. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Perhaps the sole reason why this didnÆt get ║ │
│║ slapped with a 0 is the inclusion of ôUnitedö, ║ │
│║ albeit in an unnecessarily short version of the ║ │
│║ most memorable song on the album that this ║ │
│║ preceded. As with any band drawn from the ║ │
│║ lineage of old school heavy metal, when all else ║ │
│║ fails, start channeling ôHeaven And Hellö. If it ║ │
│║ can save Dream Evil from total disaster and lift ║ │
│║ Hammerfall up into the sky, it can at least do ║ │
│║ the former for an obviously tired and nearly ║ │
│║ bankrupt power metal mainstay like this. ItÆs ║ │
│║ down tempo, it is heavily repetitive, but damn ║ │
│║ is it catchy as hell and totally on point in ║ │
│║ spite of the lackluster production. It canÆt ║ │
│║ save this single, but for those who are hesitant ║ │
│║ to pick up the 2005 full length itÆs found on, ║ │
│║ this is the song that changes it from an ôavoid ║ │
│║ at all costsö album to something that makes the ║ │
│║ bargain bin cut. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - Maniac Dance [04:38] │
│ 02 - United (Edit) [05:28] │
│ 03 - Maniac Dance (Risto Asikainen Quantum Mix) [03:54] │
│ 04 - Maniac Dance (Original Demo From Hastfitta [04:39] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [18:39 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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