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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
│ │
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│ + Paragon - Steelbound + │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Sep-24-2014 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Heavy Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2001 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........11 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... n/a ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Paragon Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Steelbound Label : Remedy ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Paragon, like many bands to come out of the 90s ║ │
│║ German speed metal rebirth spearheaded by Gamma ║ │
│║ Ray, is a band of eras. Up until the close of ║ │
│║ the 90s their sound could be likened to a pure ║ │
│║ throwback, reminding heavily of a crop of 2nd ║ │
│║ tier speed/thrash outfits that accompanied the ║ │
│║ Teutonic trio in the mid 80s, yet were a bit ║ │
│║ more inclined towards the NWOBHM sound that was ║ │
│║ picked up by Accept earlier and translated into ║ │
│║ something a bit more acceptable to mainline ║ │
│║ listeners. But following their impressive 1999 ║ │
│║ effort "Chalice Of Steel", the band gained ║ │
│║ access to the reputed Remedy Records, alongside ║ │
│║ such noteworthy acts as Stormwarrior, Hibria and ║ │
│║ Twisted Tower Dire, and gained the ║ │
│║ studio/production expertise of Iron Savior ║ │
│║ founder and front man Piet Sielck. Suffice to ║ │
│║ say, while Paragon has endured as one of the ║ │
│║ most overtly 80s sounding members of the present ║ │
│║ German scene, the input of Sielck did much to ║ │
│║ modernize the overall character of their sound. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ When hearing the overall quality and depth of ║ │
│║ "Steelbound" one is instantly reminded of a ║ │
│║ number of familiar influences. Perhaps the two ║ │
│║ most overt are Judas Priest's "Painkiller" and ║ │
│║ Running Wild's "Pile Of Skulls", which are a ║ │
│║ familiar template for anyone who remembers ║ │
│║ subsequent albums out of Primal Fear and Iron ║ │
│║ Savior just before the close of the 90s. It ║ │
│║ differs slightly from both bands in that ║ │
│║ vocalist Andreas Babuschkin has a rougher, nasal ║ │
│║ character to his voice that is somewhat ║ │
│║ reminiscent of Manilla Road's Mark Shelton, ║ │
│║ particularly during the "Mystification" and "Out ║ │
│║ Of The Abyss" era. Piet Sielck provides backup ║ │
│║ vocals and actually proves to be an even deeper ║ │
│║ and nastier sounding foil to Babuschkin, almost ║ │
│║ to the point of giving it a similar thrashing ║ │
│║ character to that of that former's later work on ║ │
│║ Savage Circus, though musically what is going on ║ │
│║ here is much simpler and definitely points back ║ │
│║ to the speed metal glory days of Iron Angel and ║ │
│║ 80s Angel Dust. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ In spite of the extremely limiting formula at ║ │
│║ work here, being heavily reminiscent of older ║ │
│║ acts at around the same time in Running Wild and ║ │
│║ Grave Digger, Paragon makes some solid strides ║ │
│║ at mixing up the formula a bit. The obligatory ║ │
│║ cruisers like the post-apocalyptic ║ │
│║ "Thunderstorm", the galloping "Steelbound", the ║ │
│║ thudding riff monster "New Dark Age" and high ║ │
│║ flying "Reign Of Fear" definitely point to a ║ │
│║ band that is able to cook at high speed much ║ │
│║ like Gamma Ray and Helloween, while maintaining ║ │
│║ a less Neo-classical character and drawing more ║ │
│║ from mid-80s thrash bands in their lead guitar ║ │
│║ approach. But they prove to also be able to ║ │
│║ pummel the ears with a down-tempo monster in ║ │
│║ "Don't Wake The Dead" that literally comes ║ │
│║ within a few centimeters of being a b-side from ║ │
│║ Sabbath's "Dehumanizer". Similarly one can't ║ │
│║ help but note the latent Sabbath/Dio influences ║ │
│║ going on at the beginning of "Tears Of The ║ │
│║ Damned", though once the song gets going it has ║ │
│║ a bit more in common with some of the faster ║ │
│║ work on Iron Savior's "Dark Assault". But ║ │
│║ perhaps the most auspicious aspect of this album ║ │
│║ comes in with a truly overt 80s throwback in ║ │
│║ "Immortal", which literally listens like one of ║ │
│║ those gloomy, reverb-heavy semi-ballads out of ║ │
│║ mid-80s Judas Priest, and Babuschkin's vocalist ║ │
│║ actually manage to imitate Halford's mid-ranged ║ │
│║ croon quite competently. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ "Steelbound" marks the beginning of a turning ║ │
│║ point for Paragon, one where more people began ║ │
│║ to take notice thanks to an upgraded production ║ │
│║ that fits in a bit better alongside the likes of ║ │
│║ Hammerfall and Mystic Prophecy, both bands that ║ │
│║ had been making some waves in this style. It ║ │
│║ loses some of its retro charm and tends to ║ │
│║ listen almost like a side-project of Piet Sielck ║ │
│║ where he has ended up opting to be the man ║ │
│║ behind the scenes rather than the lead ║ │
│║ attraction, but it is understandable why most ║ │
│║ people tend to discover this band through either ║ │
│║ this album or the next 3 that followed it. ║ │
│║ Though this was still pretty early on in the ║ │
│║ power metal revival, this is definitely ║ │
│║ something that had been done before by other ║ │
│║ competent German bands, but it's always ║ │
│║ necessary to have a younger band to pass the ║ │
│║ torch to given that most of the others sporting ║ │
│║ this style had been in and out of the scene ║ │
│║ since the mid 90s. Sharpen up the axe and ║ │
│║ prepare for war, for metal knows not the meaning ║ │
│║ of surrender. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - Thunderstorm [03:52] │
│ 02 - Steelbound [04:14] │
│ 03 - Deathsquad [04:22] │
│ 04 - New Dark Age [05:59] │
│ 05 - Don't Wake The Dead [05:49] │
│ 06 - Reign Of Fear [04:18] │
│ 07 - Burning Bridges [05:23] │
│ 08 - Tears Of The Damned [05:37] │
│ 09 - Face II Face [03:53] │
│ 10 - Immortal [04:49] │
│ 11 - World Of Sin (Bonus Track) [04:18] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [52:34 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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