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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
│ │
│ │
│ + Jon Oliva's Pain - Maniacal Renderings + │
│ │
│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Sep-28-2014 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2006 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........14 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.jonoliva.net ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Jon Oliva's Pain Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Maniacal Renderings Label : AFM ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ I said at the end of my review for Jon Oliva's ║ │
│║ Pain's last CD, "Tage Mahal," that I would ║ │
│║ believe Jon's claim that the new CD would be ║ │
│║ totally different and better when I heard it. ║ │
│║ Well, I have heard it and I believe it; this ║ │
│║ album destroys the previous on so many levels ║ │
│║ that it is hard to believe that this is the same ║ │
│║ band. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Don't get me wrong, though. This is still what ║ │
│║ you would expect from a Jon Oliva side project: ║ │
│║ neoclassical metal of the highest sort, with a ║ │
│║ couple of surprises thrown in. For one thing, ║ │
│║ there are a handful of riffs and ideas from ║ │
│║ Criss Oliva that Jon apparently found in his ║ │
│║ attic. Any fan of old-school Savatage will ║ │
│║ immediately pick out a riff or section and know ║ │
│║ that Criss wrote or at least influenced it. Jon ║ │
│║ sings in the same sort of growl that he has been ║ │
│║ using since his work on ôDead Winter Deadö and ║ │
│║ his keyboard work is as prominent as ever, ║ │
│║ including a keyboard solo in the title track. ║ │
│║ There is also a section in ôThrough the Eyes of ║ │
│║ the Kingö where Jon uses a pipe organ; it came ║ │
│║ out of nowhere and knocked me on my back. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The lead guitar work is so much better than Tage ║ │
│║ Mahal as well; this isnÆt random wanking, these ║ │
│║ solos, although plentiful, have a point and are ║ │
│║ far more interesting. The guitar tone is much ║ │
│║ more powerful this time around, as opposed to ║ │
│║ the piss-poor production on the previous album, ║ │
│║ and it allows the guitars to lay a solid ║ │
│║ foundation on which Oliva can construct his ║ │
│║ ideas.s ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The songs themselves donÆt seem as rushed as ║ │
│║ before, and Jon fills all of the songs with his ║ │
│║ trademark melodies and hooks (any Savatage fan ║ │
│║ will know what IÆm talking about). ôThe Answerö ║ │
│║ is the first Savatage ballad (and by ôSavatage ║ │
│║ ballad,ö IÆm referring to those ballads that all ║ │
│║ had similar song structures to ôBelieveö) that ║ │
│║ isnÆt incredibly cheesy and over-the-top. On the ║ │
│║ contrary, this song is more down-to-earth and ║ │
│║ melancholy; the chorus is so emotional, that ║ │
│║ lead guitar that comes in near the end is so ║ │
│║ moving, and the piano outro stays in the ║ │
│║ listenerÆs mind and haunts it. ôTimeless Flightö ║ │
│║ is another better than average ballad; that is, ║ │
│║ until there is a false ending and the heavy ║ │
│║ guitar riffs kick in. Overtop of those riffs are ║ │
│║ nice dual guitar leads while Jon screams ôTake ║ │
│║ me to the promised landö over and over. A rather ║ │
│║ odd song, but it is just so high-quality itÆs ║ │
│║ impossible not to like. For the first several ║ │
│║ listens, I was rather unimpressed with ôHoles,ö ║ │
│║ that is, until it snuck up on me and blew me ║ │
│║ away. The main riff mixed with JonÆs voice just ║ │
│║ fits together so well, and there is an awesome ║ │
│║ shredding section at the end. There is also a ║ │
│║ nice shredding section in the middle of the ║ │
│║ title track as well (amidst the aforementioned ║ │
│║ keyboard solo and a classical-sounding section ║ │
│║ that sounds like something Criss wrote). ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Unfortunately, this album has a big flaw: there ║ │
│║ are only enough riffs to fill up about 50% of ║ │
│║ the album. The rest of the time there is usually ║ │
│║ a generic chug-chug riff with maybe an ║ │
│║ occasional pinch harmonic thrown in (ôTime to ║ │
│║ Dieö). The rest of the title track (apart from ║ │
│║ the sped up solo section and the beautiful ║ │
│║ classical piano part) suffers from this problem ║ │
│║ as well, not to mention that the male choir ║ │
│║ chorus makes me wince. Also, the rest of the ║ │
│║ band pretty much just does their job and nothing ║ │
│║ more, making this seem more like a Jon Oliva ║ │
│║ solo project (which it kind of is, but they ║ │
│║ market themselves as an actual band) with a ║ │
│║ better than average lead guitarist. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Still, this album surprised me in that the ║ │
│║ lyrics were a strongpoint of the album. ItÆs ║ │
│║ kind of hard to forgive Jon for singing about ║ │
│║ rainbows on Tage Mahal, but this album has a ║ │
│║ central theme: Jon is weary of life and is ║ │
│║ reaching out for help. There are some deep ║ │
│║ religious themes, which may turn off some metal ║ │
│║ heads, but itÆs hard to fault Jon, because they ║ │
│║ are so personal and honest, as opposed to 95% of ║ │
│║ lyricists out there, who write either about ║ │
│║ politics that they have no grasp of, or typical ║ │
│║ metal fare that has been done to death and was ║ │
│║ never that great to begin with. ôThrough the ║ │
│║ Eyes of the Kingö and ôThe Answerö are probably ║ │
│║ the most blatant, but ôThe Answerö has probably ║ │
│║ the best lyrics I have seen from Oliva since ║ │
│║ ôSt. PatrickÆs.ö ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ So anyone who was disappointed in Tage Mahal is ║ │
│║ still encouraged to check this out, because ║ │
│║ perhaps that album was just a fluke. Even so, ║ │
│║ this album isnÆt perfect, better riffs are ║ │
│║ needed and the rest of the band has to actually ║ │
│║ contribute. Although it isnÆt perfect, ôManiacal ║ │
│║ Renderingsö is still a worthy successor to ║ │
│║ Savatage, even if it does not fully measure up ║ │
│║ to said bands pervious output. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
│ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - through the eyes of the king [04:35] │
│ 02 - maniacal renderings [07:45] │
│ 03 - the evil beside you [04:51] │
│ 04 - time to die [04:26] │
│ 05 - the answer [05:38] │
│ 06 - push it to the limit [03:02] │
│ 07 - who's playing god [04:16] │
│ 08 - timeless flight [06:53] │
│ 09 - holes [05:10] │
│ 10 - end times [07:51] │
│ 11 - still i pray for you now [03:17] │
│ 12 - reality's fool (bonus track) [11:08] │
│ 13 - the dark (live) (bonus track) [05:54] │
│ 14 - people say - gimme some hell (live) (bonus [04:04] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [78:50 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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