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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
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│ + Diviner - Fallen Empires + │
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│║ Release Information ║ │
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│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.nov-29-2015 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Heavy Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2015 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........10 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.divinerband.com ║ │
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│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Diviner Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Fallen Empires Label : Ukterium ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ulterium Records has done it again and managed ║ │
│║ to find another great power metal band from ║ │
│║ Greece. Fallen Empires, the debut album from ║ │
│║ Diviner is one you donÆt want to miss is you ║ │
│║ like power metal with a European flair along the ║ │
│║ lines of bands like Black Fate, Empire 21, ║ │
│║ ReinXeed, and Iron Savior. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Although itÆs getting late in 2015 and Fallen ║ │
│║ Empires is the debut release from Diviner, the ║ │
│║ Greek band traces its origins back to 2011 when ║ │
│║ friends Yiannis Papanikolaou and Thimios Krikos ║ │
│║ decided to start creating music. A short time ║ │
│║ into the writing project friends and local metal ║ │
│║ musicians George Maroulees , Herc Booze, and ║ │
│║ Fragiskos Samoilis joined the project and the ║ │
│║ lineup was complete. The vision behind their ║ │
│║ sound is to create pure metal music that is ║ │
│║ powerful, intense, deep, heavy, dark and ║ │
│║ inspired , while at the same time incorporating ║ │
│║ a modern sound. The band pulled in Peter In de ║ │
│║ Betou for mastering, which was a good choice ║ │
│║ given his background with the likes of Arch ║ │
│║ Enemy, Opeth, and Amon Amarth. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ I will make this easy for those who donÆt like ║ │
│║ to read long reviews. If youÆre a metal fan, go ║ │
│║ pick this up! This is one of those albums that ║ │
│║ sounds great on first listen and really gets ║ │
│║ better with each successive listening ║ │
│║ experience. With new bands, the question always ║ │
│║ asked is ôWho do they sound likeö. Well, they ║ │
│║ sound like Diviner but I realize thatÆs not ║ │
│║ terribly helpful except that it tells you this ║ │
│║ is a band that can craft their own sound from ║ │
│║ the influences of the members. To me, I liken ║ │
│║ them to what might happen if you had Iron Maiden ║ │
│║ playing songs similar to the old Dio-era Rainbow ║ │
│║ days. Each song has that sense of majesty to it, ║ │
│║ but does have a modern metal feel and the vocals ║ │
│║ of Yiannis Papanikolaou are simply amazing, ║ │
│║ perfect for the songs. Yiannis manages to ║ │
│║ channel the power and feel of Dio but retains ║ │
│║ his own distinct sound. The cover image is ║ │
│║ literally perfect for describing the epic, ║ │
│║ timeless feel of the songs. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Listening to new bands is always a fun ║ │
│║ experience as often I go into the process ║ │
│║ completely blind, just hitting start so I get ║ │
│║ the first impression without any bias. On Fallen ║ │
│║ Empires, the title track opens up the album and ║ │
│║ the beginning guitar riffs, sounding similar to ║ │
│║ the Metallica cover of Am I Evil had me thinking ║ │
│║ this might be a thrash album but then the main ║ │
│║ riff and groove came in and I was hooked as soon ║ │
│║ as the vocals started. The overall song ║ │
│║ structure really does remind me of older Rainbow ║ │
│║ material but the guitars and drums are more akin ║ │
│║ to Iron Maiden as I mentioned earlier. The skill ║ │
│║ in the musicianship is immediately obvious, from ║ │
│║ the great guitar riffs and solos to the complex ║ │
│║ drum fills with restraint being shown in terms ║ │
│║ of double bass use. Production and mixing is ║ │
│║ literally perfect for the genre, the sounds are ║ │
│║ blended nicely and every instrument and vocals ║ │
│║ are distinct and clear within the mix. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Perhaps the only quibble I can literally find ║ │
│║ with the album is that four of the songs start ║ │
│║ out with a short pick slide before going into ║ │
│║ the main riff. There, I said something negative. ║ │
│║ So along those lines, both the opening title ║ │
│║ track and the second song ôKingdom Comeö start ║ │
│║ out that way but you can easily see how short ║ │
│║ the similarities between the songs are as they ║ │
│║ diverge immediately. Many of the songs on the ║ │
│║ album have been written with an approach similar ║ │
│║ to the epic storytelling found in many older ║ │
│║ metal bands and also characteristic of many Iron ║ │
│║ Maiden songs. Along those lines, the band has ║ │
│║ the song ôEvilizerö that hearkens back to the ║ │
│║ days when metal bands would pull out obscure ║ │
│║ terms or invent their own for songs. Songs like ║ │
│║ ôEvilizerö also showcase the band taking ║ │
│║ advantage of having the two guitarists as they ║ │
│║ can trade solos and solo in harmony, and in all ║ │
│║ cases on the album, the solos fit the songs and ║ │
│║ add to them and are not just an opportunity for ║ │
│║ the guitar players to show off their skills. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ôCome into My Gloryö is the first video from the ║ │
│║ band and interestingly they chose to make it a ║ │
│║ lyric video. To me this somewhat unexpected as ║ │
│║ the vocals throughout the album are very clear, ║ │
│║ so while this approach makes great sense for a ║ │
│║ death/black metal band, I found this a less than ║ │
│║ obvious choice on the surface. What I will say ║ │
│║ though is that the background imagery used that ║ │
│║ has darkness and fog surrounding a medieval ║ │
│║ castle and a hooded figure perfectly fits the ║ │
│║ overall tone and feel of the album. Again ║ │
│║ keeping with the genre and what I believe their ║ │
│║ influences are, the bandÆs lyrics incorporate an ║ │
│║ interesting feel. Combined with an authoritative ║ │
│║ delivery, the lyrics in this song and others ║ │
│║ provoke an image of the speaker shouting ║ │
│║ defiantly in the face of an enemy. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ôCome into My Glory, to the edge of dawn, where ║ │
│║ the sun is standing high foreveràCome into my ║ │
│║ glory, climb into my throne, to the realms of ║ │
│║ pride and the light of soulsàöthe coming of ║ │
│║ justice that lives inside our hearts, the night ║ │
│║ of salvation, the ending of damnation, no death ║ │
│║ any longer, no fear weÆll be strongeràö ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Many of the songs on the album will feel ║ │
│║ familiar to metal fans as they incorporate ║ │
│║ elements that weÆve heard before, but the way ║ │
│║ they arranged and delivered makes them feel ║ │
│║ fresh. Heavy riffs abound in songs like ôThe ║ │
│║ Shadow and the Dark while other songs like ôThe ║ │
│║ Legend Goes Onö starts out a bit different and ║ │
│║ actually throughout the song sounds more like ║ │
│║ Iron Maiden than others songs on the album. The ║ │
│║ album closes with ôOut in the Abyssö which might ║ │
│║ be their most ambitious track as it is the ║ │
│║ longest at near seven minutes and features a ║ │
│║ stronger background keyboard element that is ║ │
│║ absent or less prominent in other tracks. ║ │
│║ Yiannis breaks from his usual vocal styles on ║ │
│║ occasion on this track as well, which adds to ║ │
│║ the interest level. Midway through the track it ║ │
│║ goes in an entirely different direction as the ║ │
│║ speed picks up dramatically following a slower ║ │
│║ interlude. Changes like these are sprinkled ║ │
│║ throughout the album and serve to keep the ║ │
│║ listener interested. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ For a debut album, this is really pretty ║ │
│║ amazing. On first listen this is one of the best ║ │
│║ albums of the year and each successive listen it ║ │
│║ seems to keep getting better. If melodic metal ║ │
│║ with a somewhat dark tone and feel to it is ║ │
│║ something you like, this is one to pick up. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Herc Booze - Bass ║ │
│║ Fragiskos Samoilis - Drums ║ │
│║ George Maroulees - Guitars ║ │
│║ Thimios Krikos - Guitars ║ │
│║ Yiannis Papanikolaou - Vocals ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - Fallen Empires [04:24] │
│ 02 - Kingdom Come [04:40] │
│ 03 - Evilizer [04:41] │
│ 04 - Riders From The East [05:56] │
│ 05 - The Legend Goes On [04:31] │
│ 06 - Come Into My Glory [04:38] │
│ 07 - Seven Gates [04:53] │
│ 08 - The Shadow And The Dark [04:18] │
│ 09 - Sacred War [04:47] │
│ 10 - Out In The Abyss [06:44] │
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│ Total Length : [49:32 minn │
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│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
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│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
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│ │
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