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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
│ │
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│ + Oz - Roll the Dice-(BMCD 11) + │
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│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.nov-01-2017 Encoder......L3.98.4 -V0 --lowpas ║ │
│║ Genre........Heavy Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........1991 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........10 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.ozofficial.com ║ │
│║ ║ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Oz Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Roll the Dice-(BMCD 11) Label : Black Mark ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Though not really a huge disaster, "Decibel ║ │
│║ Storm" was in many aspects the end of the line ║ │
│║ for Oz, as dwindling album sales were followed ║ │
│║ by significant line-up changes. The most ║ │
│║ dramatic departure was of bassist/songwriter Jay ║ │
│║ C. Blade, who was lured away by an offer to join ║ │
│║ a promising band based in USA called Princess ║ │
│║ Pang. Guitarists Speedy Foxx and Spooky Wolff ║ │
│║ would soon walk out the door too, and who would ║ │
│║ bet a dime on a tired horse like Oz at this ║ │
│║ point? Well, it seems that Ape De Martini (now ║ │
│║ adopting yet another soubriquet, Tapani Anselm) ║ │
│║ and Mark Ruffneck weren't really willing to ║ │
│║ accept defeat, and after a long while a stable ║ │
│║ lineup with Michael Lundholm (G), Fredrik ║ │
│║ Th÷rnblom (B) and J÷rgen Schelander (K) was ║ │
│║ secured. The sole surviving product from this ║ │
│║ collaboration, "Roll the Dice" was a hopeless ║ │
│║ effort almost from inception, but it does have ║ │
│║ enough interesting features to deserve a ║ │
│║ mention, so let's give it at least the courtesy ║ │
│║ of a proper review. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Not that it is a load of garbage, mind you. The ║ │
│║ new faces are undeniably competent and the ║ │
│║ overall musicianship cannot be faulted, so it's ║ │
│║ not like you're heading for torture when you ║ │
│║ push the 'play' button. Things start perfectly ║ │
│║ well with the title track BTW: despite a very ║ │
│║ dull and unnecessary keyboard intro, the song ║ │
│║ itself is reasonably strong and presents a ║ │
│║ charming and catchy chorus. But proceedings get ║ │
│║ quite monotonous soon after that, with a bunch ║ │
│║ of songs that does not have much to show and ║ │
│║ present no truly memorable moments whatsoever. ║ │
│║ Not to mention the perceivable shift towards ║ │
│║ accessible waters, a choice that immediately ║ │
│║ contradicts almost all the good predicates we're ║ │
│║ used to associate with Oz. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Jay C. Blade may not have been a true genius of ║ │
│║ innovation, but he sure knew his trade as a ║ │
│║ songwriter, and "Roll the Dice" suffers from a ║ │
│║ perceivable lack of creative ideas due to his ║ │
│║ absence. You soon realize that the riffs are ║ │
│║ mostly bland and predictable, Tapani Anselm's ║ │
│║ voice is too soft for its own good (though he ║ │
│║ sure tried to liven things up with some high- ║ │
│║ pitched singing in places), the chorus are far ║ │
│║ from impressive and the keyboards serve no ║ │
│║ purpose but to tenderize songs that are not that ║ │
│║ heavy in the first place. Studio production ║ │
│║ doesn't help matters either, as everything ║ │
│║ sounds pale and bereft of energy. There's ║ │
│║ nothing blatantly wrong with tunes like "Lost ║ │
│║ Generation", "Rock On", "Night Crime" and ║ │
│║ "Thousand Miles" - but still you won't remember ║ │
│║ a thing about them after they're gone, as they ║ │
│║ show no genuine appeal or any signs of real ║ │
│║ metal substance. Some tunes, such as "Out of ║ │
│║ Touch" and the aforementioned "Roll the Dice", ║ │
│║ fare slightly better, but still far from enough ║ │
│║ to change the feeling of overall ║ │
│║ dissatisfaction. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ After perilously flirting with self-parody, Oz ║ │
│║ metamorphoses into a decadent form of watered- ║ │
│║ down heavy metal with no true bite and nothing ║ │
│║ interesting to say - hardly the most efficient ║ │
│║ way to resurrect a career, I'm afraid. If few ║ │
│║ would pay a dime to listen to the former, who ║ │
│║ would want to have anything to do with the ║ │
│║ latter? I will give the lads credit for trying ║ │
│║ their best, but I'm sorry to say they got it all ║ │
│║ wrong, as I seriously doubt anyone but the most ║ │
│║ diehard Oz fans will have this album in high ║ │
│║ regard. It will therefore cause no surprise to ║ │
│║ learn that "Roll the Dice" failed to sell in ║ │
│║ substantial quantities at the time of its ║ │
│║ release, and soon Oz would realize the writing ║ │
│║ was on the wall for them. Disbanding was most ║ │
│║ probably the only choice left after their latest ║ │
│║ CD flopped into oblivion, and no noise would be ║ │
│║ heard from Oz for no less than 20 years. A much ║ │
│║ needed time to regain their metallic strenght, I ║ │
│║ would add, as their latest activities are more ║ │
│║ than enough to demonstrate. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - Roll The Dice [04:33] │
│ 02 - Lost Generation [03:46] │
│ 03 - Ropck On [04:27] │
│ 04 - Midnight Lady [04:00] │
│ 05 - Runaways [03:59] │
│ 06 - Out Of Touch [02:55] │
│ 07 - Thousand Miles [03:37] │
│ 08 - Alive [03:27] │
│ 09 - Not Enought [03:58] │
│ 10 - Night Crime [04:40] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [39:22 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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