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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
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│ + Black Abyss - Land Of Darkness-(CD 5.3023.20.561) + │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
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│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Jan-11-2018 Encoder......L3.98.4 -V0 --lowpas ║ │
│║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2000 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........10 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.black-abyss.de ║ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Black Abyss Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Land Of Darkness-(CD 5.3023.20.561) : B.O. Records ║ │
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│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ever since hearing this bandÆs 2004 release ║ │
│║ ôAngels Wear Blackö IÆve been a big proponent of ║ │
│║ their sound, recommending them to countless ║ │
│║ metal fans looking for some unknown power metal. ║ │
│║ Much as with that release, 2000Æs ôLand of ║ │
│║ Darknessö is likewise a terrific album, ║ │
│║ transcending the limitations of the power metal ║ │
│║ genre by, as with many of their German brethren, ║ │
│║ mixing in aggression in the form of numerous ║ │
│║ thrash and traditional influences. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ These guys are classified as ômelodic power ║ │
│║ metalö on their main MA page; thatÆs hardly a ║ │
│║ fitting description, for this is the sort of ║ │
│║ stuff that would cause fans of the flowery ║ │
│║ melodic power metal to squirm in disgust and ║ │
│║ ennui. Why, you might ask? Well, letÆs start ║ │
│║ with the vocals. If you were tasked to imagine a ║ │
│║ cross between Matt Barlow and Ozzy, itÆs very ║ │
│║ likely you could not envision anything more ║ │
│║ exact than what Olliver Hornung sounds like most ║ │
│║ of the time. He possesses a very commanding ║ │
│║ voice, often classifiable as ôsoaringö yet never ║ │
│║ strained to hit high notes, very few of which ║ │
│║ exist on the disc. Toss in some lower, angry ║ │
│║ thrash-like wailing, and youÆve got a vocalist ║ │
│║ far removed from what is generally seen as par ║ │
│║ for the course. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Much the same, the guitar work shares common ║ │
│║ power and thrash bases, often sounding perhaps ║ │
│║ like an Iced Earth in which Shaffer let up a bit ║ │
│║ on the 100mph palm-muted riffs and instead added ║ │
│║ more melodic leads. Actually, the tone is very ║ │
│║ IE-like, with the production favoring a sharp, ║ │
│║ slicing sound over a deep, messy one. In turn ║ │
│║ this gives the bass guitar room to breathe as ║ │
│║ its own instrument, though not a whole lot is ║ │
│║ done thatÆs terribly interesting. Guitar solos ║ │
│║ are used quite effectively. While none of them ║ │
│║ stick out as ômust hearö solos, they mostly work ║ │
│║ well within the context of each song. Finally, ║ │
│║ drummer Andreas Heidmann is pleasantly ║ │
│║ restrained in his playing. Instead of all-out ║ │
│║ double bass fests, most songs use a variety of ║ │
│║ patterns that lend further variety to the ║ │
│║ record. As has been proven a thousand times ║ │
│║ over, saving the raging double bass barrages for ║ │
│║ certain sections is so much more effective than ║ │
│║ just mindlessly hammering away on them for the ║ │
│║ duration of a song. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ IÆll skip a track-by-track analysis, but will ║ │
│║ mention a few standouts. Opener ôEye of the ║ │
│║ Stormö kicks things off well, being perhaps the ║ │
│║ most traditionally ôpower metalö song on here. ║ │
│║ ôChainbreakerö and especially ôBetrayerö are the ║ │
│║ thrashiest of the bunch, with the latter having ║ │
│║ a sound that is much closer to, well, doomy ║ │
│║ thrash than any sort of power metal I know of. ║ │
│║ ôFrozen Tearsö and the title track both have the ║ │
│║ feeling of being almost power ballads, thanks in ║ │
│║ part to the slowed down, less aggressive ║ │
│║ approach in the guitar section. Finally, the ║ │
│║ Maiden cover û itÆs just about spot-on in all ║ │
│║ regards, save for the vocals. You see, the song ║ │
│║ was done as a duet with Hornung and Wizard ║ │
│║ singer Sven DÆAnna. Hornung is great, even ║ │
│║ uncannily seeming to take on a Dickinson-ish ║ │
│║ accent, except retrofitted to his own lower ║ │
│║ delivery style. DÆAnna, on the other hand, seems ║ │
│║ overmatched at times. Hornung wisely doesnÆt ║ │
│║ even attempt any soaring vocals, but when DÆAnna ║ │
│║ sings ôWe wonÆt live to fight another dayàö, his ║ │
│║ range is stretched WAY past its comfort zone. ║ │
│║ HeÆs okay when not trying to emulate the ║ │
│║ original song too closely, but overall he simply ║ │
│║ seems average compared to Hornung. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Regardless, this thing is one hell of ║ │
│║ power/thrash disc. ItÆs essentially the bandÆs ║ │
│║ debut since the ôrealö debut was a private ║ │
│║ pressing and is simply impossible to find. ║ │
│║ Anyone looking for some power metal with a ║ │
│║ darker edge and hints of thrash should be in ║ │
│║ heaven with it. Indeed, Black Abyss as a band ║ │
│║ should appeal to lot of metalheads. Apparently ║ │
│║ they are still quite an unknown, so start ║ │
│║ spreading the word. These guys deserve to be ║ │
│║ huge. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Review written by Aeturnus65 - metal- ║ │
│║ archives.com ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Olliver Hornung - Vocals ║ │
│║ Markus Weiser - Guitar ║ │
│║ Stefan R÷der - Guitar ║ │
│║ Bernd Gerosa - Bass ║ │
│║ Andreas Heidmann - Drums ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - ERye Of The Storm [04:33] │
│ 02 - Black Mirror [03:55] │
│ 03 - Chainbreaker [05:31] │
│ 04 - Burning Bridges [04:58] │
│ 05 - Frozen Tears [05:05] │
│ 06 - Hunted Forever [05:25] │
│ 07 - The Trooper [04:28] │
│ 08 - The Missing Link [05:11] │
│ 09 - Betrayer [03:34] │
│ 10 - Land Of Darkness [06:19] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [48:59 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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