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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
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│ + Holter - Vlad The Impaler-(KICP-1947) + │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Dec-23-2018 Encoder......L3.98.4 -V0 --lowpas ║ │
│║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2018 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........11 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... n/a ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Holter Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Vlad The Impaler-(KICP-1947) Label : King ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ In January of 2015, I encountered one of the ║ │
│║ biggest surprises of my music listening life. ║ │
│║ Jorn Lande and Trond Holter put out a concept ║ │
│║ album telling the story of Bram Stoker's ║ │
│║ "Dracula", which was complete with cheesy sound ║ │
│║ effects and a sense of camp that rivaled the ║ │
│║ 1960's Batman television show. It was the kind ║ │
│║ of absurdity I should have laughed at and ║ │
│║ discarded. Instead, the sheer sense of fun of ║ │
│║ the album transcended past the typical ║ │
│║ boundaries of heavy metal, and left that record ║ │
│║ not only as the far and away best record of the ║ │
│║ year, but one that remains one of my favorite ║ │
│║ records of the last five years.... period. ║ │
│║ Needless to say, this is a record that has a lot ║ │
│║ to live up to. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ First and foremost, we need to note the big ║ │
│║ change this time out. Jorn has been replaced ║ │
│║ with Nils K Rue of Pagan's Mind fame. Nils is a ║ │
│║ fine singer in his own right, but I will admit ║ │
│║ to some disappointment in his inclusion here. ║ │
│║ Not only is Jorn a singular talent, but Nils ║ │
│║ simply doesn't have the menace to his voice to ║ │
│║ make me believe he is a blood-thirsty murderer ║ │
│║ leaving a heap of bodies on pikes outside his ║ │
│║ castle walls. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ But we heard from "Worlds On Fire" and "I'll Die ║ │
│║ For You" that Holter didn't need Jorn around to ║ │
│║ come up with material that hit the right marks, ║ │
│║ with an infectious hookiness that knows playing ║ │
│║ things absolutely straight would be a huge ║ │
│║ mistake. Everyone involved knows that there is a ║ │
│║ spirit of fun to this project that maybe ║ │
│║ shouldn't be in a record telling the story of ║ │
│║ one of the most cruel men to ever walk the face ║ │
│║ of the earth, but it's precisely because of that ║ │
│║ the whole thing works as well as it does. ║ │
│║ Nothing about bloody death says there should be ║ │
│║ a guitar solo epic enough to recreate Slash's ║ │
│║ parts in the "November Rain" video, but we get a ║ │
│║ couple of them anyway, because why the hell not? ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The biggest difference between the two records ║ │
│║ is that this one is more of a straight-forward ║ │
│║ metal record, whereas "Dracula" had more ║ │
│║ theatrical and narrative moments to make the ║ │
│║ experience unique. That is a double-edged sword. ║ │
│║ To me, that robs this of a few bits of ║ │
│║ inspiration I was looking forward to, but I know ║ │
│║ a lot of people thought the first record went ║ │
│║ too far down that rabbit hole, so this ║ │
│║ refocusing will make this a more palatable ║ │
│║ outing. Not everyone grew up with Meat Loaf as ║ │
│║ their first musical love, the way I did. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ When Holter gets it right, he gets it totally ║ │
│║ right. Songs like "I'll Die For You" and "The ║ │
│║ Last Generation" are heavy metal with a ║ │
│║ theatrical flair to their massive hooks. The ║ │
│║ latter, sung by Eva Iselin Erichsen, feels ║ │
│║ entirely like a song that Dracula and Mina could ║ │
│║ have dueted on the last record. Her inclusion is ║ │
│║ one of the highlights of the album, as were her ║ │
│║ female predecessor's the last time 'round. ║ │
│║ Seriously, the Broadway prayer "Shadows Of Love" ║ │
│║ wouldn't be as effective with Nils behind the ║ │
│║ mic. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ "Without You" is this record's take on "Hands Of ║ │
│║ Your God", while "Under Your Skin" is akin to ║ │
│║ "Queen Of The Damned", both records feature ║ │
│║ penultimate instrumentals, and there's even a ║ │
│║ direct sequel in "Save Me Part II". So yes, it ║ │
│║ does feel a little bit like Holter is trying ║ │
│║ very hard to replicate the formula that made the ║ │
│║ first record special. Lightning can't be ║ │
│║ captured in a bottle, however, so those little ║ │
│║ callbacks not only tie the albums together, but ║ │
│║ invite comparisons that don't need to be there. ║ │
│║ "Vlad The Impaler" is a terrific album in the ║ │
│║ style of "Dracula", good enough that it doesn't ║ │
│║ need to hit us over the head with the ║ │
│║ connection. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ But minor gripes aside, Holter has taken vampire ║ │
│║ lore for another winning spin. No, it isn't as ║ │
│║ much a revelation as "Dracula" was, but it was ║ │
│║ never going to be. That album was a moment of ║ │
│║ inspiration that caught everyone off-guard, and ║ │
│║ it was the surprise factor that turned it from a ║ │
│║ great record into a defining one. This record ║ │
│║ had expectations coming in, and even though it ║ │
│║ nearly meets all of them, it was never going to ║ │
│║ knock me over, since I was already braced. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Let's not let that spoil a good thing. If you ║ │
│║ loved "Dracula", you'll feel the same way about ║ │
│║ "Vlad The Impaler". There's a lot of cheesy ║ │
│║ metal, a lot of conceptual metal, and a lot of ║ │
│║ dramatic metal. Holter wraps it all up in one ║ │
│║ package that is ruthlessly effective. Sort of ║ │
│║ like a certain historical figure. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Review written by Chris C for www.bloody-good- ║ │
│║ music.blogspot.com ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Nils K. Rue - Vocals ║ │
│║ Trond Holter - Guitars ║ │
│║ Eva Iselin Erichsen - Vocals ║ │
│║ Per Morten Bergseth - Drums ║ │
│║ Erling Henanger - Keyboards ║ │
│║ Bernt Jansen - Bass ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
│ │
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│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - he World┤s On Fire [04:12] │
│ 02 - Awakened [05:03] │
│ 03 - Drums Of Doom [05:14] │
│ 04 - The Last Generation [04:45] │
│ 05 - I┤ll Die For You [03:15] │
│ 06 - Shadows Of Love [04:51] │
│ 07 - Without Of You [02:35] │
│ 08 - Under My Skin [03:38] │
│ 09 - Vlad The Impaler [04:31] │
│ 10 - Save Me - Part II [06:41] │
│ 11 - Shadows Of Love (Acoustic Version) (Bonus [04:38] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [49:23 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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