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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
│ │
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│ + Astral Doors - Worship or Die + │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Rls Date..2020-05-30 Encoder......LAME 3.100 ║ │
│║ Genre.....Heavy Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year......2019 Khz/Bitrate..44.1 / VBR kbps ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper....Anthem Songs........12 ║ │
│║ Source....CD Covers.......Yes ║ │
│║ Url..http://www.astraldoors.com ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Astral Doors ║ │
│║ Album : Worship or Die ║ │
│║ Label : Metalville ║ │
│║ Cat.No : MV0210 ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ It is stipulated that without innovation, metal and all ║ │
│║ that it stands for would wither and die, yet most of the ║ │
│║ great music that it gives us all comes largely in the form ║ │
│║ of bands that spend more time affirming past ║ │
│║ accomplishments and only occasionally bringing something ║ │
│║ completely new to the table. Astral Doors is one of those ║ │
│║ bands that has raised the concept of repackaging the glory ║ │
│║ of the past into something in line with present practices ║ │
│║ to an art form. They've been at the business of answer the ║ │
│║ question of "What would Dio do?" since they first entered ║ │
│║ the fray at the tail end of the power metal revival in ║ │
│║ 2002, and the answer given dovetails fairly closely with ║ │
│║ something that Dio would have been fairly open to ║ │
│║ attempting, namely blending the European heavy/power metal ║ │
│║ sound of the post-millennial period with the sound of Dio's ║ │
│║ high period in the mid-1980s. Their chief draw has always ║ │
│║ been the highly distinctive and Dio-like vocal persona of ║ │
│║ Nils Patrik Johansson, who has since become a highly sought ║ │
│║ after voice in power metal circles, and their latest ║ │
│║ offering Worship Or Die puts that same best foot forward ║ │
│║ while reaffirming what this band has always been about in ║ │
│║ predictable fashion. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Naturally from one album to the next there will be some ║ │
│║ degree of variation, and this time around the pendulum has ║ │
│║ shifted towards more catchy, moderate length anthems with a ║ │
│║ fanfare chorus emphasis that comes off as a bit less ║ │
│║ intense and dark than Notes From The Shadows, but otherwise ║ │
│║ resembles said album the most in terms of structure. This ║ │
│║ is obviously in opposition to the somewhat more epic and ║ │
│║ nuanced character of their previous outing Black Eyed ║ │
│║ Children, functioning more as a Last In Line to said ║ │
│║ album's Dream Evil. The field is largely dominated by more ║ │
│║ mid-paced and catchy anthems in the vein of mid-80s Dio ║ │
│║ classics such as "Evil Eyes" and "Breathless", as observed ║ │
│║ in infectious bangers like "Concrete Heart", "Night Of The ║ │
│║ Hunter" and "Ride The Clouds". Things actually veer into ║ │
│║ Sacred Heart territory for a bit with the keyboard-driven ║ │
│║ romp "Let The Fire Burn", which is something of an unusual ║ │
│║ twist for this band's generally heavier emphasis on cars ║ │
│║ and greater reliance on Deep Purple-oriented rock organ ║ │
│║ sounds from the keys. Likewise, the lone speed metal foray ║ │
│║ "Triumph And Superiority" shows some affinity for "I Speed ║ │
│║ At Night", but also comes with some "Kill The King" ║ │
│║ inspired moments mixed in with a Helloween sense of fanfare ║ │
│║ chorus work. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ All this being said, Astral Doors doesn't outright eschew ║ │
│║ the epic demeanor of their last outing for this album's ║ │
│║ entire duration, yet the way their longer songs work here ║ │
│║ is notably of a less haunting and more straight up ║ │
│║ melancholy character. The serene mix of clean guitar lines ║ │
│║ and harmonized leads followed by a mid-paced trudge that is ║ │
│║ "Light At The End Of The Tunnel" shows a strong commonality ║ │
│║ with "Children Of The Sea", painted over with a European ║ │
│║ power metal sense of chorus work. The somewhat darker ║ │
│║ "Marathon" veers the closest to the haunting chills of ║ │
│║ "Black Eyed Children", albeit of a slightly swifter ║ │
│║ galloping character once the quiet intro segues into the ║ │
│║ heavier body of the song. And though it isn't a necessarily ║ │
│║ long song, the closer "Forgive Me Father" presents a ║ │
│║ woeful, doom-oriented take on heavy metal balladry that ║ │
│║ mirrors elements of the last album while also listening the ║ │
│║ closest to an overt throwback to the 80s era. Then again, ║ │
│║ the generally colossal character of "St. Petersburg", which ║ │
│║ leans pretty heavy on the "Heaven And Hell" emulation, ║ │
│║ proves to be the show-stealing moment of this album, so it ║ │
│║ may well be that old tricks are always the best ones. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ To anyone who has been a consistent fan of this band for ║ │
│║ any duration since 2002, this plays things about as close ║ │
│║ to home as one can without outright self-plagiarizing ║ │
│║ previous albums. There are a few moments that may shine a ║ │
│║ bit brighter this time relative to the last couple ║ │
│║ offerings depending on how much epic songwriting versus ║ │
│║ straightforward rocking one prefers, but it's a pretty safe ║ │
│║ bet that liking one Astral Doors album means liking them ║ │
│║ all. They live and die by the quality of their performance ║ │
│║ more so than any innovative quirks in their songwriting, ║ │
│║ and it'll likely be a cold day in hell before Nils has an ║ │
│║ off day at the microphone. The rest of the band are ║ │
│║ obviously no slouches and the riff work is nothing to be ║ │
│║ scoffed at, but one area where this band has differed a bit ║ │
│║ from their object of emulation is that there isn't an ║ │
│║ emergent second star to function as a foil for Johansson ║ │
│║ the way Vivian Campbell, Craig Goldie and Doug Aldrich did ║ │
│║ on their respective work with the king of rock 'n' roll. ║ │
│║ There are no slouches to speak of, and there are a few ║ │
│║ moments of technical brilliance, but overall this band is a ║ │
│║ well oiled machine that features instrumentalists providing ║ │
│║ the backdrop for a stellar voice, and it continues to work ║ │
│║ for them nine albums into their career with no bumps in the ║ │
│║ road to speak of. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 1. Night of the Hunter 4:42 │
│ 2. This Must Be Paradise 4:03 │
│ 3. Worship or Die 3:15 │
│ 4. Concrete Heart 3:57 │
│ 5. Marathon 6:39 │
│ 6. Desperado 4:44 │
│ 7. Ride the Clouds 3:59 │
│ 8. Light at the End of the Tunnel 5:52 │
│ 9. St. Petersburg 4:56 │
│ 10. Triumph & Superiority 4:10 │
│ 11. Let the Fire Burn 3:47 │
│ 12. Forgive Me Father 4:58 │
│ │
│ │
│ Total Length : 00:55:02 │
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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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