As a fan of Yes, I've heard the names of Roine Stolt and The Flower Kings multiple times around the internet, and when I reviewed his solo album that started the band, I was impressed with it's Yes-like qualities, while noting that it was a bit more chill. Here, we have the official debut album for the band, and it's very much more of the same, but with a greater emphasis on jazz fusion, really.
The album starts off with "Worlds of Adventures," a 13-minute epic which sets the stage for the album to follow, with hints of Yes, the Beatles, and even Genesis. It's pretty clear the band is most comfortable in the instrumental parts where the band gets to vibe on its uplifting layers of sound. From there, the album mostly stays there, with a few deviations to break things up. "Go West Judas" is a little harder and darker, "Temple of the Snakes" and "The Wonder Wheel" are moody and ambient in-betweeners, and "My Cosmic Lover" has quite the psychedelic groove going for it.
As for the lyrics, they're okay, but can't quite shake the feeling that they're an afterthought compared to the rest of the music (though they are well sung). As a consequence, the pieces tend to be more about mood than movement, but their performance is solid and tight. Overall, it feels like a laid back Yes, with some occasionally spicy moments, which also describes the big 13-minute closer "Big Puzzle." Not bad, but perhaps lacking in energy.
Finally getting around to a current release, Firewind's self-titled album is actually their ninth. They're best known for the band that introduced Gus G to the world, who would later join Ozzy's band for a while. That being said, outside of a few songs, I haven't really listened to Firewind before this, so I won't be able to say what affect their new singer Herbie Langhans has on the band.
The album kicks off with a great opener with "Welcome to the Empire," starting off a bit soft before kicking it into high gear with power. This is followed by three other great songs in "Devour," "Rising Fire," and "Break Away" (the last of which is another highlight of the album). However, after that, the album sort of gets weaker, with the second half dominated by mid-tempo tracks that aren't as memorable and sound more like a neo-classical version of that Herman Frank album from last year.
Of course, that isn't necessarily a deal breaker. The album is big and crunchy, and full of noodly pyrotechnics from Gus, and Langhans's gravelly voice fits the material well, but I felt myself losing interest as the album went on. I guess I was expecting more power metal from the release. Solid stuff, but a bit underwhelming by the end.
After the hearing the classic metal elements in the Firewind album, I was in the mood for some old-school, gritty metal and put this on. Better known for their crunchy 80s anthems, Accept hit a hard hiatus in the 90s, and this album represents their major comeback with new vocalist, Mark Tornillo. I had heard good things about this album, but hadn't gotten around to it until now, and I clearly missed out on a great traditional metal album!
The first thing I noticed was the production, as everything just sounds huge. The second thing is, of course, Tornillo's vocals. They are front and center and demand attention! Comparisons to Udo are hard to deny, what with the iconic grit and wails, but I think Tornillo has a bit of a charming snarl like Brian Johnson, providing a lot of character to the songs.
And how about those songs? Accept has always been nothing but straight-forward crunchy metal, and they bring that here in spades. Filled with tight execution and some solid song-writing, the album really doesn't have many low points. A number of the songs have some interesting dynamic elements as well, shifting from softer to louder sounds and back again with a practiced ease, which helps prevent the album from becoming monotonous.
Throughout the whole thing, the riffs are powerful while remaining quite simple and catchy, the vocals soar, and the solos are the right mix of melody and shred. The stand-out songs for me are "Teutonic Terror," "Blood the Nations," "Time Machine," "Rolling Thunder," "Pandemic," and "No Shelter." Honestly, it's a solid album, like the 80s never ended!
To be honest, I'm listening to a lot of albums in anticipation of those monthly anniversary articles, as I'm discovering I have a number of gaps to fill if I want a reasonably long playlist of songs for each one. Of course, that just means I get to listen to lots of rock and metal from all eras, which is what I wanted to do in the first place! So I guess I just keep listening to stuff and cranking out these articles. Until then, rock on! \m/
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