Freedom to Music
Archive for December, 2011
Nemrud – Journey of the Shaman (2010) (@256)
21 Dec 2011
Thanks to OzOz for the review contribution.
(Review from progarchives.com, amazon)
Nemrud hails from Turkey, led by Mert Gocay who is behind the most of the compositions and lyrics. Mert Gocay was running the Turkish Eloy website for many years and a friend of Eloy’s Frank Bornemann. Inevitably there is a huge Eloy influence in Nemrud’s music.
The band blends progressive rock elements with many variations of psychedelic/space rock and adding some nice melodic eastern flavors. The songs bear a blend of relaxed and uptempo moments which are comprising many repetitive patterns.
Their debut, “Journey of the Shaman” is a concept album. According to shamanism all man on earth has to go through the underworld to reach the sky. There are three long cuts on the album timing between 12-17 minutes. Each cut tells the story of this journey: the earth, underworld and the sky.
Part 1 basically starts Eloy oriented in a more relaxed manner. Decent synths coupled with acoustic guitar are reminding of Pink Floyd in between. Heavy riffing guitars and minimoog excursions open Part 2 but it soon changes to a melancholic touch due to acoustic guitar and fretless bass. Part 3, offers a nice trancy start which then evolves to a groovy behaviour step by step including sparkling e-piano, additionally decorated with Gocay’s riffs and excellent organ input.
Line-up:
- Mert Gocay / guitar, vocals
- Harun Sonmez / drums, cymbals
- Aycan Sari / bass
with
- Mert Topel / keyboards
- Hakan Suersan / bass, fretless bass
- Dogac Titiz / drums
Track List:
01. Part I – 15:50
a. In The World Of Dreams
b. Beginning Of Divine Inspiration
c. Revival
d. A Stone In The Ocean
02. Part II – 12:00
a. A Farewell To Sun
b. Fly To Underground Without The Past
c. Fight With The Evil Spirits
03. Part III – 17:20
a. A Journey To Innerself
b. Scourge Of Nemrud
c. In All Stages Of Immortality
d. Jump To Final Dimension Through The Seventh Sky
Link in comments.
Whitesnake – Forevermore (2011) (@256)
16 Dec 2011
Thanks to OzOz for the review contribution.
(Review from hardrockhaven.net, geeksofdoom.com, dangerdog.com)
“Forevermore” is Whitesnake’s 11th studio album, coming out in 2011. It faithfully follows the same pattern as their previous album, 2008′s “Good to be Bad”, meaning it wisely and effortlessly meshes together the various eras of Whitesnake’s history.
Coverdale, singing in a lower register since he can no longer hit the notes of old, and your expectations for this album should be filtered through that fact.
More than compensating for the standard issue vocals is some stupendously strong guitar work. There is simply nothing negative that can be written about the twin axe attack launched by Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach. These two rock legends play with such scorching energy that it’s a wonder they don’t melt the strings.
The whole feel of the album is warm and organic without crossing the line into artificial gloss and glitz, allowing the melodic edges to really shine.
With few exceptions, this is solid Whitesnake. With the blues-based formula, while inventing nothing new, this is one impressive and hard rocking album.
There’s life in the old snake yet.
Line-up:
- David Coverdale / vocals
- Doug Aldrich / guitars
- Reb Beach / guitars
- Michael Devin / bass
- Brian Tichy / drums
Track List:
01. Steal Your Heart Away – 5:18
02. All Out Of Luck – 5:27
03. Love Will Set You Free – 3:51
04. Easier Said Than Done – 5:12
05. Tell Me How – 4:40
06. I Need You (Shine A Light) – 3:48
07. One Of These Days – 4:52
08. Love & Treat Me Right – 4:13
09. Dogs In The Street – 3:47
10. Fare Thee Well – 5:17
11. Whipping Boy Blues – 5:01
12. My Evil Ways – 4:32
13. Forevermore – 7:21
14. Whipping Boy Blues (SWAMP MIX) – 5:58
Link in comments.
Whitesnake – Live at Donington 1990 (@256)
15 Dec 2011
Thanks to OzOz for the review contribution.
(Review from hardrockhaven.net)
Recorded during the tour in support of Slip of the Tongue, Live at Donington 1990 showcases the band at the end of their decade of huge popularity, celebrating the glitz and glamor that was eighties metal. Add to that the fact that this tour boasted the insane guitar pairing of Steve Vai and Adrian Vandenberg, and the result is a great live Whitesnake release.
The set list covers everything one would expect from a mid-period Whitesnake show. In addition to the then-new album material, we get the pre-metal, sex-heavy classics (“Slide It In,” and “Slow and Easy”) the band’s first major UK hit (“Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City”) and of course, MTV favorites “Is This Love”, “Here I Go Again” and “Still of the Night”. While fans of the first two Coverdale solo LPs and bluesy early Whitesnake may feel the set is a bit too 1980s heavy, considering the impact both the self-titled record and their latest album had, it’s still a great celebration of the band at its popularity peak.
Musically, there is nothing to complain about. Vai and Vandenberg both exemplify 1980s shred excess, but both also understand the need to pull things back at times. Even the more blues-influenced songs retain their original vibes, which is surprising.
This album just proves that even as the musicians get older, good music truly doesn’t age.
Line-up:
- David Coverdale / vocals
- Steve Vai / guitar
- Adrian Vandenberg / guitar
- Rudy Sarzo / bass
- Tommy Aldridge / drums
Track List:
CD1
01. Slip Of The Tongue – 6:52
02. Slide It In – 5:02
03. Judgement Day – 5:55
04. Slow & Easy – 8:11
05. Kittens Got Claws – 4:58
06. Adagio For Strato – 3:00
07. Flying Dutchman Boogie – 3:53
08. Is This Love – 4:45
09. Chaep & Nasty – 4:20
10. Crying In The Rain – 13:27
CD2
01. Fool For Your Loving – 6:01
02. For The Love Of God – 5:12
03. The Audience Is Listening – 3:01
04. Here I Go Again – 5:42
05. Bad Boys – 6:16
06. Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City – 8:26
07. Still Of The Night – 7:59
Link in comments.
No More Mr Hotfile Guy
15 Dec 2011
Hotfile has been descending for the last year, following their trials in the US. Finally they have terminated my account too, making all the albums in the blog unavailable through their fileserver.
Not to worry though, Filesonic and Rapidshare mirrors are still active.
