Freedom to Music
Posts tagged Northern Kings
Northern Kings – Rethroned (2008) (@256)
24 Apr 2010
(Review from revelationz.net, wikipedia)
On their debut, the Northern Kings all came together for one song on that debut release, the masterful Tina Turner cover of “We Don’t Need Another Hero” and then split the rest of the covers between individual singers. In “Rethroned” vocal duties are shared more often, with 5 songs sung by all four singers and 2 of them are duetted.
The songs are even more far fetched than their debut, spanning niche pieces such as Depeche Mode’s “Strangelove” to 80s classics like “Wanted Dead or Alive”. Even songs you would not imagine would ever fall to the sword of this genre, like Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”, are thrown to the howling wolves and given the metal makeover. There’s even an instrumental thrown in as an opener from the Rocky IV motion picture.
Line-up:
- Marco Hietala / vocals (2-4, 7, 8, 10, 11)
- Tony Kakko / vocals (3-5, 7, 8, 10)
- Jarkko Ahola / vocals (3, 4, 6-11)
- Juha/Pekka Leppaluoto / vocals (3, 4, 7-10)
Track List:
01. Training Montage (Instrumental Vince DiCola) – 3:32
02. Wanted Dead Or Alive (Bon Jovi) – 3:49
03. Kiss From A Rose (Seal) – 6:02
04. A View To A Kill (Duran Duran) – 5:18
05. Nothing Compares 2 U (Prince/Sinead O’Connor) – 6:39
06. My Way (Frank Sinatra) – 4:21
07. Strangelove (Depeche Mode) – 4:33
08. Take On Me (A-ha) – 3:56
09. I Should Be So Lucky (Kylie Minogue) – 4:42
10. Killer (Adamski/Seal) – 4:31
11. A Rock Legend (Thin Lizzy) – 7:29
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Northern Kings – Reborn (2007) (@256)
22 Apr 2010
(Review from amazon, revelationz.net)
Northern Kings is a Finnish symphonic metal cover supergroup. The Kings are comprised of four vocalists, who are all frontmen of successful Finnish heavy metal bands — Marco Hietala from ‘Nightwish’ and ‘Tarot’, Tony Kakko from ‘Sonata Arctica’, JP Leppaluoto from ‘Charon’ and Jarkko Ahola from ‘Terasbetoni’. Each vocalist has his own trademark sound, including deep, satanic, operatic metal rock vocals. It’s all-consuming and larger than life.
The band masterminded the idea of recording their own metal versions of an electic selection of pop staples. Unlike most bands who try to reproduce the sound and arrangements of the original songs, the Northern Kings have deconstructed the arrangements, by coming up with their own renditions, most of which is backed with metal guitars, a full symphonic orchestral backing, and electronic enhancements.
The general vibe on the album is to give the metal makeover a fully orchestrated backing (string section, the works), with some electronic noodling thrown in . The metal guitars are prevalent, but there is the northern vibe of the band’s renditions. It’s not a gimmick, but it is very dramatic, very lush and grandoise sounding.
The sonic attack of the bands’ take on each song just blows you away. Unlike most artists or bands who record a cover, the version is traditionally inferior and not a patch on the original. It’s quite an accomplishment to take a song like Peter Gabriel’s ‘Sledgehammer’ or Lionel Richie’s ‘Hello’ and give it a new lease of life.
Hearing songs from a variety of genres and decades turned completely on their heads is an awesome way to spend the afternoon, especially when the tracks are tackled with such passion and no thought to consequence in forcing the listener to think outside the box.
You’ve heard these songs before… just never like this.
Line-up:
- Marco Hietala / vocals (1, 2, 6, 10)
- Tony Kakko / vocals (2, 3, 5, 8)
- Jarkko Ahola / vocals (2, 9, 12)
- Juha/Pekka Leppäluoto / vocals (2, 4, 11, 13)
Track List:
01. Don’t Stop Believin’ (Journey) – 5:29
02. We Don’t Need Another Hero (Tina Turner) – 4:48
03. Broken Wings (Mr. Mister) – 5:32
04. Rebel Yell (Billy Idol) – 7:29
05. Ashes To Ashes (David Bowie) – 4:39
06. Fallen On Hard Times (Jethro Tull) – 3:54
07. I Just Died In Your Arms (Cutting Crew) – 5:49
08. Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel) – 5:08
09. Don’t Bring Me Down (Electric Light Orchestra) – 4:06
10. In The Air Tonight (Phil Collins) – 4:35
11. Creep (Radiohead) – 5:38
12. Hello (Lionel Richie) – 4:31
13. Brothers In Arms (Dire Straits) – 6:59
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