Freedom to Music
Posts tagged Tony Kakko
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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Nightwish – Over The Hills And Far Away (EP 2001) (@256)
09 Apr 2010
(Review from wikipedia)
“Over the Hills and Far Away” comprises of 4 brand-new tracks – a cover, a remake and two original songs written specially for this EP.
The beautiful rendition of the Gary Moore classic “Over the Hills and Far Away” elevates the song to entirely new proportions, complete with the blaring guitars, keyboard riffs and soaring operatic vocals. The mesmerizing “10th Man Down”, a song written about the gruesome reality of war. It is a midtempo song with some really great guitar riffs. “Away” is the ballad of the EP, the chorus to it is simply unforgettable. The EP closes with a remake of “Astral Romance” from the band’s debut album, featuring the vocals of Sonata Arctica’s Tony Kakko, quite an improvement over the original vocals of Holopainen.
During the tour of “Over the Hills and Far Away”, tension was building up among members, centering on Sami Vanska’s missing appointments and not taking the gigs as seriously as the others. By the end of the tour, the band unofficially broke up.
Line-up:
- Tuomas Holopainen / Keyboards
- Tarja Turunen / Vocals
- Erno “Emppu” Vuorinen / Guitars
- Sami Vanska / Bass
- Jukka Nevalainen / Drums
with
- Tapio Wilska / Vocals (1, 2)
- Tony Kakko / Vocals (1, 4)
Track List:
01. Over The Hills And Far Away – 5:03
02. 10th Man Down – 5:24
03. Away – 4:33
04. Astral Romance (2001) – 5:22
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Nightwish – From Wishes To Eternity (Live 2001) (@256 + Video)
07 Apr 2010
(Review from wikipedia, progarchives.com, metaleater.com)
The band’s first live album was recorded in Tampere, Finland on the 29th of December 2000, during the Wishmaster tour. Nightwish was becoming a international smash, but they were still with that novice’s passion and eager to show the world their power.
The songs sound fantastic and are almost studio quality. Aside from the bassist who stands in one place, the band members are energetic and get due attention from the camera, though Tarja remains the focus. Jukka Nevalainen likes to twirl his drumsticks, which adds an entertaining flare to his tight playing.
The performance is bolstered by a tasteful use of lighting and pyro. Often you see the silhouettes of crowd members clapping along to the songs, which is a nice touch. While there’s not much by way of stage banter, at least the dialogue is in English and Tarja’s accent rules: “I vant you to sing vith me”.
The atmosphere at the concert is superb and every time the camera cuts randomly to a section of the audience, there is a sea of outstretched arms and pointing index fingers of fans who are singing along word for word.
In addition to a show of Nightwish material, the band also performes a medley, “Crimson Tide, Deep Blue Sea”, which borrows melodies from many sources, including Hans Zimmer’s music in the 1995 movie Crimson Tide.
Line-up:
- Tuomas Holopainen / synthesizers
- Jukka Nevalainen / drums
- Tarja Turunen / lead vocals
- Sami Vanska / bass
- Emppu Vuorinen / guitar
with
- Tapio Wilska / male vocals (4)
- Tony Kakko / male vocals (14)
Track List:
01. The Kinslayer – 4:12
02. She Is My Sin – 4:49
03. Deep Silent Complete – 4:24
04. The Pharaoh Sails to Orion – 6:39
05. Come Cover Me – 4:44
06. Wanderlust – 4:34
07. Instrumental (Crimson Tide / Deep Blue Sea) – 3:29
08. Swanheart – 3:55
09. Elvenpath – 4:51
10. FantasMic Part 3 – 3:24
11. Dead Boy’s Poem – 6:52
12. Sacrament of Wilderness – 5:06
13. Walking in The Air – 5:10
14. Beauty & The Beast – 6:40
15. Wishmaster – 5:03
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