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Does
anybody remember the 2 classic Heavens Gate albums; 'In Control'
(1989) and 'Livin' in Hysteria' (1991)? The heart and soul of the
band were off course vocalist Thomas Rettke and guitarist Sascha
Paeth, and even though Heavens Gate released some very fine pieces
of metal, the big breakthrough never came, and they called it quits
after the release of 'Menergy' in 1999.
While
it has been quite silent in the Rettke camp ever since - he did
appear on the 'Aina: Days of Rising Doom' metal opera, Sascha Paeth
has off course made a household name of himself as a highly
respected metal producer since the days of Heavens Gate. Now they
are back together in style...
Just
like it was the case with Heavens Gate the key to success here is
Judas Priest! Heavily influenced by them, sometimes a bit too
obvious to me, they plough thru 11 NWoBHM songs transcended into the
new millennium with conviction and ease. Thomas Rettke proves just
how good a power metal vocalist he is and Sascha Paeth has to be one
the most underrated lead guitarist around, and the supporting cast
of André Borawski (Guitars), Klemens Klarhorst (Bass) and Daniel
Eichholz (Drums) does a solid job here as well.
But
somehow the spark never ignites, this never get beyond OK. This is a
fine collection of respectable songs, but I wish a few were standing
out, because the potential surely is there... but that's not the
case, so we end up with a acceptable release, which should appeal to
fans of NWoBHM as well as power metal.
Check
it out...
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