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'Tattooed
Heart' is the second release from Evidence One and has to be one of the
finest albums I've heard, well at least since their acclaimed debut
'Criticize The Truth'. As one of my favourite bands to emerge over
the past five years, they come across as the genuine article.
The bands original concept was one of just being a studio project.
However, such was the praise of the bands debut album, that they have
had to abandon that view of the band and take the band out on the road.
It was at the Gods of AOR festival back in 2003 that I first got a taste
of the band. I was so well and truly blown away by the band and
the sound that they had put together, even though they're not strictly
an AOR band, that I promptly purchased a copy of their album 'Criticize
The Truth' and played it non stop for days thereafter!
'Tattooed Heart' show's the same high quality rock/metal sound, but this
time the band have manage to take it up to another level. As if
that was at all possible after their magnificent debut album, but
somehow they have managed to do just that.
From the opening track 'Moonsigh' with it's opening sweeping us off to
far away lands before ripping into a bombastic flurry of guitars and
drums. The track is the sort of track that wouldn’t go amiss on
a Ronnie James Dio album. What with its mystical mood, filled
chorus, and mysterious Egyptian feel, it truly is a great opener and
sets the tone for what is to come with the rest of the album.
Two of the high points on both the Evidence One albums is the high
production quality and the rich wealth of quality with the song writing.
Both of which are second to none and you'll be hard pushed to find
anything better at this point in time.
The second track 'Virus In My Veins' carries on where 'Moonsigh left
off'. Chosen by the band to be the first single released from the
album, its another high octane fuelled track that fires on all cylinders
and is a joy to listen to.
This album just gets better and better as each track unfolds. The
next piece of ear candy to delight the sense is 'Written In Blood',
which has some of the best guitar riffs on the entire album and is
simply superb.
The title track 'Tattooed Heart' brings forth a change in tempo and
showcases the diversity of the band to perfection. Sure it still has the
energy and power of the first three tracks, but contains a more moody
chorus and mid tempo drum beat. The same is said about the next
track 'Infinite Seconds', which unlike the previous track comes to a
thunderous end.
One of the highlights of the album (and there are so many) is 'When
Thunder Hits The Ground'. A track that just oozes rhythm and style
and is one of my personnel favourites off the album. 'In Love And
War' is probably the closest you'll get to a ballad, without being a
ballad in the true sense of the word, that you'll get on this album.
It's mellow without the mush and sentiment that you normally get with a
true ballad.
Then it's back to the hard stuff with 'Slave To The Machine' where lead
singer Carsten's vocals come into their own and shows him as the class A
vocalist that he is. 'Anything I Need To Know' is truly majestic
with its soaring guitars and vocals that fits superbly into the
framework of the album.
The final track is the almost Scorpion-esq 'Child Of Insanity' with the
content of its guitar driven mid section. Very Rudi Schenker.
If you purchase a copy of this album then try to get the version with
the added bonus track 'Wall Of Lies' on if you can. If you don't you'll
be kicking yourself later as this added bonus track once again shows the
true diversity of the band They manage to slip this powerful
melodic rock track in at the very end to finish the album on an almighty
high.
I don’t know why this track isn’t on the album proper so to speak as
it holds its own against any other track on the album. I can't
praise this album enough. Robby Bobel definitely made the right
decision when he wanted to create this second album with a bit more
power behind it. It's just simply magnificent and a well worth
raiding your piggy band for.
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