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Artist: Evil Masquerade |
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Well it's here, the fourth and without the doubt the finest Evil Masquerade album to date, ‘Fade To Black’. The band led by Henrik Flyman on guitars has seen a couple of band member changes since the bands 'Third Act' release of 2007. But if you're gonna replace members, then putting the likes of Daniel Forbes in the drum seat and Johan Niemann on bass, can only be seen as a positive step forward, and with Apollo Papathanasio remaining the vocalist, this line-up alone just wets the appetite for what’s to come on the album. With immediate effect Flores makes his mark on the album with Niemann at his side the rhythm section powering through the opener ‘Lights Out’. Flyman whips up a storm on the guitar, but it’s the vocals of Papathanasio that really are the icing on this gigantic rock cake. His vocals are just so well suited to the bands sound, it's just a magical union to the ears. The
album continues it's power rock vibe with ‘In A Dungeon Close To
Hell’. This storming metal masterpiece rocks big style, with the
guitars of Flyman towering above the thumping rhythm section, once again
capped by Papathanasio’s tremendous metal vocals. Things are slowed down just a little and I mean just a little, with the hardened metal of ‘The Darkness Within’, another great track on which Flyman stamps his mark all over it. The band switch on a little classic vibe with the all guns blazing rocker ‘Hollow Soul’, on which Flores shows why he’s continues to be one of the best tub thumpers around today. With almost no time at all to catch your breath, the album powers on with ‘Different Shades Of Black’. Another pulsating hard rocker with Papathanasio doing a great Ronnie James Dio on this one. Then its really is time to enter the dark metal vibe with my favourite track off the album ‘Powertools’. This one's mixed and eerie vocals and doom laden bass, with some eastern mysticism guitar riff building by Flyman, provide a mix that shouldn’t work, but strangely does so quite beautifully. ‘The Ultimate Game’ is another track on which Flores power drumming comes shining through with Papathanasio rewriting the rules when it comes to metal vocals, as he fills the track with so much power and grace on a vocal level, that I haven’t heard is such a long time. There’s
no holding back on this album at all as it continues it’s magnificence
with ‘Desire And Pain’, then the evocative metal of ‘Diamond
Dust’, before rounding things off in true style with ‘I Believe In
Sin’. A right stormer to round off what is indeed Evil
Masquerade's finest hour. |
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Tracklisting:
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