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Artist: Heavenly |
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Well with the festive season out of the way it’s time to play catch up, Christmas normally means a slow down in album releases but not in 2009 they just kept on coming. So apologies to labels and artists for the late reviews but it’s back to normal, so the first of the catch up albums is the new album from French Power Metallers Heavenly entitled 'Carpe Diem', where we find the band have carried on where their excellent 'Virus' left off. The album get's off in traditional Heavenly style with the title track ‘Carpe Diem’, an all out balls to the wall Metal extravaganza, featuring stampeding guitar solo’s, thunderous bass lines and massive double-kick drum beats. This song simply explodes and takes over the very soul as all good Power Metal should. There is no holding back as the band power on through with the excellent ‘Lost In Your Eyes’. Again riff spewn melodies mixed with monster rhythms all wrapped up in a fantastic chorus. One of the highlights of the album for me for sure. The band have obviously been influenced by Freddie Mercury and Queen as ‘Farewell’ has just a touch of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' about it with the keyboards, so much so that I found myself starting to singing “ANYWAY THE WIND BLOWS” at the end of the track. It’s back to the full force Power Metal with a favourite of mine, the titanic ‘Full Moon’. A real tour de force almost Helloween in stature, which I suspect are perhaps yet another of the bands many influences. The band go back to that Queen influence with the piano taking over from the guitars on the intro to ‘A Better Me’, before this song takes off with a massive, almost choral vocal, the guitar once again takes this one off of the map as far as splendour goes. This has to be one of the best songs off the album. Although all out track of the album has to be the masterclass in the art of true Power Metal ‘Ashen Paradise’, which has it all, a driven guitar sound, a double-kick drum assault and an equally pummeling bass line, all coated in a wonderful vocal. Again there is a touch of Helloween with a dash of Gamma Ray about this song, not a bad mix and one that will meet with the approval of many Power Metal and traditional Metal fans out there. The big bold piano sounds are once again present on the imposing ‘Face Of Truth’, another giant of a track before the grandiose overture that is ‘Ode to Joy’, which is quite simply Power Metal at it’s most massive. The album closes in epic style with ‘Save Our Souls’, which is another song that pushes the envelope of the genre even further. A great way to end what is a superb album and one that will surely put French Power Metal back on the international map. |
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Tracklisting:
1. Carpe Diem
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