Adagio - Archangels In Black
- Thread starter Ultimate_Symphony
- Start date
February 2nd in Europe (Australia too I believe). Haven't seen anything referring to a Japanese or U.S. release though; which is strange being that all their releases thus far have come out in Japan first before anywhere else?
All I can do is laugh and mumble "power metal... power metal... tsk tsk"
I guess there are some influences of power metal there, although there has been since their very first release...
Sorry for the little rant, I just find it kind of funny that you are bashing a band for sounding like power metal on a message board dedicated to a band that sounds much more power metal influenced. I know these new songs are nothing like Underworld; however, I do think they have some influences of it and feel this release will be a lot better than Dominate. If you want to hear Adagio play some cliche power metal listen to "Fire Forever" off of Dominate....I am just glad nothing from the new album so far sounds even remotely like that song.
With both Dominate and this album it seems Stephan really enjoys adding death/extreme metal influences to the music and I don't think he has any intention of going back to making music like in Underworld. Which is a shame because that means Underworld will probably always be their best album...
Iced Dog
The Stormrider's Pooch
I thought Gus Monsanto was great on Dominate...I'll reserve judgement on the new guy till I hear the full album.
- Jul 18, 2002
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Phanto
Alalalalalalalala.
stop saying they're power metal influenced. if anything, SX and Adagio are power metal influenced by other genres.
- Jul 18, 2002
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Well, I have listened through this album quite a few times now and feel I can pass judgment on it.
First off I would like to to say right now that Archangels in Black is not as good as Underworld; however, being that Underworld is one of my personal all time favorite albums, it certainly doesn't mean that AIB is not a great album! There are two reasons why I feel that Underworld is still the better album. First is that I feel Underwold is still their most progressive effort, the second reason is David Readman's vocals.
New vocalist Christian Palin (no relation (I hope..) to Sarah Palin) is not as good of a vocalist as Readman....big surprise there! Even so, he is a very competent singer and what I am finding I like about him is that his style is somewhat similar to Readman's. I hope they keep him for the long haul instead of switching up singers again later, I feel that he has a lot of promise. I was not too keen on Gus Monsanto and was a bit disappointed with the Dominate album in general as it was a pretty simple album with only a few highlight tracks.
Now for the meat of the album, the music! I have already read a few "professional" reviews for AIB and they seem to be quite mixed. So far it seems that there are those that don't like the thrash/black metal influences (and growls) that are scattered throughout the album, while there are some who do like those things but don't care for the main vocals (Palin's singing) and power metal influences. For me it is the mix of these two things that make it so fresh and enjoyable. Don't be alarmed, AIB is by no means a thrash and growl fest as these elements are not used as much as you might think. They are placed throughout the album quite well except maybe in the opening track "Vamphyri", even so I have grown to think of it as a trivial matter. The vocals are mostly clean while every track is bursting with melody, especially the choruses which I feel are the epitome of melody. All the choruses are for the most part sung with clean vocals too except for a few small exceptions. The chorus in "The Fifth Ankh" is of a more black metal style with the first couple lines being growls and the last couple being sung. This however is probably the most extreme chorus on the album by a long shot. The other example is one of my favorite moments on the album. The chorus for "Undead" starts off with a couple lines of growls over some thrashy guitar and then just kind of abruptly yet perfectly changes to a catchy and soaring melody.
The verses are also well done and don't get boring due to creative lyrical rythm; however, what really makes this album great to me is Kevin Codfert's keyboard. I loved his influence in Underworld and feel he was a big factor in what made that album so great to me, but it seemed that his influece was quite lacking in Dominate. On this album I feel he is even more prevalent than on Underworld as his piano melodies seem to be what holds all the songs together so well. Even when the music is loud (except maybe the few times the music suddenly takes on a pure blast beat black metal sound) you can clearly hear his keys. Unlike a lot of other bands with keyboard players, Adagio don't let the keys get drowned out by the rest of the music (poor Pinella). This is probably one of the biggest factors of my liking of AIB. There is of course plenty of solos in every song by Stephan Forte. I cannot remember any particular solos at the moment but probably will later once I have heard the album more. Also, the choruses are so catchy and melodic that they really seem to outshine the solos.
To conclude, I used to be one of those people that just didn't like growls or blastbeats at all; however, over time I slowly developed a liking and appreciation for them. I think that those, like me, that can appreciate the extreme influences as much (or at least almost as much) as the rest of the music will be the ones to enjoy this album the most. While Underworld is a 10/10 in my book, Dominate really disappointed me; therefore, I really was very skeptical about AIB and am not just a raving Adagio fan. I would rate this album either an 8 or 9 out of 10. A 9 for now as long as it retains a lasting value on me like Underworld.
First off I would like to to say right now that Archangels in Black is not as good as Underworld; however, being that Underworld is one of my personal all time favorite albums, it certainly doesn't mean that AIB is not a great album! There are two reasons why I feel that Underworld is still the better album. First is that I feel Underwold is still their most progressive effort, the second reason is David Readman's vocals.
New vocalist Christian Palin (no relation (I hope..) to Sarah Palin) is not as good of a vocalist as Readman....big surprise there! Even so, he is a very competent singer and what I am finding I like about him is that his style is somewhat similar to Readman's. I hope they keep him for the long haul instead of switching up singers again later, I feel that he has a lot of promise. I was not too keen on Gus Monsanto and was a bit disappointed with the Dominate album in general as it was a pretty simple album with only a few highlight tracks.
Now for the meat of the album, the music! I have already read a few "professional" reviews for AIB and they seem to be quite mixed. So far it seems that there are those that don't like the thrash/black metal influences (and growls) that are scattered throughout the album, while there are some who do like those things but don't care for the main vocals (Palin's singing) and power metal influences. For me it is the mix of these two things that make it so fresh and enjoyable. Don't be alarmed, AIB is by no means a thrash and growl fest as these elements are not used as much as you might think. They are placed throughout the album quite well except maybe in the opening track "Vamphyri", even so I have grown to think of it as a trivial matter. The vocals are mostly clean while every track is bursting with melody, especially the choruses which I feel are the epitome of melody. All the choruses are for the most part sung with clean vocals too except for a few small exceptions. The chorus in "The Fifth Ankh" is of a more black metal style with the first couple lines being growls and the last couple being sung. This however is probably the most extreme chorus on the album by a long shot. The other example is one of my favorite moments on the album. The chorus for "Undead" starts off with a couple lines of growls over some thrashy guitar and then just kind of abruptly yet perfectly changes to a catchy and soaring melody.
The verses are also well done and don't get boring due to creative lyrical rythm; however, what really makes this album great to me is Kevin Codfert's keyboard. I loved his influence in Underworld and feel he was a big factor in what made that album so great to me, but it seemed that his influece was quite lacking in Dominate. On this album I feel he is even more prevalent than on Underworld as his piano melodies seem to be what holds all the songs together so well. Even when the music is loud (except maybe the few times the music suddenly takes on a pure blast beat black metal sound) you can clearly hear his keys. Unlike a lot of other bands with keyboard players, Adagio don't let the keys get drowned out by the rest of the music (poor Pinella). This is probably one of the biggest factors of my liking of AIB. There is of course plenty of solos in every song by Stephan Forte. I cannot remember any particular solos at the moment but probably will later once I have heard the album more. Also, the choruses are so catchy and melodic that they really seem to outshine the solos.
To conclude, I used to be one of those people that just didn't like growls or blastbeats at all; however, over time I slowly developed a liking and appreciation for them. I think that those, like me, that can appreciate the extreme influences as much (or at least almost as much) as the rest of the music will be the ones to enjoy this album the most. While Underworld is a 10/10 in my book, Dominate really disappointed me; therefore, I really was very skeptical about AIB and am not just a raving Adagio fan. I would rate this album either an 8 or 9 out of 10. A 9 for now as long as it retains a lasting value on me like Underworld.
progmetaldan
Member
- Jul 18, 2002
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Christian's downfall is that he sounds way too similar to David, I feel that he didn't try to find his own voice. His other problem is that his harsh vocals are weak as hell, they would be better off without them (or learn to do 'em better). Other than that he filled the David's shoes pretty damn good, much better than Gus that's for sure.
As a whole, I feel happy with the album. They stepped up a lot this time, considering the piece of crap that Dominate is (sorry, had to say it
).Im not going to lie, I'm really not a huge Adagio fan. As a band they are very musically talented, and I really enjoy Underworld. But Ive never been able to get into there other stuff, I find there isn't enough variety on their albums. So I get bored quickly when every song, sounds alot like the last. I havent really heard the new album, that one song doesn't do it for me though.
Christian's downfall is that he sounds way too similar to David, I feel that he didn't try to find his own voice. His other problem is that his harsh vocals are weak as hell, they would be better off without them (or learn to do 'em better). Other than that he filled the David's shoes pretty damn good, much better than Gus that's for sure.
As a whole, I feel happy with the album. They stepped up a lot this time, considering the piece of crap that Dominate is (sorry, had to say it
Well, I don't see his sounding like David a downfall at all. I felt David's voice was perfect for Adagio, and since they can't have him now why not go for someone with a similar type of voice? Also, just because he sounds similar to David doesn't mean it is not his own voice? Of course maybe it isn't his own and he actually is trying to sound like David? Either way we have no way of really knowing, at least for now.
One last thing. I may be wrong in this as I am going by the way it was in Dominate, but, I am pretty sure the growls are done by Stephan Forte. I also don't understand how the harsh vocals are really weak as they sound similar to almost any others that I have heard. How would you go about really critquing these type of vocals in the first place?
In exactly the same way you would criticize clean vocals. Overall sound, tone, the range. There are different styles of harsh vocals and every harsh vocalist sounds different. And I can tell you now, Stephan Forte's vocals are raspy, dry and weak.
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When one judges (as a singing critic) a vocalist, it is never good to listen to a singer having so many similarities to another one. One of the very first things vocal coaches teach you is to find your own voice. Of course we can never know just from this album alone if he's trying to sound like David or if that is in fact his own voice, only time will tell us that, but i'm just calling it as I see it right now.
Yes, you're dead wrong. I don't know what black metal and death metal you have heard (i'm compelled to say not much), but saying they sound similar to almost any others you have heard is stretching it way too far.
I'm not entirely sure what's so hard to understand for you that someone else critiques their harsh vocals. Like you have your formed views through experience on certain subjects, I have mine on others. I've listened to a ton of death and black metal (which most people here hate) and I can tell the vocals are weak, uninspired and hollow. Whoever did them seems not to have a real understanding of these types of vocals and just did them for the sake of doing them, not trying to bring something extraordinary to the table and doing a sub-par effort just to differentiate himself from the pack (listen to The Fifth Ankh for an example of this).
Ps. I think you're right though about Stephan being the one who does the Growls, I just looked at my Dominate CD and it says he does vocals as well. They just didn't specify which.
Detective Clarence Beauregard
Dehumanized
I've listened to the first six tracks from the album, and so far, it's kind of a letdown for me. The songs just seem cluttered and quickly thrown together to my ears. Perhaps it will grow on me, and hopefully I'll enjoy the last three tracks more than the first six.
I loved Underworld, and I really liked Dominate, too (why does everyone hate it?) In fact, I think tracks 3-6 on Dominate are some of the best material the band has written. Also, I thought the growly vocals on Dominate were WAY better than they are on Archangels. Never knew Stephan did them, though.
I loved Underworld, and I really liked Dominate, too (why does everyone hate it?) In fact, I think tracks 3-6 on Dominate are some of the best material the band has written. Also, I thought the growly vocals on Dominate were WAY better than they are on Archangels. Never knew Stephan did them, though.
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So true, in fact the growling vocals are the only thing (vocal wise) I enjoy from that album.
The Emptier
t3h b3aSt0rZ
Detective Clarence Beauregard
Dehumanized
The verses of R'yleh get me every time. He sounds like a demon or something.
Ps. I think you're right though about Stephan being the one who does the Growls, I just looked at my Dominate CD and it says he does vocals as well. They just didn't specify which.
I am pretty sure he does them because I remember before Dominate came out that he was talking about how the new album (Dominate) would have harsh vocals in it that were done by none other than himself. I would only assume that he does them on AIB as well, but I may be wrong. If you like the harsh vocals on Dominate I don't see what you have against them in AIB? Maybe it has something to do with where they used them in each song...maybe they are just placed in bad spots. I haven't listened to Dominate in a while so it may have something to do with that?
BTW, I don't hate Dominate, I just felt it was a massive step down from Underword. It still has it highlight tracks like Children of Dead Lake, Darkitecht, and the title track. I really didn't like Fire Forever (cheesy stereotypical power metal opener) and Fame (a cover of Fame....really!?). I forget the name of the really short piano piece but I loved it and hated that it was so short.
I am pretty sure he does them because I remember before Dominate came out that he was talking about how the new album (Dominate) would have harsh vocals in it that were done by none other than himself. I would only assume that he does them on AIB as well, but I may be wrong. If you like the harsh vocals on Dominate I don't see what you have against them in AIB? Maybe it has something to do with where they used them in each song...maybe they are just placed in bad spots. I haven't listened to Dominate in a while so it may have something to do with that?
BTW, I don't hate Dominate, I just felt it was a massive step down from Underword. It still has it highlight tracks like Children of Dead Lake, Darkitecht, and the title track. I really didn't like Fire Forever (cheesy stereotypical power metal opener) and Fame (a cover of Fame....really!?). I forget the name of the really short piano piece but I loved it and hated that it was so short.
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Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the harsh vocals in AIB. I'm just making some observations based on experience.
Btw, It doesn't have anything to do with how the used them, it's how they did them. I remember the one's on Dominate being better than the one's on the new one.
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