Evidence One - Tattooed Heart
Nuclear Blast - NB1313 - 15/11/04
By Patrick Walsh
Evidence One play that kind of power metal/AOR hybrid that tends to go down a storm in their native Germany. A mixture between speedier and more mid-paced moments can be found throughout Tattooed Heart, and with the guitars thankfully high in the mix it manages to avoid sounding overly pompous. The production eschews that godawful Euro-glossiness, and it's nice to hear a band who employ keyboards tastefully (i.e. every song isn't ruined by parping swaths of substandard 'orchestrations'), although with practically every single chorus falling into the 'huge' bracket, things can become a little overbearing at times.
Opener 'Moonsigh' turns out to be the highlight of the album, a wonderful middle-eastern riff making way for a proper mid-paced power metal epic. Unfortunately the rest of Tattooed Heart rarely lives up to the greatness of 'Moonsigh', and occasionally Evidence One step over the boundaries of good taste and into cringeworthy AOR balladry, 'In Love and War' being a case in point. Nonetheless, aforementioned opener and cuts like 'Slave to the Machine' are great tracks, and having toured with the likes of Saxon, Evidence One are certainly one of the less offensive bands of this ilk to emerge in some time.
7/10
Evidence One's Official Website
Nuclear Blast's Official Website
Nuclear Blast - NB1313 - 15/11/04
By Patrick Walsh
Evidence One play that kind of power metal/AOR hybrid that tends to go down a storm in their native Germany. A mixture between speedier and more mid-paced moments can be found throughout Tattooed Heart, and with the guitars thankfully high in the mix it manages to avoid sounding overly pompous. The production eschews that godawful Euro-glossiness, and it's nice to hear a band who employ keyboards tastefully (i.e. every song isn't ruined by parping swaths of substandard 'orchestrations'), although with practically every single chorus falling into the 'huge' bracket, things can become a little overbearing at times.
Opener 'Moonsigh' turns out to be the highlight of the album, a wonderful middle-eastern riff making way for a proper mid-paced power metal epic. Unfortunately the rest of Tattooed Heart rarely lives up to the greatness of 'Moonsigh', and occasionally Evidence One step over the boundaries of good taste and into cringeworthy AOR balladry, 'In Love and War' being a case in point. Nonetheless, aforementioned opener and cuts like 'Slave to the Machine' are great tracks, and having toured with the likes of Saxon, Evidence One are certainly one of the less offensive bands of this ilk to emerge in some time.
7/10
Evidence One's Official Website
Nuclear Blast's Official Website
