Does anyone rock out to Gandalf? These guys rocked hard. It's too bad they recently broke up. Anyway, check out the two albums they released, which are Rock Hell and Deadly Fairytales. Both are solid work. Below is a concise summary of the band if you do not know anything about them. The summary is from one of my favorite website, the BNR Metal Pages. Here is the web address to the site if you're interested:
http://www-cse.ucsd.edu/users/bruss/Metal/Metal.html
Summary:
Band: Gandalf
Origin: Finland
Status: Disbanded
The name Gandalf might conjure images of a German (or perhaps Italian) power/speed metal band, since often such bands are steeped in fantasy lyrical themes. But that's not what this Gandalf is about -- instead, this Finnish band is rooted in Gothenburg melodic death metal, inviting some comparisons to bands such as In Flames, but with less emphasis on death metal (except the vocals) and more emphasis on straight-ahead rock riffs. Indeed, their sound has been billed as "At The Gates meets AC/DC", and while they aren't quite as unusual as that tag might sugggest, it is not an inaccurate description, particularly on Rock Hell, their second album (the debut, Deadly Fairytales, stays truer to the Gothenburg style). It's hard to tell exactly what audience this band is made for -- on the one hand, their blending of two disparate styles may draw fans from either extreme, while on the other hand, they sometimes can come across as not extreme enough for the death crowd and perhaps too heavy for the more rock crowd. Nevertheless, there was cause for optimism for something greater here. Unfortunately, they recently (April 2002) announced their disbandment.
http://www-cse.ucsd.edu/users/bruss/Metal/Metal.html
Summary:
Band: Gandalf
Origin: Finland
Status: Disbanded
The name Gandalf might conjure images of a German (or perhaps Italian) power/speed metal band, since often such bands are steeped in fantasy lyrical themes. But that's not what this Gandalf is about -- instead, this Finnish band is rooted in Gothenburg melodic death metal, inviting some comparisons to bands such as In Flames, but with less emphasis on death metal (except the vocals) and more emphasis on straight-ahead rock riffs. Indeed, their sound has been billed as "At The Gates meets AC/DC", and while they aren't quite as unusual as that tag might sugggest, it is not an inaccurate description, particularly on Rock Hell, their second album (the debut, Deadly Fairytales, stays truer to the Gothenburg style). It's hard to tell exactly what audience this band is made for -- on the one hand, their blending of two disparate styles may draw fans from either extreme, while on the other hand, they sometimes can come across as not extreme enough for the death crowd and perhaps too heavy for the more rock crowd. Nevertheless, there was cause for optimism for something greater here. Unfortunately, they recently (April 2002) announced their disbandment.
