HEavenly

[sava_freak]

Does anyone know anything about this band?



I have hunted down 3 of thier 5 albums....

But why is the 3 album "Dust to Dust" so hard t find and expensive?

Are they still together? I have seen two stories, one that they broke up in 2009, and one that they are still together...

If they are still together, I would love to see them at Progpower...

What other bands would you suggest?


Thanks

Alan

 

[Rezz]

Heavenly is on it's third or fourth major line-up now with only the singer, Ben Sotto, having been on all the albums. I saw them a few times in France in 2001 and enjoyed their shows. The first couple albums were pretty good but I never really got into Dust to Dust or Virus. The new one, Carpe Diem, is a pretty significant sound change for them; it's practically a Queen tribute album IMO. I don't mean that as a negative, it's my favorite album from them by far, it's just that Ben is practically channeling Freddie Mercury. I have no idea if they broke up after Carpe Diem, but they seem to do this kinda thing regularly, and then Ben re-emerges with mostly new players and they come out with another album. It would be fun to see them again. They make regular appearances on the "Next Year's ProgPower Wish Lists," although never at the top of anyone's list.

 

[1000 Faces]

Does anyone know anything about this band?

They won some kind of demo contest in 2000 or thereabouts, and the prize was a deal with Noise. Their first album, Coming from the Sky, was produced by Piet Sielck and featured guest appearances by Sielck and Kai Hansen on "Time Machine," which was released as a free digital single well in advance of the album and was fairly well received, if I recall correctly. As a result, the album sold pretty well, although it wasn't particularly good, which caused the metal community to more or less ignore their second album, Sign of the Winner, which turned out to be a dramatic improvement over the debut. Their next effort, Dust to Dust, was very well received, as memory serves, but Noise was shuttered shortly after it was released, and the band relocated to AFM, which released Virus and Carpe Diem.

But why is the 3 album "Dust to Dust" so hard t find and expensive?

For the same reason why it's very difficult to find almost anything that was originally released on Noise in a physical format: Universal (which owns the Noise catalog as a result of having purchased the carcass of Sanctuary in 2007) has absolutely no interest in pressing the vast majority of Noise releases, so they're almost all out of print. However, you can buy most Noise releases -- including Dust to Dust -- in digital formats from iTunes, Amazon, and eMusic.

 

[spag]

I got mine off Ebay if that helps. Wasn't hard to find at the time.

Heavenly is one of my favorite bands. Their music just puts me in a good mood, and although their last album Carpe Diem was very different, it's fantastic. Lately I've been playing Sign Of The Winner a lot.

They're probably one of only a few bands I really want to see at PP one year. If my financial situation was more definite for next year, I wanted to put in a sponsor bid for them, but wasn't in the cards.

 

[AngraRULES]

But why is the 3 album "Dust to Dust" so hard t find and expensive?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Heavenly-Dust-Dust-cd-/170645506301?pt=Music_CDs&hash=item27bb43c8fd

 

[Metal_Camden]

heavenly is AWESOME! a more symphonic cheesy version of helloween.

Edit:
Their first cd I didnt really care for but dust to dust, on, is epic win!

 

[AngraRULES]

I personally love this song:

 

[Fire breath]

Agree with Camden. First CD is pretty bad and from there on the goodness starts. Although the second album is just good for me. From the 3rd album the band goes into orbit. Ben's vocals can be a bit iffy on occasion but he is a good singer in general. I think Virus maybe my fave from their albums.

 

[Sir Exar Kun]

First CD is pretty bad and from there on the goodness starts. Although the second album is just good for me. From the 3rd album the band goes into orbit. Ben's vocals can be a bit iffy on occasion but he is a good singer in general. I think Virus maybe my fave from their albums.

This is two posts in two days where I have to go opposite you on this one. I really like the first three CDs (with "Sign of the Winner" being my favorite) whereas the last couple have been a bit of a fall-off for me.

Ben's vocals are definitely the make or break point for this band. He hits some SERIOUS high notes, and I know that can be a bit off-putting to some.....

Definitely an enjoyable band, and hoping to see more material from them.

NP - Helloween "High Live"

 

[Metal_Camden]

Agree with Camden. First CD is pretty bad and from there on the goodness starts. Although the second album is just good for me. From the 3rd album the band goes into orbit. Ben's vocals can be a bit iffy on occasion but he is a good singer in general. I think Virus maybe my fave from their albums.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW_stf7eE5U&feature=related[/ame]

 

[modernwizardry]

Good Bad. Dust to Dust and Sign of the Winner are my favorites though they are kinda Gamma Ray/Helloween clones in a good way.

 

[Heavenly Call]

I rank the albums:

Sign Of The Winner
Virus
Dust To Dust
Carpe Diem
Coming From The Sky

This band and Freedom Call are two bands I put on my sponsorship list every year. They seem to be in kind of the same boat that Iron Fire is in in terms of lineup issues. Still, quality power metal stuff with lots of variety which I think keeps their releases interesting.

 

[Sir Exar Kun]

Iron Fire

Wow! Are they still around! I have their first three albums I think..... Didn't they go more into an 80's hard rock direction than the power metal on their more recent stuff?

 

[Element_man]

I've always liked this band. Dust to Dust is probably my favorite album, and I managed to find it in my local HMV CD shop like 5 years ago, was kind of pricey but I love that disk. I've never seen any live videos of them until now, they sound pretty darn good and they look like they put on a fun show, too! Right on.

I haven't heard much from the first record and I haven't heard the newest one (besides the single) either, but Those three albums in the middle are lots of fun, Dust to Dust is just a tour de force with sprawling songs, wicked neoclassical sensibilities and it's just very compeditive in general. I also really like Virus, the style itself is more toned down, and it channels the Helloween/Gamma Ray vibe but the songwriting and riffs are really tight.

 

[AngraRULES]

This band and Freedom Call are two bands I put on my sponsorship list every year. They seem to be in kind of the same boat that Iron Fire is in in terms of lineup issues. Still, quality power metal stuff with lots of variety which I think keeps their releases interesting.

I hope Glenn decides to take Heavenly, and completely ignore your other pick.

 

[sava_freak]

Thanks for all the help.

I still need Dust to Dust and Coming from the Sky

I think my fav is Virus, allthough the Queen influence on Carpe Diem is awesome

I described them to friends as as if Queen, Dragonforce and Blind Gaurdian had a baby!!!

 

[nomisofsiman]

For some reason, they've always been a band where sometimes when I try to get into them, I'm impressed with what I hear. yet, there have been a couple of times in deciding to purchase or not, where I give them one more listen and hate it. I have no clue why unless it's maybe me thinking they're just a little bit TOO derivative of the aforementioned bands.