I don't know how Tony fucked up White Pearl, Black Oceans part 2 so badly. It's boring as hell, flat out. I'm all for respecting artistic vision, and I'm glad he wrote the song he wanted to, but what an utter disappointment. 10 minutes of him quietly crooning with not one catchy vocal melody in the whole thing; it is such a stark contrast to the powerhouse, speedy, monumental epic that is the original, with its triumphant chorus, haunting piano, trumpets that come shattering out of the darkness in the later choruses, it's a masterwork in power metal storytelling songwriting. Part 2 by contrast sounds like the passengers on the White Pearl itself, cold and dying. It's the musical equivalent of driftwood from a once grand vessel now drifting lifelessly along the water.
Sounds harsh, but man, I cannot get into this. I really do not like how for several albums now it seems as if the guitars and drums are total afterthoughts, as if all the songs are written at a piano with a very bland melody and everything is put in afterwards and sounds like a demo.
