Alright, maybe this is a little premature to be writing this, but I've gotten a hold of two full mp3s from the new Adagio CD Underworld (I feel no shame in having ripped mp3s from a promo because I already have the Japanese release on preorder anyway) and I know how theres a lot of Adagio fans on here so....
First of all, lets start with the new keyboardist, Kevin Codfert. This guy absolutely fucking rips. It says in his bio that he has a very deep classically trained background, and it clearly shows. he brings a very romantic-era (Chopin, Liszt) feel to the tracks. Forte said he originally wanted to work with Vitalij in Adagio. I think he wound up finding a keyboardist thats at least an equal (technique wise) to Vitalij, not to mention I find his solos more melodic than Vitalij's.
Second (and heres a scary thought): Forte said he has been practicing a lot, and he's much better than he was on Sanctus Ignis. This is definately true. I didnt think this guy could get any more faster. Theres some solo spots on these two songs where I had to scrape my jaw from the floor. I have never heard a guitarist play so fast, cleanly, and precise before. After hearing his performance on these two tracks I'd have to say he is the most technically profficient shredder I have *ever* heard.
Now down to the songs. Forte promised Underworld would be "darker, heavier, more prog, and more symphonic" than Sanctus Ignis. One of the songs I heard, Chosen, fits the last two descriptions very nicely. This one is a real driving uptempo one (think In Nomine...). He also seemed to forget to add that the songs are more melodic than Sanctus. While Sanctus excelled at having a very dark symphonic mood, I always felt in terms of chorus melody it fell short. Not this time around. Chosen has a very catchy "singable" chorus, the kind that Sanctus lacked. Of course, the song is accentuated by solos from Kevin and Stephan (featuring a spot thats slightly remeniscent to the tapping break in Sea of Lies...only faster...and all picked).
So, Chosen is a great track, but what about the "darker and heavier" descriptions Stephan threw out there? Chosen was heavy, but not any more so than anything on Sanctus. Well, the 2nd track I heard, From My Sleep to Someone Else, was where I got to hear a taste of the darker side. An ominous orchestral intro gives way to a pounding riff under church organs before breaking into a full on blastbeat accentuated by a gutteral scream courtesy of a black metal vocalist that guested on the album (I dont remember the name of the band, not one Ive heard of before - hes also supposed to be on one other track too, but this is the only contribution he adds to the track). Dimmu would be proud. The rest of the song is indeed a very dark, heavy peice of mid tempo metal, but of course still retaining melody and a very shreddy solo section.
In closing, so far Im very happy with what Ive heard and Im very excited to hear the rest of the CD. I'll let you guys know how the rest of it is when I get it
First of all, lets start with the new keyboardist, Kevin Codfert. This guy absolutely fucking rips. It says in his bio that he has a very deep classically trained background, and it clearly shows. he brings a very romantic-era (Chopin, Liszt) feel to the tracks. Forte said he originally wanted to work with Vitalij in Adagio. I think he wound up finding a keyboardist thats at least an equal (technique wise) to Vitalij, not to mention I find his solos more melodic than Vitalij's.
Second (and heres a scary thought): Forte said he has been practicing a lot, and he's much better than he was on Sanctus Ignis. This is definately true. I didnt think this guy could get any more faster. Theres some solo spots on these two songs where I had to scrape my jaw from the floor. I have never heard a guitarist play so fast, cleanly, and precise before. After hearing his performance on these two tracks I'd have to say he is the most technically profficient shredder I have *ever* heard.
Now down to the songs. Forte promised Underworld would be "darker, heavier, more prog, and more symphonic" than Sanctus Ignis. One of the songs I heard, Chosen, fits the last two descriptions very nicely. This one is a real driving uptempo one (think In Nomine...). He also seemed to forget to add that the songs are more melodic than Sanctus. While Sanctus excelled at having a very dark symphonic mood, I always felt in terms of chorus melody it fell short. Not this time around. Chosen has a very catchy "singable" chorus, the kind that Sanctus lacked. Of course, the song is accentuated by solos from Kevin and Stephan (featuring a spot thats slightly remeniscent to the tapping break in Sea of Lies...only faster...and all picked).
So, Chosen is a great track, but what about the "darker and heavier" descriptions Stephan threw out there? Chosen was heavy, but not any more so than anything on Sanctus. Well, the 2nd track I heard, From My Sleep to Someone Else, was where I got to hear a taste of the darker side. An ominous orchestral intro gives way to a pounding riff under church organs before breaking into a full on blastbeat accentuated by a gutteral scream courtesy of a black metal vocalist that guested on the album (I dont remember the name of the band, not one Ive heard of before - hes also supposed to be on one other track too, but this is the only contribution he adds to the track). Dimmu would be proud. The rest of the song is indeed a very dark, heavy peice of mid tempo metal, but of course still retaining melody and a very shreddy solo section.
In closing, so far Im very happy with what Ive heard and Im very excited to hear the rest of the CD. I'll let you guys know how the rest of it is when I get it
