REVIEW: GB ARTS - THE LAKE

 

GB ARTS - THE LAKE (Pavement Music, 2001):

Technical Data:

Produced by Victor Smolski

Engineered and Mixed at VPS Studio, Hamm

Mastered at Pauler Acoustics, Nordheim

Track List: 1-A Voice, 2-The Surface, 3-Silver Rain, 4-Break Free, 5-My new World, 6-The Chosen One, 7-I Can´t Remember, 8-Shadows of faces, 9-Old Warriors, 10-The Darkest is Over

What we have here? A band from Germany playing classical/progressive metal in the vein of bands like Yngwie Malmsteen, Dream Theater, Stratovarius and even Fates Warning (Perfect Symmetry/Parallels era) with a terrible quantity and quality of keyboard/piano and guitars (excellent work of Andreas Beckmann and Andre Rasfeld). This album features also the participation of reknown guest musicians like Peavey Wagner (Rage) on vocals on a couple of tracks, Mike Terrana (Metalium, Yngwie Malmsteen, etc.) doing some narrations, Victor Smolski doing solos on two tracks and second guitar on two others. The sound is really good but I would have mixed the guitar higher and with a fatter sound to give still more power to the songs. What I found really original on this release are the vocal harmonies that are not like the ones used on the above-mentioned bands or in bands of the style (they sound more like harmonies from bands from the seventies, if you know what I mean). Favorite tracks: "Break Free" (some Kashmir-like keyboard parts), "I Can´t Remember" and "Old Warriors" (the most original song of the whole album with different vocals and guitars). Contact: www.pavementmusic.com and pvmnt@aol.com