FREEDOM CALL - CRYSTAL EMPIRE (Century Media Recs. , 2001)
Produced by Charlie Bauerfeind, Dan Zimmermann and Chris Bay
Recorded at Hansen Studio
Cover by Paul Raymond Gregory
Tracks: 1- The King of the Crystal Empire; 2- Freedom Call; 3- Rise Up; 4- Farewell; 5- Pharao; 6- Call of Fame; 7- Heart of the Rainbow; 8- The Quest; 9- Ocean; 10- Palace of Fantasy; 11- The Wanderer
Here we have a conceptual album by this german band whose main man is Dan Zimmerman, drummer in Gamma Ray . And the music here is pure german heavy metal with all its pros and cons., The pros are that the music is powerful and melodic with strong riffs and choruses. The cons are a certain lack of originality and a similarity to the main bands of the style being Helloween, Gamma Ray or Stratovarius. I think the key of the band is to follow the style that they have achieved in tracks like "Pharao" or "The Quest" with more dense riffs and melodies that are not so epic. The sound of this recording is really good putting a lot of relevance to the keyboards which are essential in the best tracks.. I feel that this band has some elements to be in the top of the metal world and I think the path goes along tracks as then one that I mentioned before and the grandiloquence of "Palace of Fantasy" with its minor tonalities and melodies.
Favorite tracks: "Rise Up", "Pharao" and "The Quest"
Contact: In Southamerica www.centurymedia.com in Europe www.centurymedia.de
