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The Dark Saga

SKU: 7831-2
Label:
Century Media
Category:
Power Metal
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Respected band from Florida create a bruising powermetal concept album based on the Spawn comic character.

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  • Recorded during the band's live performance residency in Tokyo, this is a complete rendition of the first album, Storia Di Un Minuto."To celebrate the 40 years anniversary of "L'isola di niente", PFM have recorded an incredible series of live albums, where they play the original first 5 LPs tracklist in its entirety for the first time ever. This energetic new version it is called "Un minuto" features the first historic LP "Storia di un minuto" with all its fantastic tracks including, for the first time, "Grazie davvero", never played live before.Released in CD papersleeve, "Un minuto" is part of a series which includes the first PFM's five albums reproduced live, to be collected in an elegant box called "Il suono del tempo"."
    $16.00
  • Dutch symphonic metal band EPICA celebrated their 10th anniversary with a one-night-only event, dubbed Retrospect. The band was accompanied by the seventy piece Extended Reményi Ede Chamber Orchestra and the Choir of Miskolc National Theatre, playing an unforgettable 3-hours best-of set.According to respected Dutch newspaper the Volkskrant "The band wrote a chapter of Dutch metal History" this evening. Rock Tribune (Belgium) thought it was "an unforgettable show".Ten high definition cameras captured this very special sold-out show while Epica played in front of nearly five thousand ecstatic fans in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. In addition to a collection of the band’s biggest hits from across the spectrum of their entire catalog, this once-in-a-lifetime spectacular also features the live debut of “Twin Flames” and the previously unreleased “Retrospect”, covers of classics by Vivaldi, Pergolesi, and Oscar-winning film composer John Williams, two guest collaborations with the venerable Floor Jansen (Nightwish, ReVamp), and a very special performance of their breakthrough single, “Quietus”, with founding members Jeroen Simons, Ad Sluijter, and Yves Huts.Nuclear Blast will release Retrospect as a deluxe hardcover book with 32 pages. Both as a 2DVD/3CD and 2Blu-ray/3CD version. Retrospect will contain the following fan favorites:01 - Introspect02 - Monopoly on Truth03 - Sensorium04 - Unleashed05 - Martyr of the Free Word06 - Chasing the Dragon07 - Presto08 - Never Enough09 - Stabat Mater Dolorosa10 - Twin Flames11 - Serenade of Self-Destruction12 - Orchestral Medley13 - The Divine Conspiracy - Anniversary Edition14 - Delirium15 - Blank Infinity16 - The Obsessive Devotion17 - Retrospect18 - Battle of the Heroes & Imperial March19 - Quietus20 - The Phantom Agony21 - Cry for the Moon22 - Sancta Terra23 - Design Your Universe24 - Storm the Sorrow25 - Consign to Oblivion26 - Outrospect                                                                                                                                                                                 Retrospect features this massive performance in its entirety, as well as exclusive interviews with all band members and behind-the-scenes footage from the show. 
    $45.00
  • "Presenting radio with one of the best rock ballads ever, Cornerstone gave Chicago's Styx their big break with the number one single "Babe," which held that spot for two weeks in October of 1979. "Babe" is a smooth, keyboard-pampered love song that finally credited Dennis De Young's textured vocals. While this single helped the album climb all the way to the number two spot on the charts, the rest of the tracks from Cornerstone weren't nearly half as strong. "Why Me" made it to number 26, and both "Lights" and "Boat on the River" implement silky harmonies and welcoming choruses, yet failed to get off the ground. De Young's keyboards are effective without overly dominating the music, and the band's gritty rock & roll acerbity has been slightly sanded down to compliment the commercial market. The songs aren't as tight or assertive as their last few albums, but Shaw's presence can be felt strongly on most of the tracks, especially where the writing is concerned. Outside of "Babe," Cornerstone tends to sound a tad weaker than one would expect." - Allmusic guide
    $8.00
  • Gorgeous doomy Floydian metal. Super jewelbox reissue.
    $12.00
  • The Journey Continues!"To Travel For Evermore," the second album from the Danish metal band Wuthering Heights, is the sequel to their celebrated debut "Within". This second part of a projected musical trilogy finds the band with a new and stronger lineup. Main composer/guitarist Erik Ravn is reunited with ex-Tad Morose vocalist Kristen Andren but the lineup now also includes Time Machine bassist Lorenzo Deho and guitarist Henrik Flymann of Zool. With twin lead guitars the band has expanded their musical vision to encompass neoclassical metal as well as symphonic speed metal. Wuthering Heights will appeal to fans of Blind Guardian, Rhapsody, Angra and Yngwie Malmsteen. The album was produced by Tommy Hansen who cut his teeth producing Helloween, Pretty Maids, and Iron Fire.
    $5.00
  • Beautiful second album from this Greek symphonic rock band fronted by the etherial vocals of Evangelia Kozoni.  Ciccada is a quartet but this time around they are augmented by a number of musicians including Johan Brand of Anglagard.  Mellotron not withstanding the music has a very strong folk component.  Given the lead instrumentation blend of flute, guitar, and keys I'm often reminded of the first White Willow album "Ignis Fatuus" but if you wanted to throw in a comparison to Tull's "Thick As A Brick" I guess I wouldn't argue. What the hell - let's throw in all those obscure British female fronte folk bands of the 70s.  You know who I'm talking about.    Heavyweight gatefold sleeve.  Highly recommended.
    $26.00
  • 12 years after their last release, Braindance are back.  One look at Sebastian Elliot and Vora Vor's photos you will think they were frozen in a time capsule.  Unless the Masters of Disguise are also the Masters of Photoshop they haven't aged at all.  Wow!What also hasn't changed is the sound.  Its classic Braindance and they are giving the fans exactly what they expect.  Sebastian's vocals have always drawn comparison to Peter Steele.  The music is a blend of prog metal - doom - electro-darkwave.  Typically the tunes are set against an epic scale symphonic landscape with an intense rhythmic pulse that allows room for Vora Vor and Crafty guitarist Tony Geballe to shred across.  Tracks are stitched together with samples lifted from film.  Masters Of Disguise is a conceptual work and the presentation is stellar.  The band has always had a relationship with the artists from the world of comic books/graphic novels.  One of the two booklets included is a 16 page comic drawn by Joe Simko.  The entire package is really over the top and quite gorgeous.  I'm emphasizing this because I know its an extremely expensive item and I'm sure cost the band a lot to manufacturer  Keep in mind - we didn't set the pricing on this.  Hopefully you are a fan of the band and can look beyond the price.
    $20.00
  • This release is part of the "Deep Jazz Reality" series that explores obscure jazz titles.  Often the music touches on modal, spiritual, and even psychedelic jazz.  While Japanese artists are often featured, the series is a bit wide open, touching on musicians from all over the globe.  These CD reissues are limited releases in mini-lp sleeves and often go out of print, at which point they sell for ridiculous prices.Toshiaki Yokota is a legendary jazz flautist in Japan that is apparently still going strong.  He was involved in four 1970 albums, three of which he was the leader.  All of his early albums sell in the "if you have to ask you can't afford it" range.  While Exciting Flute is the most conventional of them all it still has quite a bit of charm.  Its a fully plugged in set, in which his Beat Generation ensemble run through their interpretations of the current pop hits of the day - with Yokota's flute work at the fore.  Its all a bit campy now, listening to beat psych/big band interpretations of "Venus", and "Born To Be Wild" but still fun.
    $30.00
  • "It is summer and it's hot in California. For the recording musician it means that air conditioners are causing problems and are generally too loud. So, the musician can either sit on their ass and do nothing or simply switch gears and record an album with sounds that are louder than the air conditioners. This is what Henning Pauly decided to do when he realized that moving on to his rock-opera "Babysteps" was not possible right now. He called up the singer of the new band of his bandmates from Chain, Transmission, in Germany and asked if he was available. Juan Roos immediately said yes to the project, but he only had a two week window and it was two weeks from that phone call. Henning loves deadlines and so he started writing to have the album written and recorded, minus vocals, within two weeks.Henning describes Juan's voice as a perfect blend between Geoff Tate and David Coverdale: "Juan can give you the high stuff, but he can also be really raspy and rocky...his voice just kicks you square in the nuts!"Because of the very limited time frame for the conception and production of "Credit where credit is due" Henning asked his proven writing team to join in when it comes to lyrics and melodies, so Matt Cash is on board again, as are Edward Heppenstall and Jason McSheehy. Several songs on the album loosely deal with the world of rockstars, scandals and getting credit for what one has done. No need, really, to point out here that everyone involved will get credit where credit is due.The music is loud, heavy and realism has been shoved behind production value on the list of priorities. Heavy Industrial Drum sounds are interspersed with acoustic sets. The banjo finds its way into metal again and sometimes you can draw clear parallels to the work of Trent Reznor and Marylin Manson. There's more to it than just that, but the production is clearly more modern than anything Henning is done so far.This CD was about having fun with music and production and it gives Henning a chance to be back in the studio and have fun doing what he loves the most...making music, not talking about it."
    $3.00
  • "Devin Townsend - fully 30 records into an astonishing career - has now just raised the stakes in the form of a new double album combining Ziltoid The Omniscient’s triumphant return and the follow-up to the critically acclaimed “Epicloud!” Feasting upon Z2 is akin to immersing oneself in the arcane creases of the DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT catalog, bludgeoning heaviness and angelic melodies living under the cathedral of Devin’s more contemplative solo vision. The effect is lush, full- range, cinematic, and expressive. Addressing the creative tension between the two discs, Devin explains “...it’s DTP...the ‘humans’ against Ziltoid, and it’s a battle of sorts...The DTP and Ziltoid side of my writing has evolved to where this statement was necessary and undoubtedly inevitable. The battle between the two seems like a great way to priced to the next chapter of my work. It’s a backdrop for something that hopefully engaging for people. I hope that the point that I’m trying to make with Ziltoid and the metaphor behind it, isn’t lost in just a sea of absurdity.” Guest musicians include Anneke Van Giersbergen (solo artist, ex-THE GATHERING) and Chris Jericho (WWE star, FOZZY) as Captain Spectacular! Also featuring the "Universal Choir", 2000 voices strong, the biggest choir on a metal record ever! "
    $17.00
  • With nearly forty-five minutes of brand new material, Turning Tides represents MALPRACTICE at their absolute best, combining intricate progressive metal with catchy melodies topped with excellent musicianship and brilliant vocal harmonies. Professionally recorded by the members of the band at various locations, Turning Tides was produced by the band’s Joonas Koto and Toni Paananen and engineered by Koto, then mixed and mastered by Anssi Kippo at Astra-Studio A and enshrouded by intriguing artwork and design work by Miikka Tikka.“The lyrical theme of the album is about a guy who is very well educated. In fact so educated and talented that he can't land a job for himself due to over education,” collectively issued the members of MALPRACTICE. “He kind of falls in-between things and ends up in the suburbs unemployed and frustrated. He is ‘the best kept secret’ since no one wants to hire him. His life and sanity starts to fall apart due to his frustration and depression. He tries to fight the system but always ends up deeper and deeper in apathy. The story can be somewhat related to MALPRACTICE's struggle to make it for two decades already. The question is: ‘Is the guy me? You? Or every one of us?’” 
    $6.00
  • 2nd album from this Swedish band is another fantastic effort. Along with a new vocalist the band seems to be charting a new direction for their music as well. "II = I" straddles the line between straight up progressive rock and metal. At times I'm reminded of bands like Arena, Nemesis and Flower Kings but when guitarist Johan Reinholdz kicks it into metal overdrive I hear the embodiment of bands like Pain Of Salvation and Dream Theater. Laserbeam synth leads alternate with clean shred guitar solos over a mega-tight rhythm section. Highly recommended - this disc kicks butt!!New remastered edition on Inner Wound Recordings.
    $10.00
  • Bulgaria doesn't immediately come to mind as a hot bed of musical activity but that is where Sensory made their latest discovery. In 2000, the band created their calling card to the progressive metal world a demo that was well received in the underground press. Affter a series of lineup changes the band set about recording their debut "Shade of Fate". The result is a tour de force of progressive metal that will appeal to fans of Dream Theater, Vanden Plas and Queensryche. Pantommind use gorgeous symphonic soundscapes as a backdrop for intricate keyboard solos, crunch-filled guitar riffs and pure soaring vocals. This is a band poised to capture the imagination of progressive metal fans around the world. Sensory's release of "Shade Of Fate" also features two exclusive bonus tracks.
    $6.00
  • Yet another over the top all star project masterminded by Edguy's Tobias Sammet.  I think at this point Avantasia is even more popular than Edguy!  He always brings together an interesting cast of musicians.  This time around he features: Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow), Eric Martin (Mr. Big), Ronnie Atkins (Pretty Maids), Biff Byford (Saxon), Michael Kiske (Helloween), Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon), Bruce Kulick (Kiss), Russell Gibrook (Uriah Heep), Bob Catley (Magnum), producer extraordinaire Sascha Paeth, and of course The German Film Orchestra Babelsberg.  Pure bombastic rock opera stuff."Tobias Sammet, one of the best known names in power metal and for good reason, is a multifaceted musician best known for his vocal and keyboard prowess in the German power metal giant Edguy. Flawlessly possessing keyboard, orchestration, bass, and vocal skills worthy of his fame, Sammet stepped to the side of his work in Edguy and started a symphonic rock/metal side project, Avantasia in the year 2000. Tobias Sammet’s Avantasia, which features Sammet’s talents and abilities to compose and orchestrate perfect, beautiful music, also boasts a roster full of well known names throughout the power metal community such as Kai Hansen, Michael Kiske, Andre Matos, and Jorn Lande. In 2011, Sammet announced the end of Avantasia, however, after that rather depressing announcement, Avantasia is releasing their 6th full length studio album on March 29th, The Mystery of Time.The Mystery of Time features yet another all star lineup. Outside of Sammet’s constant presence, the album features Michael Kiske, Biff Byford, Arjen Anthony Lucassen, and Joe Lynn Turner just to name a few. There are many new vocal presences in the album, different from the usual heard in Avantasia’s past, and it really helps create a refreshing and new sound to the project. As usual however, the production and orchestrations, instrumentation, choir presence, and vocal layering are absolutely spot on. Upon first listen to the album however, I wasn’t completely sold. I felt like a few of the songs were hollow and emotionless. Unlike my favorite albums, The Metal Opera I and II and The Scarecrow, I didn’t get pulled into the record right away. Listening to the album four or five times however, I saw the album for what it truly is, a quite flawlessly executed rock opera.The first track on “Spectres” begins slowly and doesn’t feel like a proper way to kick off an album. The drum work is more fitting of a faster tempo thrash song than the mellow presence of the music throughout the verses. However, as soon as the chorus kicked in I felt that rush of joy and sheer happiness typically expected when listening to Avantasia. Tracks like “The Watchmakers Dream” and “Black Orchid” manage to bring back all of that which I love from Sammet, strong, soaring choruses and beautiful guitar work from Arjen Lucassen. Biff Byford joins in, bringing with him that raw, true heavy metal roughness that is found in Saxon, and has an amazing way of rounding out and complementing Sammet’s vocals. “Where Clock Hands Freeze” and “Dweller in a Dream” feature the ever amazing, and never aging voice of Michael Kiske himself. Kiske brings such a crisp, soaring presence to a song that is simply unmatched.The ballad-like “Sleepwalking” features the familiar female vocal accompaniment of Cloudy Yang. Her vocal presence brings an ever pop-like sound to the album, but it is a beautiful song nonetheless. The album’s other ballad, “What’s Left of Me” is likely one of Avantasia’s best ballads, holding true to some power metal roots. Two 10 minute long songs “Savior in the Clockwork” and “The Great Mystery” truly make this album epic, while tracks like “Invoke the Machine” bring a serious heavy metal vibe, featuring Ronnie Atkins of Pretty Maids. This is easily one of the best tracks on the album, blending that epic power metal sound of choruses and keyboards with perfect and heavy thrashing elements.The album as a whole manages to, as usual, feature not only the musical artistry of Tobias Sammet, but also brings together names from all over the rock and metal genre to show off each individual’s talent. Personally, I am so happy that Avantasia is still alive and kicking. The Mystery of Time is absolutely an album to be proud of, and for any fans of power metal, Edguy, or previous Avantasia albums, there are absolutely elements of all three in these songs for you to enjoy. Here’s to another great album thanks to Tobias Sammet, cheers!" - The Metal Review 
    $11.00