Battle

Presumably most people who are reading this will know who's on the CD, but just in case, Magnus Karlsson plays in Last Tribe, but over the last year or so has come up with outside projects which include "Starbreaker" (with Tony Hartnell of TNT fame) and now this, with two top class vocalists. Jorn Lande (Masterplan, solo) sounds like David Coverdale on steroids, and Russell Allen (Symphony X) is kind of from the R J Dio school of vocals (hope this makes sense!).And Magnus is a SERIOUS guitarist - he can shred + sweep like Yngwie, and tap like Fred Astaire.The style? Well, it's heavy, but retains melody, especially in the choruses, and the two vocalists complement each other nicely - which is especially good considering both sets of vocals were recorded separately. And there are enough harmonies to give the songs a more mainstream feel, despite the heavy (sometimes detuned) guitars and flying solo's.Keyboards are also used to good effect, especially in verses as a contrast to the rockier sections. Truth About our Time is a good example, a quiet initial section, breaking into a guitar melody-led intro, then the rhythm guitars stop, the drums calm down, and the vocals come in - then the drums rev things up a bit building to a big chorus: great stuff. There is also a "rock ballad" which is pretty good (one for the ladies? Just kidding!).There is enough variety in feels and keys to keep the listener interested, and I'd agree that none of the songs deserves to be labelled as a filler.A lot of thought has obviously gone into arrangements, with all instruments playing their part.I quite like Starbreaker, and bought it, but I did find it a bit "samey" if listened to all in one go.This is much better, and is to metal what "Place Vendome" is to rock - perhaps the best release of the year.

Brilliant album

If you liked Starbreakers debut album then you'll love this too. There's a great blend of modern melodic rock with a few metal twists thrown in. Karlsson's done a great piece of work here with excellent vocals from Allen and Lande. There's isn't a throw away song on this album, all great quality stuff, but be warned if you don't like happier more upbeat melodic metal then this isn't for you. But as I said, if you like Starbreaker, and you should, then this is a must buy!

Seriously. I waffled for a long time whether to buy this album and finally took the plunge. Oh. My. God. I haven't had so many eargasms since the last SX album. But this is NOT a clone or imitation of Symphony X. Oh no. I'd never heard of Magnus Karlsson before, and I forgot that Jorn Lande was the great singer for Ark, but I figured it was a cheap risk - and most of the reviews were good. This isn't like anything else I've heard, and I have a *huge* collection of albums. Karlsson writes incredible songs with perfect arrangements and flawless instrumental execution - and then he brings in two of the best rock/metal singers of their generation to kick it up a whole lotta notches. This album just took my breath away. I haven't written a review in a long time because frankly nothing else really affected me like this album (except for its followup). And I don't know how I can persuade other people to take a chance on buying this, I just know how much I love it and am so happy I bought this.Put it this way: I install large-scale AV systems in commercial and public buildings for a living. I have two test CDs I use when checking a system's performance. After getting this album and "The Revenge", I burned a third CD just of these guys. The production is top-notch, the dynamic and musical ranges are astonishing, and of course I just love to hear these tunes cranked over systems that rival full arenas. I wish Karlsson spent less energy with Primal Fear, which doesn't really use his full range of writing and playing talents, and worked on more albums like this every year or two. It's not like SX, Primal Fear, Ark, or Allen's "Atomic Soul". Many of the songs remind me of power metal except fun to hear. It's just good, generally upbeat and well-crafted rock/metal.My personal favorites: "Wish For A Miracle", "Come Alive", ***"My Own Way Home"***, and "Where Have The Angels Gone". Some songs feel like power ballads except without the inane, sappy lyrics; other songs feel like semi-raunchy grinds. I played "Come Alive" for someone to demonstrate artificial harmonics since I didn't have any Zakk Wylde or John Sykes handy. This is now one of my go-to albums when I'm stressed and need to decompress quickly. The hooks and the grooves are that powerful.This album, while not 100% perfect, comes closer than anything I've heard in a long, long time. I wish these guys would do more work together. This is the definition of synergy in musical form. And it's incredible.

If I'd never heard of Jorn Lande, I would have never discovered this album. At the time I bought this album, I'd never really given European metal a chance. For the entire genre, the difference is with time changes mostly; they seem a little off by American standards. But given a little time, I turned out to love European hard rock/metal/progressive/symphonic metal.This album has two great singers in the genre: Jorn Lande and Russell Allen (Symphony X). Both singers are a little cleaner than their deliveries in their respective solo/band records. But overall, Magnus Karlsson (now of Primal Fear), who created the words/lyrics for this album, is amazing. So many great hooks. So many great melodies.If you like great melodic metal, you can't go wrong with this one. The songs will stick with you, demanding that you listen to them again and again!

I was first introduced to these guys via Pandora.com, and I had to get the album. It was worth it; every song was money well spent. However, I would have liked a greater variety in the album, such as different lengths (since I am very fond of 10+ minute songs). Had they done that, the album would have neared perfection. Regardless, there are no weak tracks on the album at all.The strongest point in the album is easily the vocal combination of Russel Allen and Jorn Lande. My favorite track is "Truth About our Time," followed by "My Own Way Home." The vocals are paired flawlessly on the former, while the latter shows very professional songwriting by Magnus Karlsson, which is also what drives the entire album to be so great.I do think this album would appeal to prog listeners more than metal fans though, since the songs aren't very heavy, and focus on great voices and 80's style guitar parts. Just my cup of tea, really. Russel Allen and Jorn Lande have become two of my favorite male vocalists because of this album. Fans of power metal and/or progressive metal would appreciate this album too, but I loved it enough to recommend it to just about anyone. A must-have!

Though this group has been out for awhile - I had never heard of it before but after experiencing Magnus Karlsson's Freefall - I thought I'd give this a shot. I was not disappointed. Though I'd give Freefall a star over it - they don't have a sixth star for would take it on a desert island. The duo singers and the music of Magnus is a lot deeper and easier to listen to Axel Rudi Pell who I was previously thinking was the best thing since sliced bread. This is the butter! Give it a listen (use the other site if yours hangs up and won't play anything anymore).

I have listened to the best music and played the best with the best, and this is the best. If you like metal, with fluid guitars, top of the heap musicianship, good vocals where you can understand what they are saying, that doesn't sound like the singer is swallowing the mic as he kneels down to the dark lord, and whatever they are singing about isn't all spiritually draining, that is awesomely produced, you are gonna like this. I guarantee it.