Yngwie Malmsteen - Angels of love 2009

Genre: Guitar virtuoso
Format: Wv + cue + log + test
Released: 2009
Label: Rising Force

01. Forever One

02. Like an Angel

03. Crying

04. Brothers

05. Memories

06. Save Our Love

07. Ocean Sonata

08. Miracle of Life

09. Sorrow

10. Prelude to April

Yngwie’s core fans will be pleased anyway, even if lightning arpeggios are rarely seen (don’t bet...) in this compilation CD. The Swedish virtuoso’s rivals will have another arrow in their quiver, not to forget, even if now it’s not the time for accusing the man of infinite shredding. Who’s left then? Well, fans willing to taste alternate versions of the originals plus fans of mild music is a case study,. After listening to "Angels Of Love" for a dozen of times in a row (gazing at the attractive lady in the cover frequently, to recapture the muse tendered) it’s no wonder I’d take a glimpse again shortly.

What’s the scenario here: the ’neoclassical’ shredder compiled this album with (nearly) acoustic versions of some of his ballads all these years. Using acoustic guitars - with a slice of electricity scattered for some climax to be uncapped - and keys arrangements, Yngwie lets his inner self loose in service of the resulting equilibrium and tranquillity. Some of the songlist does not fly away from the original versions, mainly due to the inflexible composing pattern while enough songs do gain a fair new-fangled point in terms of letting loose ’parallel’ emotions once buried under the nonstop virtuosity of this mentor.

I think (did not count, it’s a general impression) the takes recorded here do not - in a whole - depict 100% of the duration of the originals; let’s just say that each tune here carries the main theme (or a set of themes) correlating to the preliminary composition. In addition, I cannot recall any existent song named "Ocean Sonata" in Malmsteen’s so far catalogue, not being a die-hard follower though...Anyway, some last notion obtained is that - due to his performance or the new arrangements or whatever - the final upshot approaches more the Uli Jon Roth blend rather than the Ritchie Blackmore pen (if only these two choices ever existed in Yngwie’s mind, haha).

Sum it up? Yeap, this is the road the Swedish maestro walks on the last quarter of a century. Nothing new in terms of style, still listening to this album while driving in the countryside, seeing beautiful landscapes, reading on a winter’s night or just sitting by the fire is some kind of a nice companion soundtrack. "Angels Of Love" is perfect as a present too, let’s propose.

On second thought: if Yngwie Malmsteen also wanted to deliver a certain message to his critics, he possibly did it... Reviewed by Grigoris

Epica - The Divine Conspiracy 2007

Genre: Symphonic/Gothic Metal
Format: Flac + cue + log
Released: 2007
Label: Nuclear Blast

01. Indigo - Prologue

02. The Obsessive Devotion

03. Menace of Vanity

04. Chasing the Dragon

05. Never Enough

06. La‘petach Chatat Rovetz - The Final Embrace

07. Death of a Dream - The Embrace that Smothers Part VII

08. Living a Lie - The Embrace that Smothers Part VIII

09. Fools of Damnation - The Embrace that Smothers Part IX

10. Holy Man (Glenn Hughes Remix)

11. Beyond Belief

12. Safeguard to Paradise

13. Sancta Terra

14. The Divine Conspiracy

In a year that saw new releases by Within Temptation and Nightwish, I was rather surprised to find that Epica's new offering turned out to be my favorite female-fronted symphonic metal release of 2007. The Divine Conspiracy is far from perfect — in fact, it has some glaring problems — but when it hits the mark, it really hits the mark. If you've heard anything in this general stylistic niche, you generally know what to expect: zero subtlety, tons of bombast, lots of catchy vocal melodies and grandiose keyboards mixed in with the chugging guitars. There are a few reasons The Divine Conspiracy rises above the rest of the pack. For one thing, Epica have gotten heavier, and at this point they're much heavier than any of their better-known peers, especially in the drumming and male vocal departments. For another, Simone Simons is at the absolute top of her game, possessing maybe the best voice in this niche now that Tarja Turunen is out of the picture.

The first five songs on this album, not including two brief instrumental introductions, are almost entirely the reason that I hold it in such high esteem. There's Simons' beautiful voice, yes, but there are also some pleasant surprises. Mark Jansen's vocals vacillate between black metal howls and death metal growls, and he is surprisingly effective at both in this context (though his death growls, which are kind of in the Mikael Åkerfeldt/Dan Swanö mold, probably wouldn't cut it in a straight-up DM band). Coen Janssen's keyboards are ridiculous and over-the-top as per the norm in this genre, but the sounds he uses are fantastic — I actually wondered if there was a real orchestra performing on this album, and when I saw them live I was pleasantly surprised to see that no, all those extremely real-sounding string sections, choruses and more are all coming from the synths. Most importantly, the compositions meld black metal brutality and symph-metal bombast (and Simons' angelic voice) seamlessly, more so than any other similar band that's tried to be this heavy.

These five songs are all almost beyond reproach in my book, with the exception of the fact that some of them are unnecessarily long by two minutes or more. This turns out to be my main criticism of the album as a whole: it's just too damn lengthy. The second half of the album tails off badly in terms of quality, to the point that "Sancta Terra" is the only song out of the last six that I listen to. It's not that these songs are actively bad, rather that they lack the hooks, melodies and memorable symphonic arrangements of the first five songs, and become just so much bombastic sonic wallpaper. Even the title track, which at 14 minutes closes out the album, is disappointing; for a closing epic I expected it to be one of the best pieces on the album, but no such luck. It starts off with suitable pomposity, all movie soundtrack drama and widescreen grandeur, but it soon loses the plot, failing to present enough ideas to justify its enormous duration.

While the same could be said of this album as a whole, the six songs that I do like are easily good enough to ensure that I think good things when I listen to this record. All the usual caveats for this kind of music apply: you absolutely have to be in the mood for extreme bombast, while at the same time accepting that a band that gives so much air time to a soprano vocalist just isn't going to be as metal as your favorite tech-death group. Still, as far as these things go, The Divine Conspiracy is one of the best albums of its kind, despite its many weaknesses, and it's certainly a massive step up from Epica's previous albums, which never really made much of an impression on me.

Konstantin Tzekov - Verticals 1995

Genre: Instrumental music / Progressive
Format: Flac + cue + log
Released: 1995
Label: -

01. 1

02. 2

03. 3

04. 4

05. 5

06. 6

07. 7

08. 8

09. 9

10. 10

Born on December 24, 1952. At 7 he started studying the piano with the famous pedagogue Lidiya Kouteva who considered him an undeniable discovery with bright talent. In 1972 he graduated her piano class in the Musical School in Sofia and in 1978 graduated the Academy of Music, the piano class of Prof. Lily Atanassova. An essential contribution to his musical education and professional
growth have his studies in harmony and composition with the great Bulgarian musician Stephan Trayanov. Both then and now Konstantin Tsekov is a brilliant pianist. His possibilities for magnificent piano career did not tempt him in the genre, which would later become his destiny. Three factors played a decisive part in this: his friendship with Alexander Bakharov and Rouen Boyadjiev; the music of "Yes" , "Genesis", Gino Vaneli and his firm decision his profession to become his hobby, and his hobby to become a profession!

This was how the three founded FSB in 1976. The studio activities in Balkanton are not only a possibility to experiment the author’s ideas, but also to establish contemporary trends in arrangements and sounds. Konstantin Tsekov is unique studio musician, an absolutist with proverbial "prima vista", having an unruffled nervous system, being a professional of a world class! All this is accompanied by sharp and delicate sensitivity, by inexhaustible creative invention. He is the author of plenty arrangements of songs written by Bulgarian composers, as well as the composer himself of numerous songs from the repertoire of Vassil Naydenov, Orlin Goranov, Yordanka Hristova, Vassil Petrov, Kameliya Todorova, Irina FlorinЃEHe is the author of documentary film music, of theatrical and children’s music. His is the music to the TV feature film "Remnants", directed by Rossen Elezov.

FSB’s pause in activities was for him "the beginnings of something new". His first authors sole album of instrumental music "Verticals", was born in 1996 as an impulse of his momentary mood. Ivan Lechev, Venko Zakhariev and Stoyan Yankoulov took part in it. A recital followed in the arts fest "Apolloniya" and many club performances with that program, as well. Konstantin Tsekov’s second album "Fish Wings", 1999 was entirely different in style. It was new confirmation of the creative potential and particular talent of his author. It was realized by the same team of musicians with the special participation of Avail Kraichovsky and Peter Slavov Jr. The solo vocals were performed by him alone, the texts were written by Jivka Shopova. Silent and concentrated in himself Konstantin Tsekov does not speak easiness both for his past and his future with FSB, but the creativity flame sparks in his eyes.

Deep Purple - Stormbringer 2009 (35th Anniversary Edition)

Genre: Rock
Format: Wv + cue + log + test + DVD
Released: 2009
Label: EMI

01. Stormbringer

02. Love Don't Mean A Thing

03. Holy Man

04. Hold On

05. Lady Double Dealer

06. You Can't Do It Right

07. High Ball Shooter

08. The Gypsy

09. Soldier Of Fortune

10. Holy Man (Glenn Hughes Remix)

11. You Can't Do It Right (Glenn Hughes Remix)

12. Love Don't Mean A Thing (Glenn Hughes Remix)

13. Hold On (Glenn Hughes Remix)

14. High Ball Shooter (Instrumental)

DEEP PURPLE Stormbringer (2009 issue UK '35th Anniversary Deluxe Edition' 2-disc set - Originally released in November 1974, 'Stormbringer' [featuring the Mark 3 line-up of the band that included David Coverdale on vocals and Glenn Hughes on bass] was the ninth studio album by Deep Purple, and prominently featured the soul and funk elements that were only hinted at on previous album 'Burn'. Sounding just as fresh as it did on original release, this 35th anniversary special edition comes with a crisp new remaster, and a host of collectable extras. Comprising the 14-track CD containing the remastered original album along with a clutch of tracks remixed by Glenn Hughes at Abbey Road [especially for this release], plus a Bonus Region 0 NTSC DVD including the original Quad mix of the album, presented in both 5.1 surround sound and stereo. Presented in sealed card slipcase complete with an extensive illustrated 24-page picture booklet)