Kód: 22242361 18,34 €
Dodanie trvá 21 týždňov.
Dátum vydania: 22.5.2009
Žáner: ROCK
EAN: 0884502070989 (info)
Obsahuje nosičov: 1
Nosič: CD
Popis - DISTANT ENCOUNTERS:
Optimystical’s debut album “Distant Encounters” is the perfect blend of Scandinavian Melodic Rock, AOR and Melodic Metal, covering the time period from the 80s to the modern age. The varied songs with their catchy hooklines, mighty guitar riffs and epic keyboard sounds are a powerful musical statement in the vein of Scandinavian audience favorites like Pretty Maids, Glory, Europe, Yngwie Malmsteen,Treat and Brother Firetribe. The Scandinavian Melodic Rock scene has a long and successful tradition. During the Eighties bands like Europe, Pretty Maids, Glory and Treat vouched for musical quality and fine chart positions and still today the European North is a fertile soil for upcoming and promising new Melodic Rock bands like Brother Firetribe, H.E.A.T. and Work Of Art. The year 2009 will mark the start of the success story by the Swedish band project “Optimystical”, a musical unit under the direction of songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Robin Vagh, who has already released two albums under the Vagh-banner in 2002 and 2004. The creative process for the songs of “Distant Encounters” already began to take shape in 2004 and step by step Robin invited various musicians of the Swedish Rock scene into the studio, hence you will find (ex-)members of Token, Pole Position, Reptilian and Majestic in the album credits. The intro to “Sunburst In The Midnight” is the bombastic opening to an album, that is a grand display of Melodic Rock and AOR fireworks, and that also broadens its horizon into the realms of Melodic Metal. After the impressive beginning the song builds up towards a rousing refrain, that will have every Rock fan singing along. To keep the vocal chords swinging the following “Happen” delivers the next marvelous hookline, making the tune a fast paced Melodic Rock gem of the highest order with outstanding guitar work by Fredrik Fencke. “Optimystical” features two lead vocalists, Ronnie Hagstedt is holding the microphone on the first two songs and he is also the lead singer on eight more tunes. On tracks number three and four Jonas Blum (Pole Position, Majestic) takes over, his voice is similar to the one of Bonfire’s Claus Lessmann and it suits the midtempo rockers “Outcast” and “Tonite” pretty fine. By reading the epic sounding title “Startide Rising” you will already expect a fascinating musical work and the song won’t let you down. Originally intended to become the title track for the album, it reflects its character in a formidable way and it impresses with its pompous arrangement of guitars, keyboards and harmonies. Next up is 'Face In The Window”, the first ballad,featuring newcomer Mikael “Mike” Laver on guitar, before “Lost Horizon” delivers another huge refrain and satisfies our need for rich harmonies. On “In Our World” Per Broddesson’s guitar comes to the fore and moves things towards the more Metal side, but it’s still a very melodic affair in the vein of Pretty Maids’ “Future World”. Subsequently the musical light-heartedness of “Jennifer“ is in contrast to the lyrical theme of child abuse. Another colour to the musical palette of “Distant Encounters” is added by the seven-minute-opus “The Unexpected“, its clever arrangement melts progressive elements and a catchy hookline into one strong song unit. Before the first musical encounter with “Optimystical” smoothly fades away with “I Go Blind“, we experience the fast and furious “The Storm”. The roots of this up-tempo-rocker lie close to Yngwie Malmsteen’s best works, which he wrote during the end of the 80s and in the beginning of the 90s, when he was working with Joe Lynn Turner and Göran Edman as lead vocalists. That time was a musical era rife with great Melodic Rock releases and it influenced the sound of “Optimystical” in a strong way. Robin Vagh’s endurance in working on the “Optimystical”-songs paid off in a big way and it led to a marvelous result, that finds a worthy completion in the release of “Distant Encounters”. Robin has documented the “Evolution” of the album in his accurate way of getting things done and you can find the “Optimystical-Chronicles“ along with a lot more worthwhile information on the net: www.optimystical.se (Words : Gregor Klee) Some reviewer quotes : Juha Harjula (melodic.net), Rating 4.5 out of 5.0 : I must say that his is a big melodic sensation because it’s filled with stunning music from pure AOR to more pomp mixed with classy melodic hardrock. The songs takes a hold of you right away with big hooks, great riffs, fantastic melodies, catchy choruses and outstanding keyboard sound… So if you're into a mixture of 80s AOR and melodic hardrock with layers of melodies then Optimystical is an album you can’t miss. Johnny Forslund (Sweden Metal Music Entertainment), Rating 7.0 out of 8.0 : Optimystical is a fantastic new experience and takes us to a world filled with huge vibes from the whole wide 80s. Bands that comes to mind right away are: Dreamhunter, Damned Nation, Glenn Hughes, Whitesnake, Street Talk, Prisoner, Amaze Me, Toto, Joe Lynn Turner and so on. A total blend of captivating hard rock and aor with a touch of melodic metal. A very rare mix, but it works. Gabor Kleinboesem(Strutter'zine), Rating 8.7 out of 10.0 : Optimystical is high quality super professional Melodic (Hard) Rock. Especially during the uptempo Melodic Rockers “Startide rising”, “Happen”… the SUPERB “The storm”, that sounds like a mix between RAINBOW/MALMSTEEN fronted JOE LYNN TURNER and DEEP PURPLE fronted DAVID COVERDALE. Slightly heavier, but still it’s all reminding of classic bands such as ALIEN, TALISMAN, TALK OF THE TOWN, MADISON, TREAT, DALTON, BAD HABIT, DAVINCI, etc. etc. mixed with 80s WHITESNAKE, RAINBOW and a bit of DAKOTA choruses… Better make sure you check out this great new release.
01. SUNBURST IN THE MIDNIGHT
02. HAPPEN
03. OUTCAST
04. TONITE
05. STARTIDE RISING
06. FACE IN THE WINDOW
07. LOST HORIZON
08. IN OUR WORLD
09. JENNIFER
10. THE UNEXPECTED
11. THE STORM
12. I GO BLIND
