ALLEN . LANDE: The Revenge

Cover	Release	Style
	2007-05-11	melodic metal / hard rock
	Label
	www.frontiers.it
	Website
	www.magnus-karlsson.com
	Contact
	-
	Playing Time	Cat. N°
	63:35	FR CD 333
	Review by / Translated by	Rating
	Vera	8,5/10
nederlands	Review
We can always rely on “the voice” Jorn Lande for a compelling sung portion of melodic classical hard rock, for the man unites the sensual vocals of Coverdale with the dominant roughness of Dio. When we add Russel Allen – the charismatic front-man of Symphony X – we all know that we can look forward to a high quality level experience when it comes to this second collaboration under the moniker Allen/Lande. Conspicuous fact is that all the material of ‘The Revenge’ has been written by the instrumental genius of this project. This happens to be Magnus Karlsson, who took care of all guitar parts, bass and keyboards and was only assisted by drummer Jaime Salazar as instrumental partner. This combination of ingenious talents results in a few surprising, yet proper album that fans of classic hard rock can add without any problem to their collection. Few surprises indeed, but it also implicates that there are no disappointing tracks or needless fillers on ‘The Revenge’. It is quite muscular, heavy rock that opens the album with title track ‘The Revenge’, interlarded with eminent guitar soloing and both vocalists who are interacting in a fluent way. ‘Master Of Sorrow’ as fourth track begins with classical piano and has a more introvert nature, though things are evolving towards a heavy climax soon. Vocals of Russel Allen are rougher, which we may experience in the generally calm ‘Gone Too Far’. I have the impression that the best tracks only come up in the latter part of the album, such as my favourite ‘Wake Up Call’ which includes some refreshing folk influences and turns into one of the highlights by its inventive guitar-soloing. Next however is the fetching ‘Under The Waves’ with Jorn in solo-spotting and a lovely piano intro. They go all the way in their bombastic nature in the slightly over-blowing ‘Who Can You Trust’ with massive riffs and progressive keyboard parts. And further occlude with the extensive ‘When Time Doesn’t Heal’ where autumnal feels invoke right before summer has begun by its revering vocals. Focus comes down on vocals here when instrumental supports are brought to a minimum. The futuristic artwork is along the lines of the previous album ‘In Battle’, but the fairly conservative approach of rock on ‘The Revenge’ offers proper quality and is highly recommended to the fans of the genre.
Musicians
Jörn Lande: vocals Russel Allen: vocals Magnus Karlsson: guitars, bass, keyboards Jaime Salazar: drums
Tracklist
The Revenge (5:51) Obsessed (4:46) Victory (5:02) Master Of Sorrow (5:54) Will You Follow (5:16) Just A Dream (5:39) Her Spell (4:46) Gone Too Far (4:48) Wake Up Call (4:47) Under The Waves (5:31) Who Can Trust You (4:55) When Time Doesn’t Heal (6:13)
Discography


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