┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │■ ■│ │ .-/ .-. │ │ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │ │ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │ │ / || (:/:| \ │ │ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │ │ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │ │ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │ │ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │ │ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │ │ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │ │ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │ │ \:-~ ~-:/ │ │ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ P R E S E N T S │ │ │ │ │ │ + Astral Doors - Worship or Die + │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Information ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Rls Date..2020-05-30 Encoder......LAME 3.100 ║ │ │║ Genre.....Heavy Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │ │║ Year......2019 Khz/Bitrate..44.1 / VBR kbps ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Ripper....Anthem Songs........12 ║ │ │║ Source....CD Covers.......Yes ║ │ │║ Url..http://www.astraldoors.com ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Notes ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Artist : Astral Doors ║ │ │║ Album : Worship or Die ║ │ │║ Label : Metalville ║ │ │║ Cat.No : MV0210 ║ │ │╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Description : ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ It is stipulated that without innovation, metal and all ║ │ │║ that it stands for would wither and die, yet most of the ║ │ │║ great music that it gives us all comes largely in the form ║ │ │║ of bands that spend more time affirming past ║ │ │║ accomplishments and only occasionally bringing something ║ │ │║ completely new to the table. Astral Doors is one of those ║ │ │║ bands that has raised the concept of repackaging the glory ║ │ │║ of the past into something in line with present practices ║ │ │║ to an art form. They've been at the business of answer the ║ │ │║ question of "What would Dio do?" since they first entered ║ │ │║ the fray at the tail end of the power metal revival in ║ │ │║ 2002, and the answer given dovetails fairly closely with ║ │ │║ something that Dio would have been fairly open to ║ │ │║ attempting, namely blending the European heavy/power metal ║ │ │║ sound of the post-millennial period with the sound of Dio's ║ │ │║ high period in the mid-1980s. Their chief draw has always ║ │ │║ been the highly distinctive and Dio-like vocal persona of ║ │ │║ Nils Patrik Johansson, who has since become a highly sought ║ │ │║ after voice in power metal circles, and their latest ║ │ │║ offering Worship Or Die puts that same best foot forward ║ │ │║ while reaffirming what this band has always been about in ║ │ │║ predictable fashion. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Naturally from one album to the next there will be some ║ │ │║ degree of variation, and this time around the pendulum has ║ │ │║ shifted towards more catchy, moderate length anthems with a ║ │ │║ fanfare chorus emphasis that comes off as a bit less ║ │ │║ intense and dark than Notes From The Shadows, but otherwise ║ │ │║ resembles said album the most in terms of structure. This ║ │ │║ is obviously in opposition to the somewhat more epic and ║ │ │║ nuanced character of their previous outing Black Eyed ║ │ │║ Children, functioning more as a Last In Line to said ║ │ │║ album's Dream Evil. The field is largely dominated by more ║ │ │║ mid-paced and catchy anthems in the vein of mid-80s Dio ║ │ │║ classics such as "Evil Eyes" and "Breathless", as observed ║ │ │║ in infectious bangers like "Concrete Heart", "Night Of The ║ │ │║ Hunter" and "Ride The Clouds". Things actually veer into ║ │ │║ Sacred Heart territory for a bit with the keyboard-driven ║ │ │║ romp "Let The Fire Burn", which is something of an unusual ║ │ │║ twist for this band's generally heavier emphasis on cars ║ │ │║ and greater reliance on Deep Purple-oriented rock organ ║ │ │║ sounds from the keys. Likewise, the lone speed metal foray ║ │ │║ "Triumph And Superiority" shows some affinity for "I Speed ║ │ │║ At Night", but also comes with some "Kill The King" ║ │ │║ inspired moments mixed in with a Helloween sense of fanfare ║ │ │║ chorus work. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ All this being said, Astral Doors doesn't outright eschew ║ │ │║ the epic demeanor of their last outing for this album's ║ │ │║ entire duration, yet the way their longer songs work here ║ │ │║ is notably of a less haunting and more straight up ║ │ │║ melancholy character. The serene mix of clean guitar lines ║ │ │║ and harmonized leads followed by a mid-paced trudge that is ║ │ │║ "Light At The End Of The Tunnel" shows a strong commonality ║ │ │║ with "Children Of The Sea", painted over with a European ║ │ │║ power metal sense of chorus work. The somewhat darker ║ │ │║ "Marathon" veers the closest to the haunting chills of ║ │ │║ "Black Eyed Children", albeit of a slightly swifter ║ │ │║ galloping character once the quiet intro segues into the ║ │ │║ heavier body of the song. And though it isn't a necessarily ║ │ │║ long song, the closer "Forgive Me Father" presents a ║ │ │║ woeful, doom-oriented take on heavy metal balladry that ║ │ │║ mirrors elements of the last album while also listening the ║ │ │║ closest to an overt throwback to the 80s era. Then again, ║ │ │║ the generally colossal character of "St. Petersburg", which ║ │ │║ leans pretty heavy on the "Heaven And Hell" emulation, ║ │ │║ proves to be the show-stealing moment of this album, so it ║ │ │║ may well be that old tricks are always the best ones. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ To anyone who has been a consistent fan of this band for ║ │ │║ any duration since 2002, this plays things about as close ║ │ │║ to home as one can without outright self-plagiarizing ║ │ │║ previous albums. There are a few moments that may shine a ║ │ │║ bit brighter this time relative to the last couple ║ │ │║ offerings depending on how much epic songwriting versus ║ │ │║ straightforward rocking one prefers, but it's a pretty safe ║ │ │║ bet that liking one Astral Doors album means liking them ║ │ │║ all. They live and die by the quality of their performance ║ │ │║ more so than any innovative quirks in their songwriting, ║ │ │║ and it'll likely be a cold day in hell before Nils has an ║ │ │║ off day at the microphone. The rest of the band are ║ │ │║ obviously no slouches and the riff work is nothing to be ║ │ │║ scoffed at, but one area where this band has differed a bit ║ │ │║ from their object of emulation is that there isn't an ║ │ │║ emergent second star to function as a foil for Johansson ║ │ │║ the way Vivian Campbell, Craig Goldie and Doug Aldrich did ║ │ │║ on their respective work with the king of rock 'n' roll. ║ │ │║ There are no slouches to speak of, and there are a few ║ │ │║ moments of technical brilliance, but overall this band is a ║ │ │║ well oiled machine that features instrumentalists providing ║ │ │║ the backdrop for a stellar voice, and it continues to work ║ │ │║ for them nine albums into their career with no bumps in the ║ │ │║ road to speak of. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Tracklist ║ │ │╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │ │ │ │ 1. Night of the Hunter 4:42 │ │ 2. This Must Be Paradise 4:03 │ │ 3. Worship or Die 3:15 │ │ 4. Concrete Heart 3:57 │ │ 5. Marathon 6:39 │ │ 6. Desperado 4:44 │ │ 7. Ride the Clouds 3:59 │ │ 8. Light at the End of the Tunnel 5:52 │ │ 9. St. Petersburg 4:56 │ │ 10. Triumph & Superiority 4:10 │ │ 11. Let the Fire Burn 3:47 │ │ 12. Forgive Me Father 4:58 │ │ │ │ │ │ Total Length : 00:55:02 │ │ │ │ │ │ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ╔═════════════════════╗ │ │ ║ Greetings To: ║ │ │ ╚═════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ Too all people who contributes to make this │ │ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │■ ■│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘