┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │■ ■│ │ .-/ .-. │ │ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │ │ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │ │ / || (:/:| \ │ │ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │ │ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │ │ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │ │ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │ │ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │ │ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │ │ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │ │ \:-~ ~-:/ │ │ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ P R E S E N T S │ │ │ │ │ │ + Axxis - Back To The Kingdom + │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Information ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Release Date.Feb-15-2009 Encoder......LAME 3.90 Modified ║ │ │║ Genre........Heavy Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │ │║ Year.........2000 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........13 ║ │ │║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.axxis.de ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Notes ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Artist : Axxis Rating : You Decide! ║ │ │║ Album : Back To The Kingdom Label : Massacre ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Description : ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Here, Axxis cleaned up their act and released a ║ │ │║ very strong slab of melodic Germanism. I have no ║ │ │║ idea what the original "Kingdom of the night" ║ │ │║ sounds like, so I can't say if this is a "return ║ │ │║ to form" after the stupid "Voodoo vibes", or ║ │ │║ just a marketing gimmick. What I can tell you is ║ │ │║ that fans of "plain" (i.e. non-pretentious, ║ │ │║ non-tear jerking) power metal will not be ║ │ │║ disappointed. This is not a heavy album at all, ║ │ │║ but a friendly and fun-filled ride, for one of ║ │ │║ those days when you don't feel like walking ║ │ │║ around in all-black, painting inverted crosses ║ │ │║ at your job, school or retirement castle. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Bernhard Weiss is a quite cheesy singer, but ║ │ │║ certainly not unpleasant, and with a good sense ║ │ │║ of melody. He is also Axxis' lyricist, which is ║ │ │║ both their weakness and strength here. The ║ │ │║ lyrics are ridiculously badly written, so much ║ │ │║ as to sometimes actually ENHANCE the album ║ │ │║ through their hilarity alone. Most of the time, ║ │ │║ I have no idea what Weiss is trying to say with ║ │ │║ his lyrics, though the subject matters don't ║ │ │║ seem to be demanding enough for that to matter - ║ │ │║ they're usually about everyday observations, or ║ │ │║ some flyweight fantasy. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ How about the anti-grammatical masterpiece ║ │ │║ "Flashback radio": "It's gonna make me sick, ║ │ │║ it's all this techno hype, can't hear it ║ │ │║ anymore, oh, I don't like this vibes!" SIC! This ║ │ │║ is no joke, the album is loaded to the brim with ║ │ │║ pearls like this. It's also humourous in another ║ │ │║ way, because if you read my review for "Voodoo ║ │ │║ vibes", you'll see that Axxis actually was a ║ │ │║ techno-wannabe poser band just 3 years prior to ║ │ │║ this! ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ As for the songs - well, "Shadowman" alone is ║ │ │║ worth buying the album for, it's that good! One ║ │ │║ of those rare songs when everything just comes ║ │ │║ together perfectly - the groove, the melody, the ║ │ │║ riffs. Not too long and not too short. The ║ │ │║ lyrics, insipid as they are, also work well ║ │ │║ here. Even if you don't plan to buy this album, ║ │ │║ do yourself a favour and check out this song! ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ I also love "Why not?!" and the goofball cover ║ │ │║ "Na na, hey hey, kiss him goodbye". "Heaven in ║ │ │║ black" is a very well-crafted half-ballad. ║ │ │║ Speedy "Like a sphinx" and "Ice on fire" are ║ │ │║ rock-solid, melodic sing-alongs, as are ║ │ │║ mid-tempo tracks "Sea of love", "White lights", ║ │ │║ "My little princess" and "Be a king" (digipack ║ │ │║ bonus). ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ They really focused their aims on this album, ║ │ │║ compared to "Voodoo vibes", where every song ║ │ │║ tried to be several things at once - both ballad ║ │ │║ and rocker, or ballad and disco. Here, the ║ │ │║ rocking songs don't try to be anything other ║ │ │║ than straight ahead rockers, and it works much ║ │ │║ better. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ There are a few ballads here too, and they drag ║ │ │║ down the momentum a bit. However, I have to say ║ │ │║ the same thing about them as about the rockers - ║ │ │║ they are more focused than before (even if they ║ │ │║ ARE just ballads). ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Melodic power metal at its finest, and not in ║ │ │║ the least pretentious, pompous or overblown. ║ │ │║ Thank you! ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Favourite songs: "Shadowman", "Why not?!", ║ │ │║ "Heaven in black", "Na na, hey hey, kiss him ║ │ │║ goodbye", "Ice on fire" ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Line-up: ║ │ │║ Vocals : Bernhard Weiss ║ │ │║ Guitars : Bernhard Weiss ║ │ │║ Guitars : Guido Wehmeyer ║ │ │║ Bass : Kuno Niemeyer ║ │ │║ Drums : Richard Michalski ║ │ │║ Keyboards : Harry Oellers ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Tracklist ║ │ │╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │ │ │ │ 01 - Shadowman [04:33] │ │ 02 - Like A Sphinx [04:09] │ │ 03 - Flashback Radio [03:55] │ │ 04 - Heaven In Black [03:40] │ │ 05 - Only God Knows [04:01] │ │ 06 - Sea Of Love [03:50] │ │ 07 - White Lights [03:35] │ │ 08 - Why Not?! [03:00] │ │ 09 - My Little Princess [03:29] │ │ 10 - Without You [03:59] │ │ 11 - Ice On Fire [03:37] │ │ 12 - Na, Na, Hey, Hey, Kiss Him Goodbye [03:42] │ │ 13 - Be A King (Bonus Track) [03:38] │ │ │ │ Total Length : [49:08 minn │ │ │ │ │ │ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ╔═════════════════════╗ │ │ ║ Greetings To: ║ │ │ ╚═════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ Too all people who contributes to make this │ │ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │■ ■│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘