┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │■ ■│ │ .-/ .-. │ │ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │ │ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │ │ / || (:/:| \ │ │ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │ │ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │ │ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │ │ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │ │ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │ │ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │ │ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │ │ \:-~ ~-:/ │ │ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ P R E S E N T S │ │ │ │ │ │ + Axxis - Utopia + │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Information ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Release Date.Aug-30-2009 Encoder......LAME 3.90 Modified ║ │ │║ Genre........Heavy Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │ │║ Year.........2009 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........13 ║ │ │║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.axxis.de ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Notes ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Artist : Axxis Rating : You Decide! ║ │ │║ Album : Utopia Label : AFM ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Description : ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Twenty years and eleven studio albums since ║ │ │║ their debut, the release of ôUtopiaö is ║ │ │║ certainly a milestone in terms of longevity for ║ │ │║ Axxis. Unsurprisingly both their line-up and ║ │ │║ sound has changed since the late 80s, with only ║ │ │║ singer Bernhard Weiss and keyboardist Harry ║ │ │║ Oellers remaining from the old days. In terms of ║ │ │║ their music, theyÆve progressed from a heavy ║ │ │║ metal/hard rock sound to full-on Euro power ║ │ │║ metal; soaring vocals and heavy keyboard use ║ │ │║ present and correct. After my first couple of ║ │ │║ listens to "Utopia" I had come to the conclusion ║ │ │║ that it was a decent enough album, but not one ║ │ │║ that would be likely to garner repeated listens ║ │ │║ after reviewing. I'm pleased to report, however, ║ │ │║ that the album has come across as a stronger ║ │ │║ effort with each extra listen. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ As already mentioned (and which should be ║ │ │║ obvious from the cover art alone), Axxis play ║ │ │║ the type of power metal that is much loved on ║ │ │║ the continent, especially in their native ║ │ │║ Germany. Despite early success ("Kingdom of the ║ │ │║ Night" became the best selling debut album by a ║ │ │║ Hard Rock band in Germany in 1989) I think it's ║ │ │║ fair to say they have never reached the heights ║ │ │║ of other Teutonic bands like Helloween and Gamma ║ │ │║ Ray. Of course, we all know that commercial ║ │ │║ success û or a lack thereof û isn't necessarily ║ │ │║ an indication of quality and this is certainly ║ │ │║ true for recent Axxis output. Previous album ║ │ │║ "Doom of Destiny" received positive reviews and ║ │ │║ "Utopia" looks set to continue the trend, if my ║ │ │║ views on it are anything to go by at least. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Axxis are not doing anything original here and ║ │ │║ naysayers will be able to level the usual ║ │ │║ criticisms at the album û mainly that it's all a ║ │ │║ bit clichΘd and shallow û but for fans of ║ │ │║ European power metal there is a lot of enjoyable ║ │ │║ listening to be had. From the storming title ║ │ │║ track to the awkwardly titled "Sarah Wanna Die", ║ │ │║ the energy is high and the melodies are ║ │ │║ memorable. In fact, most of the album is of a ║ │ │║ high standard and sees the band laying down some ║ │ │║ songs that I have a feeling would be brilliant ║ │ │║ in a live context. As with most albums, there ║ │ │║ are some tracks which, whilst not being bad per ║ │ │║ se, do not match up in terms of quality with the ║ │ │║ rest of the album. "Fass mich an" starts off ║ │ │║ strongly with a high energy riff and melodic ║ │ │║ hook, but ultimately fails to reach the heights ║ │ │║ achieved by other tracks. This may be down to ║ │ │║ the fact the track is the only one to be sung in ║ │ │║ German, which to a non-German speaker like me ║ │ │║ isn't as memorable and doesn't flow as well as ║ │ │║ its English counterparts. Other songs such as ║ │ │║ "The Monsters Crawl" and "Eyes Of A Child" ║ │ │║ wander into forgettable territory, but are ║ │ │║ ultimately saved by their strong choruses and ║ │ │║ overall melody. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Axxis make use of operatic female vocals ║ │ │║ throughout the album. While I'm not a fan of ║ │ │║ this vocal style when it takes the lead, here it ║ │ │║ is mainly confined to the background and used to ║ │ │║ enhance the music and add more power to the ║ │ │║ overall mix, giving many of the songs a ║ │ │║ bombastic feel. Frontman Bernhard is in fine ║ │ │║ voice on the record and whilst his performance ║ │ │║ mainly sticks to the powerful, soaring end of ║ │ │║ the scale, songs like "Fathers' Eyes" show a ║ │ │║ more introspective side û for a while at least. ║ │ │║ At the end of the day, Axxis play fairly ║ │ │║ 'generic' power metal but have shown they have ║ │ │║ the song-writing chops to put themselves ahead ║ │ │║ of the Euro-metal pack. This is certainly not an ║ │ │║ album to convert those adverse to the genre, but ║ │ │║ is definitely recommended to those fond of power ║ │ │║ metal with personality. I wasn't originally ║ │ │║ going to score this album so highly, but as I've ║ │ │║ been singing most of the songs to myself over ║ │ │║ the last couple of weeks; and still have them ║ │ │║ stuck in my head now, I think it deserves such a ║ │ │║ high rating. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Current line-up ║ │ │║ Bernhard Weiss - Vocals (1988-) ║ │ │║ Marco Wriedt - Guitars (2007-) ║ │ │║ Rob Schomaker - Bass (2003-) (Regicide (Ger), ║ │ │║ Trinity (Ger), Cyberya) ║ │ │║ Harry Oellers - Keyboards (1990-) ║ │ │║ Alex Landenburg - Drums (2008-) (Annihilator ║ │ │║ (live), At Vance, Mekong Delta) ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Discography ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Tears of the Trees - Demo 1988 Demo, 1988 ║ │ │║ Kingdom of the Night ( Promo) EP, 1989 ║ │ │║ Fire and Ice ( Promo) Single, 1989 ║ │ │║ Kingdom of the Night Single, 1989 ║ │ │║ Living in a World Single, 1989 ║ │ │║ Tears of the Trees Single, 1989 ║ │ │║ Kingdom of the Night Full-length, 1989 ║ │ │║ Hold You Single, 1990 ║ │ │║ Ships Are Sailing Single, 1990 ║ │ │║ Touch The Rainbow Single, 1990 ║ │ │║ II Full-length, 1990 ║ │ │║ Little Look Back Single, 1991 ║ │ │║ The World Is Looking in Their Eyes Single, 1991 ║ │ │║ Access all Areas Live album, 1991 ║ │ │║ Big Thrill (Promo) Single, 1993 ║ │ │║ Love Doesn't Know Any Distance Single, 1993 ║ │ │║ Stay Don't Leave Me (Promo) Single, 1993 ║ │ │║ The Big Thrill Full-length, 1993 ║ │ │║ Profile-The Best of Axxis Best of/Compilation, ║ │ │║ 1994 ║ │ │║ Another Day EP, 1995 ║ │ │║ Idolator Single, 1995 ║ │ │║ Matters of Survival Full-length, 1995 ║ │ │║ Voodoo Vibes (Promo) Single, 1996 ║ │ │║ Voodoo Vibes Full-length, 1997 ║ │ │║ Sarajevo Single, 1998 ║ │ │║ Back to the Kingdom Full-length, 2000 ║ │ │║ Collection of Power Best of/Compilation, 2001 ║ │ │║ Eyes of Darkness Full-length, 2001 ║ │ │║ Pure & Rough Full-length, 2002 ║ │ │║ Time Machine Full-length, 2004 ║ │ │║ Platinum Edition Boxed set, 2004 ║ │ │║ Paradise in Flames Full-length, 2006 ║ │ │║ Best of Ballads & Acoustic Specials Best ║ │ │║ of/Compilation, 2006 ║ │ │║ Doom of Destiny Full-length, 2007 ║ │ │║ Utopia Full-length, 2009 ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Tracklist ║ │ │╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │ │ │ │ 01 - Journey To Utopia [01:40] │ │ 02 - Utopia [04:00] │ │ 03 - Last Man On Earth [04:52] │ │ 04 - Fass Mich An [05:10] │ │ 05 - Sarah Wanna Die [05:54] │ │ 06 - My Fathers┤ Eyes [04:41] │ │ 07 - The Monsters Crawl [04:45] │ │ 08 - Eyes Of A Child [04:33] │ │ 09 - Heavy Rain [04:32] │ │ 10 - For You I Will Die [05:31] │ │ 11 - Underworld [03:57] │ │ 12 - Taste My Blood (Bonus Track) [04:23] │ │ 13 - 20 Years Anniversary Song (Bonus Track) [12:18] │ │ │ │ Total Length : [66:16 minn │ │ │ │ │ │ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ╔═════════════════════╗ │ │ ║ Greetings To: ║ │ │ ╚═════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ Too all people who contributes to make this │ │ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │■ ■│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘