┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │■ ■│ │ .-/ .-. │ │ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │ │ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │ │ / || (:/:| \ │ │ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │ │ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │ │ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │ │ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │ │ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │ │ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │ │ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │ │ \:-~ ~-:/ │ │ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ P R E S E N T S │ │ │ │ │ │ + Bloodbound - Rise Of The Dragon Empire + │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Information ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Rls Date..2020-05-23 Encoder......LAME 3.100 ║ │ │║ Genre.....Heavy Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │ │║ Year......2019 Khz/Bitrate..44.1 / VBR kbps ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Ripper....Anthem Songs........14 ║ │ │║ Source....CD Covers.......Yes ║ │ │║ Url..http://www.bloodbound.se ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Notes ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Artist : Bloodbound ║ │ │║ Album : Rise Of The Dragon Empire ║ │ │║ Label : Avalon ║ │ │║ Cat.No : MICP-11474 ║ │ │╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Description : ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Undaunted by changing lineups and grand strides of ║ │ │║ stylistic evolution that border on subgenre-hopping at ║ │ │║ times, the Swedish power metal institution that is ║ │ │║ Bloodbound has entered its 15th year of existence with ║ │ │║ another grand excursion into the realm of high fantasy ║ │ │║ exploits. For the uninitiated, the place where their story ║ │ │║ began was a good bit different, being somewhere along the ║ │ │║ lines of a musical answer to fellow Swedish metal stars ║ │ │║ Dream Evil with Urban Breed at the vocal helm (fresh off ║ │ │║ his legendary stint with Tad Morose), yet sporting ║ │ │║ corpsepaint and a darker lyrical direction. The various ║ │ │║ musical twists and turns that followed arguably owed to a ║ │ │║ revolving door of lead vocalists given UrbanÆs then ║ │ │║ newfound mercenary tendencies as a band member, though even ║ │ │║ with the entry of a stable lineup following the entry of ║ │ │║ former Dawn Of Silence vocalist Patrik J Selleby the next ║ │ │║ couple albums to follow saw a multiplicity of conceptual ║ │ │║ tendencies and divergent sonic flavoring within the power ║ │ │║ metal paradigm. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Following the release of 2014Æs Stormborn, an obvious nod ║ │ │║ to the hit television series Game Of Thrones, an air of ║ │ │║ consistency began to form around this bandÆs sound that has ║ │ │║ endured to an extent ever since. All the same, in ║ │ │║ comparison to said album and its 2017 follow up War Of ║ │ │║ Dragons, this yearÆs entry in Rise Of The Dragon Empire ║ │ │║ does offer up enough of a contrast in musical content to ║ │ │║ fit in well among their highly diverse back catalog while ║ │ │║ maintaining the same consistent high fantasy demeanor. The ║ │ │║ high fidelity production and fairly simplistic songwriting ║ │ │║ structure that is presented continues the previous albumÆs ║ │ │║ commonality with the vastly popular, anthem-oriented ║ │ │║ splendor of Swedish fellow travelers Sabaton and Civil War. ║ │ │║ Nevertheless, in direct contrast to the swift-paced, almost ║ │ │║ Gamma Ray-infused speed metal tendencies of War Of Dragons, ║ │ │║ the pacing and riff work on display here is notably toned ║ │ │║ down and geared in more of an middling, old school heavy ║ │ │║ metal vibe. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Perhaps the best way to describe this shift in feel is as a ║ │ │║ more direct emulation of the same straightforward, ║ │ │║ pomp-infused sound that Sabaton has used successively since ║ │ │║ the mid-2000s, touched up with a dense keyboard-driven ║ │ │║ symphonic backdrop and an almost folk metal-like gloss ║ │ │║ indicative of an Equilibrium or 90s Blind Guardian ║ │ │║ influence. This approach is basically shoved right in the ║ │ │║ listeners face with the mid-paced, folksy campfire romp ║ │ │║ with guitars and keys roaring opener and title song, ║ │ │║ hitting maximum crowd participation potential during the ║ │ │║ chorus and otherwise keeping things very easy to follow. ║ │ │║ Somewhat similar presentations of sonic largess at a ║ │ │║ reasonable tempo include the somewhat more bombastic ║ │ │║ military march feel of ôSkyriders And Stormbringersö and ║ │ │║ the dense splendor and epic feel of ôMagical Eyeö, though ║ │ │║ the lead guitar work gets a tad fancier than usual during ║ │ │║ the solo sections. Along with similar slower-paced marvels ║ │ │║ like ôBlackwater Bayö and ôThe WarlockÆs Trailö, the ║ │ │║ overall ebb and flow of this album seems geared towards the ║ │ │║ former in terms of pacing. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Not being a band to fully box itself into a singular ║ │ │║ expression within a single album, there are some points ║ │ │║ where the relatively safe mid-paced fair gives way to a few ║ │ │║ songs that are a bit more dynamic and climactic in ║ │ │║ character. Playing off a similar speed metal format that ║ │ │║ hit all out pay dirt on the last album, the riveting anthem ║ │ │║ ôSlayer Of Kingsö hits the afterburners and also drags ║ │ │║ things out a bit longer to allow more time for nuance and ║ │ │║ contrasting moments. Also hitting speed metal territory but ║ │ │║ in more of a Primal Fear mold and keeping things a bit more ║ │ │║ uniform stands ôBalerionö, while a handful of reasonably ║ │ │║ fun upper mid-paced rockers in ôGiants Of Heavenö and ôA ║ │ │║ Blessing In Sorceryö mesh a Hammerfall feel with a lofty ║ │ │║ Sabaton sound to strong affect. But even on the more ║ │ │║ high-impact offerings found on here, there is a heavier ║ │ │║ emphasis on atmosphere and melody over fancy riff work, the ║ │ │║ latter being somewhat compensated for with Tomas OlssonÆs ║ │ │║ shred-happy solos occasionally rivaling Malmsteen in the ║ │ │║ technique department. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ As an overall package, it could be argued that this is the ║ │ │║ safest thing that Bloodbound has put together since their ║ │ │║ banger-oriented first outing with Selleby at the mic, ║ │ │║ namely 2011Æs Unholy Cross. ItÆs a bit more in the ║ │ │║ direction of the current craze of straightforward ║ │ │║ songwriting and a side of folksy melodic craftsmanship than ║ │ │║ the old style heavy metal character of said album, but it ║ │ │║ has a similar emphasis on grabbing its audience with an ║ │ │║ effective hook while toning down the bluster and battery of ║ │ │║ the drum work that was a staple of power metal during the ║ │ │║ early millennial period. It is the weaker side of the ║ │ │║ current sound that this band has largely stuck to since ║ │ │║ Stormborn, at least from the standpoint of overall ║ │ │║ intricacy and staying power, grabbing the ear immediately ║ │ │║ with an effective combination of grandiose textures and ║ │ │║ catchy shanty tunes, but tapering off on the impact factor ║ │ │║ upon repeated listens. It functions more like a prequel to ║ │ │║ War Of Dragons, being a slow build up comparable to The ║ │ │║ Fellowship Of The Ring before getting to the non-stop ║ │ │║ action of The Two Towers and The Return Of The King, but it ║ │ │║ still gets the job done. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Originally published to Sonic Perspectives ║ │ │║ (www.sonicperspectives.com) on March 25th, 2019. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Tracklist ║ │ │╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │ │ │ │ 1. Rise Of The Dragon Empire 4:37 │ │ 2. Slayer Of Kings 5:03 │ │ 3. Skyriders And Stormbringers 3:51 │ │ 4. Magical Eye 3:51 │ │ 5. Blackwater Bay 3:56 │ │ 6. Giants Of Heaven 4:05 │ │ 7. The WarlockÆs Trail 3:56 │ │ 8. A Blessing In Sorcery 3:51 │ │ 9. Breaking The Beast 4:12 │ │ 10. Balerion 4:41 │ │ 11. Reign Of Fire 3:51 │ │ 12. Battle In The Sky (Live) 4:20 │ │ 13. In The Name Of Metal (Live) 4:35 │ │ 14. Moria (Live) 5:49 │ │ │ │ │ │ Total Length : 01:00:38 │ │ │ │ │ │ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ╔═════════════════════╗ │ │ ║ Greetings To: ║ │ │ ╚═════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ Too all people who contributes to make this │ │ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │■ ■│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘