┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │■ ■│ │ .-/ .-. │ │ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │ │ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │ │ / || (:/:| \ │ │ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │ │ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │ │ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │ │ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │ │ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │ │ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │ │ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │ │ \:-~ ~-:/ │ │ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ P R E S E N T S │ │ │ │ │ │ + Borealis - The Offering-(AFM 638-9) + │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Information ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Release Date.Aug-16-2018 Encoder......L3.98.4 -V0 --lowpas ║ │ │║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │ │║ Year.........2018 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........12 ║ │ │║ Covers.......Yes Url... n/a ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Notes ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Artist : Borealis Rating : You Decide! ║ │ │║ Album : The Offering-(AFM 638-9) Label : AFM ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Description : ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Three years on from 2015's Purgatory, Canada's ║ │ │║ Borealis returns with The Offering, a concept ║ │ │║ album. It's a creepy concept as well, developed ║ │ │║ from vocalist Matt Marinelli's interest in cults ║ │ │║ from horror movies. The concept follows the ║ │ │║ creation, rise, and ultimate demise of a cult ║ │ │║ which practices child sacrifice, thinking it ║ │ │║ will bring about a better world. That is some ║ │ │║ some disturbing shit, if I do say so myself. You ║ │ │║ can read more about the concept at the end of ║ │ │║ the review, but now on to the music. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Within this album, Borealis ventures little from ║ │ │║ the musical path they've established over three ║ │ │║ previous albums. They still offer progressive ║ │ │║ power metal in the best tradition of Symphony X, ║ │ │║ Kamelot, or Everygrey. Yet, several essential, ║ │ │║ ever present, components make up the Borealis ║ │ │║ sound. These include a sharp wall of riffage ║ │ │║ from twin guitars, an abundance of soaring ║ │ │║ guitar solos, a vigorous rhythm section for ║ │ │║ power and speed, and an embellishing layer of ║ │ │║ symphonic synths to wrap things together, making ║ │ │║ the Borealis sound even more bombastic. As usual ║ │ │║ the wild card is Marinelli's vocal presence, ║ │ │║ which always seems to be desperately trying to ║ │ │║ survive the bombastic musical onslaught. No ║ │ │║ matter how strong he sings, or how screamo he ║ │ │║ needs to go, he's simply overwhelmed most of the ║ │ │║ time. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ But on to some song highlights. For some ║ │ │║ arrangements that combine large orchestration ║ │ │║ with power metal vigor, listen for The Fire ║ │ │║ Between Us, The Awakening, or River. More ║ │ │║ straight forward power metal comes with The ║ │ │║ Offering and Forever Lost. For Scarlet Angel, ║ │ │║ Borealis dials things back at the start with ║ │ │║ lighter guitar and piano. As expected, ║ │ │║ Marinelli's voice is better head in this ║ │ │║ context. The song also thrills with great solos ║ │ │║ beginning about mid point. Perhaps my favorite ║ │ │║ song, musically speaking, was The Devil's Hand, ║ │ │║ something of a lighter ballad with sweet ║ │ │║ acoustic guitars and synths that sound like true ║ │ │║ violins. Again, in this song Marinelli is heard ║ │ │║ much better, even sounding soulful. Then the ║ │ │║ song ends the ballad with the crushing crescendo ║ │ │║ of riffage before exiting with acoustic guitar. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ All in all, The Offering is pretty much ║ │ │║ everything you would expect from Borealis: ║ │ │║ assertive, creative, and sometimes challenging ║ │ │║ progressive power metal. If you're a fan, you'll ║ │ │║ want to get this album. Recommended. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Review written by Craig Hartranft for ║ │ │║ www.dangerdog.com ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Matt Marinelli - Vocals, Guitars ║ │ │║ Trevor McBride - Bass ║ │ │║ Sean Dowell - Drums ║ │ │║ Ken Fobert - Guitars ║ │ │║ Sean Werlick - Keyboards ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Tracklist ║ │ │╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │ │ │ │ 01 - The Fire Between Us [04:41] │ │ 02 - Sign Of No Return [05:05] │ │ 03 - The Offering [05:09] │ │ 04 - River [04:45] │ │ 05 - The Second Son [05:34] │ │ 06 - The Devil's Hand [03:59] │ │ 07 - Into The Light [05:25] │ │ 08 - Scarlet Angel [05:24] │ │ 09 - The Awakening [05:06] │ │ 10 - The Path [02:19] │ │ 11 - Forever Lost [05:07] │ │ 12 - The Ghosts Of Innocence [08:46] │ │ │ │ Total Length : [61:20 minn │ │ │ │ │ │ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ╔═════════════════════╗ │ │ ║ Greetings To: ║ │ │ ╚═════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ Too all people who contributes to make this │ │ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │■ ■│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘