┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │■ ■│ │ .-/ .-. │ │ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │ │ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │ │ / || (:/:| \ │ │ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │ │ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │ │ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │ │ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │ │ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │ │ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │ │ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │ │ \:-~ ~-:/ │ │ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ P R E S E N T S │ │ │ │ │ │ + Northtale - Welcome To Paradise + │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Information ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Rls Date..2020-05-24 Encoder......LAME 3.100 ║ │ │║ Genre.....Heavy Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │ │║ Year......2019 Khz/Bitrate..44.1 / VBR kbps ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Ripper....Anthem Songs........13 ║ │ │║ Source....CD Covers.......Yes ║ │ │║ Url.. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Notes ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Artist : Northtale ║ │ │║ Album : Welcome To Paradise ║ │ │║ Label : Nuclear Blast ║ │ │║ Cat.No : 27361 48832 ║ │ │╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Description : ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Power metal is strange. I tend to find that the genre is ║ │ │║ both ridiculed unfairly and unjustly praised at the same ║ │ │║ time. To be more specific, IÆve seen fans of more extreme ║ │ │║ metal genres criticize power metal for being cheesy by ║ │ │║ singing about dragons, but ignoring the fact that their ║ │ │║ favorite band sings about Satan or gore in a similar ║ │ │║ manner. IÆve also seen power metal enthusiasts blindly ║ │ │║ worship generic songs or albums (Avantasia comes to mind). ║ │ │║ Of course, most power metal bands contain competent ║ │ │║ musicians so thereÆs usually at least something of value to ║ │ │║ gain from even the most generic of albums. Anyway, IÆd like ║ │ │║ to state for the record that I always found it absurd that ║ │ │║ any listener of metal would stick to a specific subgenre, ║ │ │║ but whatever. I love me some power metal, but I also love ║ │ │║ me some thrash, black, speed, folk, viking, and progressive ║ │ │║ Metal û or any combination thereof. Anyway, on to the ║ │ │║ review. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ IÆm going to immediately start by saying that Northtale ║ │ │║ offers absolutely nothing new to the genre. Now, thatÆs not ║ │ │║ necessarily a bad thing because this entire album is a ║ │ │║ blast from the past and by past, I mean the late 90s and ║ │ │║ early 2000s. Northtale is somewhat of a power metal ║ │ │║ supergroup as every member is/was a member of a quasi-known ║ │ │║ band. Christian Eriksson, formally of Twilight Force, ║ │ │║ provides a majority of the vocals (there are some spoken ║ │ │║ parts/choirs that IÆm not sure are him or entirely him). I ║ │ │║ like to believe that he left due to how much they buried ║ │ │║ the guitars on their second effort (zing!). Guitarist Bill ║ │ │║ Hudson has been/is in various bands with the most notable ║ │ │║ ones being Circle II Circle, Cellador, U.D.O, and Jon ║ │ │║ OlivaÆs Pain. Patrick Johansson drummed for Yngwie for over ║ │ │║ a decade and Jimmy Pitts, a very skilled keyboardist, ║ │ │║ currently plays in a band you should probably check out ║ │ │║ called EternityÆs End. The only unknown member (to me ║ │ │║ anyway) here is bassist Mikael Planefeldt. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ As I previously stated before somewhat straying off-topic, ║ │ │║ Northtale doesnÆt necessarily surprise on Welcome to ║ │ │║ Paradise. What is refreshing, however, is that Northtale ║ │ │║ demonstrate the underrated quality of ôflowö. In case you ║ │ │║ donÆt know what I mean, IÆm referring to how well the album ║ │ │║ moves from song to song. Northtale did a solid job in ║ │ │║ spreading the love and that makes listening to 53 minutes ║ │ │║ of power metal much easier to digest. ThatÆs not to say ║ │ │║ that the album isnÆt full of quality tunes û oh no, quite ║ │ │║ the contrary. It can just be quite frustrating when bands ║ │ │║ are lacking in ideas so they fill the first half with their ║ │ │║ best stuff and completely neglect the second half of the ║ │ │║ album û or vice versa. Northtale does a fair job avoiding ║ │ │║ this pitfall. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Without even hearing a note, you probably already know what ║ │ │║ to expect from this album: neoclassical keyboards (some ║ │ │║ twinkling)/guitars, double bass drumming, and soaring ║ │ │║ vocals/choirs. Really, Christian Eriksson offers a ║ │ │║ fantastic performance. He won me over pretty quickly and ║ │ │║ although I really only enjoy Twilight ForceÆs debut album, ║ │ │║ I was quite sad to see him go. No matter what Northtale ║ │ │║ throws at you, be it ballads, speedy numbers, or even an ║ │ │║ 80s anthem, Christian Eriksson is the man for the job. Of ║ │ │║ course, no power metal would be complete without catchy ║ │ │║ choruses and this album is full of them. Several of these ║ │ │║ songs will stick in your head, for better or worse, and ║ │ │║ that counts for something. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ There are no seriously terrible songs to be found on ║ │ │║ Welcome to Paradise, but some are weaker from a songwriting ║ │ │║ standpoint. ThereÆs only one true ballad that serves as the ║ │ │║ album closer (ôEven Whenö) with ôWay of the Lightö being a ║ │ │║ semi-ballad. ôEveryoneÆs a Starö is the aforementioned 80s ║ │ │║ anthem that youÆre either going to like or hate. I dislike ║ │ │║ it, but I certainly wouldnÆt call it awful; just, out of ║ │ │║ place perhaps. I will admit, however, to enjoying the ║ │ │║ songÆs attempt at making fun of social media ôstarsö. The ║ │ │║ previously mentioned tracks are probably the weakest songs ║ │ │║ on the album, but the ballad does ultimately work as an ║ │ │║ ending. The best part is that the highlights essentially ║ │ │║ start and end the show. You even get something special ║ │ │║ smack dab in the middle of the album (ôShape Your ║ │ │║ Realityö). Northtale also does us a favor and avoids ║ │ │║ including the obligatory overly long song in an attempt to ║ │ │║ be ôepicö; so, ôthank you, Northtale.ö ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Overall, you know what youÆre getting with Welcome to ║ │ │║ Paradise. If you hate everything power metal, you arenÆt ║ │ │║ likely to find that elusive conversion album here; but for ║ │ │║ everyone else, thereÆs something refreshing about this ║ │ │║ album. The album is full of catchy choruses, great ║ │ │║ guitar/keyboard solos, powerful vocals (and vocal ║ │ │║ melodies), clean production (not squeaky clean, mind you), ║ │ │║ and competent drumming. Bill Hudson is a pretty unique ║ │ │║ player who injects emotion and care into his riffs and ║ │ │║ solos. He somehow manages to sound unique despite being in ║ │ │║ a genre full of clones. The keyboards are extremely well ║ │ │║ done and never oversaturated in my opinion. They are ║ │ │║ definitely noticeable, but are there to mostly provide ║ │ │║ atmosphere save for the occasional intro/outro/solo. The ║ │ │║ lyrics arenÆt going to blow your mind either, but IÆve seen ║ │ │║ much worse and they do the job here. ItÆs not a perfect ║ │ │║ album by any means, but this is definitely an album to ║ │ │║ check out if youÆre a power metal purist or even just a ║ │ │║ person who mildly enjoys this particular subgenre. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Highlights: ôWelcome to Paradiseö; ôFollow Meö; ôShape Your ║ │ │║ Realityö; ôSirenÆs Fallö; ôPlaying with Fireö; ôIf Angels ║ │ │║ Are Realö ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Originally written for and published by Thunderous Voices - ║ │ │║ https://thunderousvoices.com/northtale-welcome-to-paradise/ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Tracklist ║ │ │╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │ │ │ │ 1. Welcome To Paradise 4:36 │ │ 2. Higher 3:45 │ │ 3. Follow Me 4:39 │ │ 4. The Rythm Of Life 3:50 │ │ 5. Time To Rise 3:51 │ │ 6. Way Of The Light (Bonus) 4:47 │ │ 7. Shape Your Reality 3:39 │ │ 8. Everyone┤s A Star 3:46 │ │ 9. Siren┤s Fall 3:52 │ │ 10. Bring Down The Mountain 3:50 │ │ 11. Playing With Fire 4:31 │ │ 12. If Angels Are Real 4:28 │ │ 13. Even When 3:29 │ │ │ │ │ │ Total Length : 00:53:03 │ │ │ │ │ │ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ╔═════════════════════╗ │ │ ║ Greetings To: ║ │ │ ╚═════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ Too all people who contributes to make this │ │ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │■ ■│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘