AFM
2013
1. Raise The Curtain
2. Soul Chaser
3. Ten Years
4. Father Time
5. I Know
6. Big Brother
7. Armageddon
8. Soldier
9. Stalker
10. The Witch
11. Can't Get Away
This is the sort of album I go into hoping it will be good, but not expecting it to be. There was a time when Oliva was making music I love, but that was in 1987. I honestly have not Really enjoyed Savatage since Hall of the Mountain King and the shift in direction to a more flamboyant broadway touched style. I dug them when they were screaming traditional. As for Oliva's other, more recent, band Jon Oliva's Pain... it was closer to the right vein, but failed to really grab my interest. I would absolutely love to hear the kind of Oliva I like, but he hasn't made that sort of music in a long, long time. In the world of metal though, you never know. Especially when someone starts a new project that you have no idea what it'll sound like.
Well, the album made me groan from the first tralalala intro. You know, I like some lighter metal and some flamboyant stuff, but the song Raise The Curtain just sounds like it met with a horrible wood chipper accident that resulted in castration. I'd be happy never hearing this song's keyboard happiness and choir vocals ever again. After some oddly Deep Purple sounding keyboard work Soul Chaser does get considerably better, but that also would not be difficult. Not a fantastic song, but an ok one where Oliva at least comes through vocally with some good aggression. Next we have some sort of scat jazz feel on Ten Years that doesn't really interest me at all followed by another Deep Purple/Jon Lord tribute on Father Time that is alright, but the song is just a bit too bouncy for my tastes. After that, I Know is a mediocre ballad barely worth mentioning, but Big Brother picks up the speed and does have some nice heaviness. Then the chorus is quirky in the most annoying way possible though and ruins it for me. Annoyingly quirky also sums up Armageddon pretty nicely as it gets all bouncy and irritating again. Soldier... ah fucking hell it's another ballad. Is this album over yet? Nope still a bit more to go as Stalker goes all Tim Burton/Danny Elfman while continuing to piss me off and make me wish I could turn off the album. I guess I'm in for the long haul though so lets talk about The Witch which takes forever getting to the vocals for a 4:37 and then features some random Oliva rambling. Finally, mercifully, the album ends with one last terrible ballad in Can't Get Away.
I can safely say I will never listen to this again and my hopes for ever enjoying Jon Oliva again are just plain zero. Well, there's almost an hour of my life I'll never get back. Maybe if you like Oliva's experimentation you might find something here I didn't, but to me this thing is an abortion. Fuck this album.
Highlights: Soul Chaser
Rating - 1.0/5
2. Soul Chaser
3. Ten Years
4. Father Time
5. I Know
6. Big Brother
7. Armageddon
8. Soldier
9. Stalker
10. The Witch
11. Can't Get Away
This is the sort of album I go into hoping it will be good, but not expecting it to be. There was a time when Oliva was making music I love, but that was in 1987. I honestly have not Really enjoyed Savatage since Hall of the Mountain King and the shift in direction to a more flamboyant broadway touched style. I dug them when they were screaming traditional. As for Oliva's other, more recent, band Jon Oliva's Pain... it was closer to the right vein, but failed to really grab my interest. I would absolutely love to hear the kind of Oliva I like, but he hasn't made that sort of music in a long, long time. In the world of metal though, you never know. Especially when someone starts a new project that you have no idea what it'll sound like.
Well, the album made me groan from the first tralalala intro. You know, I like some lighter metal and some flamboyant stuff, but the song Raise The Curtain just sounds like it met with a horrible wood chipper accident that resulted in castration. I'd be happy never hearing this song's keyboard happiness and choir vocals ever again. After some oddly Deep Purple sounding keyboard work Soul Chaser does get considerably better, but that also would not be difficult. Not a fantastic song, but an ok one where Oliva at least comes through vocally with some good aggression. Next we have some sort of scat jazz feel on Ten Years that doesn't really interest me at all followed by another Deep Purple/Jon Lord tribute on Father Time that is alright, but the song is just a bit too bouncy for my tastes. After that, I Know is a mediocre ballad barely worth mentioning, but Big Brother picks up the speed and does have some nice heaviness. Then the chorus is quirky in the most annoying way possible though and ruins it for me. Annoyingly quirky also sums up Armageddon pretty nicely as it gets all bouncy and irritating again. Soldier... ah fucking hell it's another ballad. Is this album over yet? Nope still a bit more to go as Stalker goes all Tim Burton/Danny Elfman while continuing to piss me off and make me wish I could turn off the album. I guess I'm in for the long haul though so lets talk about The Witch which takes forever getting to the vocals for a 4:37 and then features some random Oliva rambling. Finally, mercifully, the album ends with one last terrible ballad in Can't Get Away.
I can safely say I will never listen to this again and my hopes for ever enjoying Jon Oliva again are just plain zero. Well, there's almost an hour of my life I'll never get back. Maybe if you like Oliva's experimentation you might find something here I didn't, but to me this thing is an abortion. Fuck this album.
Highlights: Soul Chaser
Rating - 1.0/5
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