Post by The Centurion on Feb 3, 2007 0:50:48 GMT -5
Narnia-Enter the Gate
Released-2006
Label-Massacre Records
Style-Heavy/Power Metal
This would be Narnia's 5th album, that means that there are five different pictures of Aslan the lion to choose from. This particular album cover puts Aslan in a nice and pretty blue shade. Anyway, that isnt the point. Despite some rather redundant cover artwork, Narnia has delivered what appears to be their best effort yet.
The song Into the Game is a great opener to this album and kicks in with everything the band has to offer. Catch riffs, choruses, and solos. What Narnia plays here is a nice mixture of power metal and heavy metal, there might even be a bit of prog in there too. The guitar work is superb just as it is on every Narnia release. Of particular note, the riffs are much crunchier than they were on past releases, making Narnia more accessible to those who like their music heavier. Although the riffs are heavier the classical guitar playing is still intact and as awesome as ever, with some wonderful guitar leads and solos. The drumming is great too and varies well with the constant changing of pace. Christian Rivel's vocals are hit and miss for a lot of people. Personally I really like his singing. On this record his voice is quite a bit more gritty and dirty giving it more of a hard rock feel. I think this compliments the heavier guitar riffs and double bass drumming very well. There are a lot of keyboards used, but never to the point where they get too annoying. The album does contain a few slow songs, and by slow I mean slow. Take Me Home and The Man From Nazareth are some of the slowest songs I have ever heard. Once this all is blended together, we end up with nine very catchy and chorus heavy songs. For the most part this formula works throughout the CD. Sometimes though the repetition of chorus's and riffs begins to wear on me and I find myself skipping to the next track, there isnt always enough variation to keep me listening to for five or six whole minutes.
Lyrically Narnia is a very Christ centered band and focuses mostly on biblical and Christian themes. Sometimes they can be cheesy(Show All the World), but other times they can be very emotional and insightful(Take Me Home).
Overall though this album is not perfect but still an excellent choice for metal heads who like catchy and well written songs with passionate singing. Standout tracks include Another World, Take Me Home, and Show All the World.
Reviewed by Dan.
Released-2006
Label-Massacre Records
Style-Heavy/Power Metal
This would be Narnia's 5th album, that means that there are five different pictures of Aslan the lion to choose from. This particular album cover puts Aslan in a nice and pretty blue shade. Anyway, that isnt the point. Despite some rather redundant cover artwork, Narnia has delivered what appears to be their best effort yet.
The song Into the Game is a great opener to this album and kicks in with everything the band has to offer. Catch riffs, choruses, and solos. What Narnia plays here is a nice mixture of power metal and heavy metal, there might even be a bit of prog in there too. The guitar work is superb just as it is on every Narnia release. Of particular note, the riffs are much crunchier than they were on past releases, making Narnia more accessible to those who like their music heavier. Although the riffs are heavier the classical guitar playing is still intact and as awesome as ever, with some wonderful guitar leads and solos. The drumming is great too and varies well with the constant changing of pace. Christian Rivel's vocals are hit and miss for a lot of people. Personally I really like his singing. On this record his voice is quite a bit more gritty and dirty giving it more of a hard rock feel. I think this compliments the heavier guitar riffs and double bass drumming very well. There are a lot of keyboards used, but never to the point where they get too annoying. The album does contain a few slow songs, and by slow I mean slow. Take Me Home and The Man From Nazareth are some of the slowest songs I have ever heard. Once this all is blended together, we end up with nine very catchy and chorus heavy songs. For the most part this formula works throughout the CD. Sometimes though the repetition of chorus's and riffs begins to wear on me and I find myself skipping to the next track, there isnt always enough variation to keep me listening to for five or six whole minutes.
Lyrically Narnia is a very Christ centered band and focuses mostly on biblical and Christian themes. Sometimes they can be cheesy(Show All the World), but other times they can be very emotional and insightful(Take Me Home).
Overall though this album is not perfect but still an excellent choice for metal heads who like catchy and well written songs with passionate singing. Standout tracks include Another World, Take Me Home, and Show All the World.
Reviewed by Dan.