Grand Lux - Carved In Stone

Published Feb. 08 2007

*=Staff's pick	1000 Paper Cranes Fallen Angel Escaping The Clouds Eye Of The Storm Through Dirt Like Hail From Blue Sky Love Reflection Never Fall Eternity In Fire Rainbow's End*

Genre	Heavy Metal	Phil Goode	Vocals
Tracks	10	B.D. Hughes	Guitar
Runningtime	39 Min.	Kirk Evil	Guitar
Label	Ulterium Records	Zack Rament	Bass
Release	26 Jan. 2007	Ran-Dee	Drums
Country	Norway	-	Keyboard
Similar artists	Judas Priest, Tad Morose, Stryper

Despite the exotic names in the line-up of Grand Lux the band actually hails from Kristianstad, Norway. They have existed since early 1999 and inspired by classic heavy metal such as Dio, Judas Priest and Ozzy Osbourne they started their metallic journey. These inspirations can quite clearly be heard on Carved In Stone, the bands second album, but you can also can hear touches of Tad Morose and Stryper. The similarity with Stryper is due to the fact that vocalist Phil Goode sometimes sounds extremely close to Michael Sweet.

Apart from the very weak and unfocused opener 1000 Paper Cranes the album is quite consistent and even along the way. This 39 minute ride includes nothing that raises your eyebrow in any way, just fairly competent 80's metal that passes without stirring any emotions at all. In fact, after several listening sessions it is only the final track, Rainbow's End, that has stuck in any way and there you have this album's biggest weakness. I am confident that if Grand Lux wants to make a greater impact in the metal community they have to focus on the song writing department a lot more next time. Cool names and efficient but overused riffs isn't enough I'm afraid. Better melodies and an own identity is also wanted.

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
6	5	6	6	5

Summary
5 chalices of 10 - Hawk