Rebellion - Sagas Of Iceland: The History Of The Vikings Volume I
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In Memoranduum Lindisfarnae |
| Genre | Heavy Metal |
Michael Seifert
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Vocals
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| Tracks | 13 |
Uwe Lulis
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Guitar
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| Runningtime | 64 Min. |
Björn Eilen
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Guitar
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| Label | Massacre Records |
Tomi Göttlich
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Bass
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| Release | 30 May 2005 |
Gerd Lücking
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Drums
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| Country | Germany |
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Keyboards
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| Similar artists | Grave Digger | ||
Rebellion strikes back after the in my eyes big disappontment Born A Rebel (2003). This time they are aiming high, as this is the first part in a trilogy about the vikings and the next two albums are expected with approximatly one year's intervals.
Since the core of the band is built up on Uwe Lulis and Tomi Göttlich, both ex-members of renowed and long running metal machine Grave Digger, the musical approach is of course the same as before. Built on razor sharp, yet catchy riffs and a mixture of epic refrains and more straight and rock'n'roll ones. The first album Shakespeares MacBeth - A Tragedy In Steel (2002) was decent, but it did not reach up to those heights you had expected it to, Lulis being the riff master he had proven himself to be in Grave Diggers early years. The following album Born A Rebel (2003) was just bad with few riffs that even managed to engage and a vocal performance way below par.
I can notice a big improvment in both areas on this albums, and it gives hope for the whole trilogy. The riffs are classic Lulis ones and made with some thought behind them this time. Since a bit more than half the album is mid tempo, the riffs are more epic and pumping and it creates a good mood to accompany the somber and savage story. A story that is not the most original one, but that's another story. Good luck coming up with something completely original (and at the same time good) in the metal scene nowadays, without turning very pretentious. The production is as usual very Grave Digger sounding and this time Knights Of The Cross especially comes to mind, even though a bit more rich and full. I said "improvment in both areas" and it's true that singer Seifert performes way better this time but he still does not really fit in this sound picture. He sounds all too tense and strained, and the music of Rebellion would benefit a lot on having a really powerful vocalist.
It's in the uptempo songs it works the best. The flow is better, the refrains are good and the riffs comes out to their full potential. The Sons Of The Dragon Slayer (Blood Eagle) and Eric The Red are two very nice songs. The album falls a bit flat in the second half of its running time due to the block of midtempo songs (Freedom, Treason, Sword In The Storm) that are epic and heavy enough but they never manage to get a grip on you and to engage. The refrains never lift and the guitars just act as a wall of sound instead of carry you away on shredding riffs. There the album loses its momentum and the interest is lost and it never really returns completely, despite the nice ending with Ruling The Waves and Canute The Great (The King Of Danish Pride).
An improvment since the last album, but still not up there where they should belong concidering Lulis earlier work. The words I used in my review of Born A Rebel: "the album gives the impression that it sure has potential, but it falls flat because it is really not worked on enough to take advantage of the ideas" are just as valid this time too. Or is it just that he has run out of these really smashing ideas? Sagas Of Iceland: The History Of The Vikings Volume II will tell....
See
also review of: Miklagard: The
History Of The Vikings Volume II , Born
A Rebel
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Production
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Vocals
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Compositions
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8 |
5 |
6 |
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Summary
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5,5 chalices of 10 - Tommy |
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