Fireangel (Spec. Ed)

"Getting your head and ears around an Andromeda album can be a challenge. It's not that their music is perplexing, but it is often varied and eclectic. Consider the first two songs on their fifth album, Manifest Tyranny. Preemptive Strike is a short introductory piece of mostly heavy and thrash metal. The following Lies R Us slows the pace offering a melodic, yet heavy in parts, prog piece with a great melodic vocal arrangement. It's quite accessible. Okay then ...Expect more than a little intrigue throughout Manifest Tyranny. Stay Unaware offers an abundance of riffage, but also noticeable synth layers and solo. False Flag, the longest cut here, seems a moderation, like heavier prog rock (also noticeable on Survival of the Richest), but shifts and moves with the clever ease you expect from progressive music. Then there's simply some strange stuff. Chosen by God has a muted ethereal vocal arrangement, lots of riffage and synths, which evokes a lighter atmospheric motif. Then there's the integration of words (speeches) from political leaders. (This occurs throughout the album, often to the point of distraction.)The nuance of progressive rock returns later in Go Back to Sleep. It offers a lighter blend of electric and acoustic guitar, with a later synth solo, and some disturbing lyrics. Of note, this song displays David Fremberg's supreme vocal talents. Allowing some more convention and accessibility, Asylum offers complexity but provides a hard rock edge in the guitar solo. Play Dead and Antidote find Andromeda simply offering an arrangement of, sometimes heavy, but certainly complex and delectable progressive metal.With Manifest Tyranny, Andromeda continues to challenge and entertain. This is what a fan of progressive metal should expect: intrigue and enjoyment, and the need for more than one listen. Fans and critics will wonder if it's equal to, or better, than their critically acclaimed first outing Extension of the Wish (2001). Perhaps this is a question left to the fans or, perhaps, those who are braver than me. Strongly recommended." - Dangerdog.com

"In 2007, Daniel Stockinger (guitars), Andreas Poppernitsch (guitars) and Siegfried Samer (vocals), former members of the split-up Austrian Power Metal bands Omega Effect and Eleftheria, formed The Dragonslayer Project. The original intention was to be a studio project with a focus on a conceptual story behind the album with the assistance of great musicians. However, as additional musicians were brought in, they became permanently integrated and the project became a band. The work of recording their debut album, Legends, took until the end of 2011, but this had partly to do with the fact that the band brought in some guest musicians for the recording, such as Tom Tieber of Ecliptica, Katie Joanne of Siren's Cry and Ralf Scheepers of Primal Fear. Musically speaking, the album stays true to the Power Metal genre it is unmistakably a member of, bearing many of the trademarks and (dare I say) cliché's of the genre. But, while one might complain about a lack of originality, the tunes are well developed, and the band proves they are competent and capable musicians with a professional feel that is lacking in many debut efforts. On the official facebook page, the band lists Helloween, Avantasia, Stratovarius, Gamma Ray, Kamelot, and Sonata Arctica (among others) as interests, and the influence of these acts are evident in their music, and is sure to strike a chord in many power metal fans' hearts. My only complaint would be that I would like to hear the band distinguish themselves a bit from the rest of the bands in their genre. But I must follow up this critique by praising the level of skill and the careful attention to detail that was given in creating this album." - Sea Of Tranquility

"This is a really impressive release. It blew up my mind from the first time I listened to it, and still gets priority in my music listening sessions. What we've got here is Rage at their best, playing it loud & proud in the 90s, which was possibly the worst decade for metal, even though some bands like Running wild, Blind Guardian or Metal Church were still hanging on... in the balance!The album starts kicking ass from the first moment, with heavy and powerful guitars, and goes like that until the end of the release. POWER!!! That’s what this album transmits. Generally mid-paced songs predominate this album, this is not as fast as their 80s work. It keeps the musical line that started with "Trapped" but, it's generally darker, slower and begins the musical style developed during the next albums (we could say it’s the borderline). It also has some atmospheric details, just some hints here and there, that would be more frequent of their "XIII" or "Ghosts" works. Nevertheless, there are also fast songs (hey, it's Rage) that scream "Speed Metal rules, and if you don't like it dieeeeeeeeeeeeeee", like "Under Control", which starts fast and raw as hell and never slows down. "Higher than the Sky" is also a fast one (by the standards of this album), but more melodic than the previous one, and possibly with a chorus as catchy as “Don’t Fear the Winter”. The title track is also a fast and powerful one, (did I mention power before?) catchy and with an amazing solo.Rage has changed a lot during its history. One of the most remarkable improvements is Peavy’s performance, which is much better than his 80's efforts when he used to shriek. And the shrieking was fine for raw Speed Metal, but now that the band plays more Power/Heavy Metal, the deeper and more melodic vocals fit better. In this album he transmits perfectly the song moods to the listener, and good examples of this are the dark-depressive style ballad "Fading Hours" (that's one of the best songs to be found in here) and the mid-paced "Deep in the Blackest Hole". The first starts with an orchestrated atmosphere (reminds to “Overture” in “XIII”), a piano and Peavy's voice, and is maintained this way for 2 minutes and a half. Then the rest of the band comes in for a minute revealing what’s going to come after. Piano & violin alone again for a while and then the band comes back. And just then, when you think that the song is not going to change in any way, comes the solo part of 4:53 with the backing vocals and the piano: THAT MOMENT FUCKING OWNS YOU. After saying that, I still have to remark that the song is mainly driven by Peavy's vocals, and wouldn’t be half good if he didn’t perform so brilliantly. The latter song has also a depressive mood and the whole band does a very good job making you think they are "Deep in the Blackest Hole".Another excellent point of this album is that you never have the “I heard this before” feeling. Even though, it manages to sound as a whole in the “conceptual album” sense. That’s just fucking brilliant. Every song is memorable, with brilliant solos and catchy melodies, which none of them can be classified as filler material (I know this sounds a bit/lot like a “fanboy”, but this album really deserves being praised). If you liked "The Missing Link", "Trapped" or (especially) "Black in Mind", you will certainly like this one, which is slower but still an absolute winner.The only flaw in this release is that sometimes you've got the impression that Peavy is singing 5 miles away from the microphone, creating a strange echo effect. There's also the fact that the drums are a little bit loud and just average, nothing outstanding, and the bass is barely audible (I don't miss it much, but I know there are many bass-maniacs out there)." - Metal Archives

2nd album carries on with this blend of Marillion and IQ with some metal-ish guitar.

New digipak remastered edition featuring extensive liner notes and new bonus cuts.

Its been five years but The Flower Kings are back from their hiatus. Without missing a beat they offer up their signature epic length tracks of symphonic rock. Funny thing...I've gotten used to hearing Lalle Larsson play with Roine and Jonas over the past five years. I forgot how good Tomas Bodin!