┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │■ ■│ │ .-/ .-. │ │ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │ │ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │ │ / || (:/:| \ │ │ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │ │ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │ │ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │ │ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │ │ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │ │ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │ │ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │ │ \:-~ ~-:/ │ │ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ P R E S E N T S │ │ │ │ │ │ + Human Fortress - Raided Land + │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Information ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Release Date.Dec-27-2013 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │ │║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │ │║ Year.........2013 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........13 ║ │ │║ Covers.......Yes Url... n/a ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Notes ║ │ │╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Artist : Human Fortress Rating : You Decide! ║ │ │║ Album : Raided Land Label : AFM ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Description : ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Back in 2008, a force in the German melodic ║ │ │║ power metal scene released an album called ║ │ │║ ôEternal Empire.ö The album was met with as much ║ │ │║ disdain as I have seen criticÆs muster. It ║ │ │║ seemed that after the release of epic power ║ │ │║ masterpieces ôLord of Earth and Heavens Heirö ║ │ │║ and ôDefenders of the Crown,ö the band had all ║ │ │║ but abandoned the foundation that built the ║ │ │║ Human Fortress. On one hand, creating a new ║ │ │║ sound to generate a bigger audience is ║ │ │║ understandable, but to hardened power metal fans ║ │ │║ itÆs a sacrilege. So, after a five year hiatus, ║ │ │║ the departure of Carsten Frank (who sang and ║ │ │║ played guitar on ôEternal Empireö) and return of ║ │ │║ one the original members Volker Trost (guitarst) ║ │ │║ and vocalist Jioti Parcharidis, the band was set ║ │ │║ to regroup and attack. However, in 2010 ║ │ │║ Parcharidis left again for health reasons, ║ │ │║ leaving the band to seek a new vocalist. The ║ │ │║ search turned up one of the rising voices in ║ │ │║ metal - BrazilÆs Gus Monsanto (Symbolica/Code of ║ │ │║ Silence/Ex-Adagio). With that, Human Fortress ║ │ │║ seeks to reclaim lost glory with ôRaided Land.ö ║ │ │║ The end result is a successful transition back ║ │ │║ to pre-2008 derailment as the the train coasts ║ │ │║ back on the track of straight melodic power ║ │ │║ metal, with the added bonus of the best ║ │ │║ production in the bandÆs history. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ In Monsanto, the band has brought back the ║ │ │║ soaring beauty that was lost with FrankÆs ║ │ │║ pseudo-harsh style vocals. His range is even ║ │ │║ more varied than with his other bands (Code of ║ │ │║ Silence and Symbolica) and there are brief ║ │ │║ moments where he is inseparable from Tommy ║ │ │║ Karevik (see ôUnder Seigeö). It seems there is ║ │ │║ no end to the breadth of what he can sing. His ║ │ │║ style is more wide open than that of original ║ │ │║ vocalist Parcharidis, though I suspect that many ║ │ │║ fans will identify his style with the band. In a ║ │ │║ similar aspect to MasterPlan, yet on a much ║ │ │║ smaller scale, the bandÆs rabid fanbase will ║ │ │║ raise red flags with a new vocalist. However, ║ │ │║ the only red flag that should be raised is the ║ │ │║ one depicted on the album artwork. Monsanto is ║ │ │║ by far the best vocalist Human Fortress has ever ║ │ │║ had, and it is his range that properly propels ║ │ │║ the band to a modern audience while keeping true ║ │ │║ to its history. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ With a perfect mix and fantastic sound (from ║ │ │║ Orden Ogan vocalist/guitarist Sebastian "Seeb" ║ │ │║ Levermann on the music side and vocalist ║ │ │║ extraordinaire Michael Bormann on the vocal ║ │ │║ side), Human Fortress draws elements from the ║ │ │║ first two releases with a distinct nod to the ║ │ │║ current style of Kamelot. Pure power metal fans ║ │ │║ might find that it leans more progressive and is ║ │ │║ mired in mid-paced muck and pure progressive ║ │ │║ fans will find it dips into more power than they ║ │ │║ might like. For those in the middle, ôRaided ║ │ │║ Landö is the bandÆs finest hour. The songs are a ║ │ │║ perfect balance of power and progressive with ║ │ │║ the songs averaging a svelte 4 minutes. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ With a recipe of ôSilverthornö Kamelot and ║ │ │║ ôMystery of Timeö Avantasia, the band also ║ │ │║ throws some shades of Running Wild within the ║ │ │║ riffs of ôGladiator of Rome, Pt. 2,ö the albumÆs ║ │ │║ strongest track. ôEvil Curseö is the longest ║ │ │║ track û at 5:22 û and also the heaviest. I do ║ │ │║ wish that mighty riff was carried in force ║ │ │║ through the first verse, but it comes back half ║ │ │║ way in the second. However, if there was one ║ │ │║ song on the album that shows the full range that ║ │ │║ Monsanto offers, this is it. Other notables are ║ │ │║ ôThe Chosen One,ö ôChild of Warö and ôWasted ║ │ │║ Years.ö The one most closely related to Kamelot ║ │ │║ is ôUnder Seige,ö which if I hadnÆt known better ║ │ │║ could have easily fooled me as coming from that ║ │ │║ band. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ôRaided Landö is a return to the style that ║ │ │║ started it all for Human Fortress. With Gus ║ │ │║ Monsanto, the group added the most versatile ║ │ │║ vocalist its ever had (with no disrespect to ║ │ │║ Parcharidis). The sound and production is the ║ │ │║ most pristine in the bandÆs history, striking a ║ │ │║ perfect mix û a testament to the mastery of both ║ │ │║ Sebastian Levermann and Michael Bormann. While I ║ │ │║ know some diehards will find the album ║ │ │║ unfulfilling as a pure power metal album, I ║ │ │║ cannot find a time in the bandÆs history outside ║ │ │║ of ôEternal Empireö where it sounded ║ │ │║ dramatically different, or better. ôRaided Landö ║ │ │║ is one of the finest efforts from a German band ║ │ │║ with a tremendous upswing for the future. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Highs: High class melodic power metal with ║ │ │║ perfect production. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Lows: Pure power metal fans will find the mid- ║ │ │║ paced a drag and pure progressive fans will find ║ │ │║ this to steeped in fantasy land. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Bottom line: "Raided Land" tears down the ║ │ │║ "Eternal Empire" and rebuilds the Human Fortress ║ │ │║ the way it was meant to be. ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ Gus Monsanto - Vocals ║ │ │║ AndrΘ Hort - Bass ║ │ │║ Dirk Liehm - Keyboards, Orchestration ║ │ │║ Apostolos "Laki" Zaios - Drums ║ │ │║ Volker Trost - Guitars ║ │ │║ Todd Wolf - Guitars ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │║ ║ │ │╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │╔═════════════════════╗ │ │║ Release Tracklist ║ │ │╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │ │ │ │ 01 - Raided Land [04:02] │ │ 02 - Child Of War [03:47] │ │ 03 - Wasted Years [04:51] │ │ 04 - The Chosen One [03:55] │ │ 05 - Shelter [03:59] │ │ 06 - The Gladiator Of Rome (Pt. 2) [04:30] │ │ 07 - Dark Knight [05:05] │ │ 08 - Prelude [01:40] │ │ 09 - Pray For Salvation [03:53] │ │ 10 - Evil Curse [05:24] │ │ 11 - Restless Souls [05:10] │ │ 12 - Under Siege [04:20] │ │ 13 - Guard The Blind [04:41] │ │ │ │ Total Length : [55:17 minn │ │ │ │ │ │ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ╔═════════════════════╗ │ │ ║ Greetings To: ║ │ │ ╚═════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ Too all people who contributes to make this │ │ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │■ ■│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘