Year : 2013
Style : Melodic Hard Rock , Melodic Heavy Metal
Country : Canada
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 152 mb
Bio:
2013: The Swiss Hardrock legend CRYSTAL BALL is back and stronger than ever! After a creative break the original members Scott Leach and Marcel Sardella reformed CRYSTAL BALL with fresh blood and a great new frontman, Steven Mageney from Wuppertal, Germany. Steven is a experienced singer with a powerful voice and the perfect match for the new CRYSTAL BALL Sound. «Dawnbreaker» is the title of the new album, that will bring CRYSTAL BALL back to the top of the Hard Rock map.Imagine: the band started in 1995 as a cover band (named «Cherry Pie»). These years of stage experiences became the foundation of CRYSTAL BALL, under whose banner the band became one of Europe´s major forces in the Hard Rock genre. Tentatively entitled «In The Beginning» CRYSTAL BALL started their crusade in 1999. The first album was very successful, but topped with ease from the follow-up «Hard Impact», hailed album of the months in several magazines. Immediately tour plans came up, realised by supporting Pretty Maids and Gotthard. Nobody was able to hide from CRYSTAL BALL. The result: a new record contract with Nuclear Blast.With «Virtual Empire» CRYSTAL BALL showed up more varied but still traditional and melodic in 2002. The band massively toured Europe, together first with Dokken, then with U.D.O., Doro and Krokus. The special humour of CRYSTAL BALL shone through in 2003 with «HELLvetia», the fourth album. «HELLvetia», produced by former Accept/U.D.O. member Stefan Kaufmann, who CRYSTAL BALL met on their tour with U.D.O., became a more edgy effort and increased the success of CRYSTAL BALL enormously. It was the band´s return from the slightly experimental «Virtual Empire» to the old style. Successful tours with Axxis, Pink Cream 69 and Krokus saw CRYSTAL BALL increase their fan following again.«Timewalker» continued in the tradition of delivering great catchy songs full of freshness and power. Once again produced by Kaufmann the album displayed the exceptional class of CRYSTAL BALL. The bands first headliner tour with then labelmates «Thunderstone» followed the release in 2005.2007 CRYSTAL BALL inked a new record deal with AFM Records. «Secrets» was their sixth album, a great piece of Hard Rock, put together by professionals. The album was recorded and produced by Michael Bormann and mixed by Achim Köhler (Primal Fear, Brainstorm and others). Mighty thunderous anthems like «I Will Drag You Down» solidifed the great reputation of CRYSTAL BALL.
Album:
Sometimes I like a little power in my heavy. Swiss band CRYSTAL BALL is a powerhouse that performs metal with a force to be reckoned with. Following a 6 year hiatus, a new album "Dawnbreaker" was finally released this year, and they bring with them a new energy. What makes this band especially interesting is their blend of classic Heavy Metal, euro-Rock and melodic Power Metal; some of the tracks sound like something off a EUROPE album; other times I am recalled back to IRON MAIDEN; and other times I hear RHAPSODY OF FIRE. Naturally, the musicianship is excellent, but keeping things from growing bland are the vocals; gruff and aggressive, not normally found on a melodic Power Metal album, and almost add a Lemmy-like atmosphere.The opener "Break of Dawn" is a through-and-through Heavy Metal track, with heavy and aggressive guitar-driven passages; even the vocals are percussive, putting particular emphasis on adding an extra axe blade to those of the chugging guitars. Immediately following is a strongly Euro-flavored track, "Anyone can be a Hero", with wailing guitar and vocal melodies and very, very 80's melodic progressions. A nice touch, I think; albums like this simply do not feel complete without the odd blast from the past. A song that stuck out like a sore thumb, for me, is "Skin to Skin"; at first, I thought it was an EDGUY piece, because it sounds like it could have come directly out of "Mandrake" or "Rocket Ride". A copy? Nay; a nice remembrance piece; mid-tempo but catchy, groovy, heavy and melodic.I hope this band is "Back for Good", or at least for a while. Another EDGUY-like track, complete with atmospheric synths, this is another rocking mid-tempo track that even, in terms of arrangement, reminds me a lot of STRATOVARIUS' "Kiss of Judas". Allow me to go on and on about the guitar solo; it is a damned fine work of art, and the twin harmonized solo is at a Scandinavian level. Next up, the band returns in a blaze of glory to the roots of melodic Heavy Metal in "Power Pack", which combines the aggressive grooves of METALLICA's peak era, and some additional Euro-style melodies. Lyrics are cliché as hell, but I do not care; essentially my favorite song on the album. The end track, "Bond of Love" proves that a Metal album does not need an over-abundance of guitar-shredding, blast beats and double kicks (of which this album has none) to be brimming with molten steel. Hell, I'm even noticing a few slight progressive touches here.I admire CRYSTAL BALL for not trying too hard to be Metal, for not being too cliché, and for effectively bring back to full force the essence of Heavy Metal into modern times.
Line Up:
Steven Mageney - Vocals (2012-present)
Markus Flury - Guitars - See also: Charing Cross, 23rd Grade of Evil (live)
Scott Leach - Guitars (1998-present) - See also: ex-Cherry Pie
Cris "Iron" Stone - Bass (2013-present)
Marcel Sardella - Drums (1998-present) - See also: ex-Cherry Pie
Tracklist:
01. Zarathustra (1:29)
02. Break Of Dawn (3:09)
03. Anyone Can Be A Hero (3:50)
04. The Brothers Were Wright (3:38)
05. Eternal Flame (3:46)
06. Skin To Skin (4:44)
07. Walls Fall Down (4:09)
08. Back For Good (4:10)
09. Power Pack (4:06)
10. Stranded (5:36)
11. Sun Came Out (4:33)
12. Touch The Sky (4:19) (Bonus Track)
13. Bond Of Love (3:06) (Bonus Track)
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