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STAR ONE ‘Live On Earth’ (Inside Out 089-65722) 2003
The brainchild of Arjen Anthony Lucassen, of Ayreon and Vengeance fame,
this double live CD features the vocal talents of Damian Wilson
(Ayreon/Threshold/Rick Wakeman) and Symphony X’s Russell Allen amongst
others. The album contains heavy prog metal of the highest quality from the
off with ‘Set Your Controls’, which romps away with guitars to the fore and
Hammond organ driving the bottom end. ‘High Moon’ starts with a crushing
riff and benefits form the multi lead vocal approach, with Damian Wilson’s
vocals ringing out clearly on the chorus line. ‘Songs of the Ocean’ for me
is the best song on disc one, with female vocals added to great affect and
some sterling soloing from Lucassen. ‘Dawn Of A Million Souls’ is a song I
could easily see former Sabbath vocalist Tony Martin tackling well.
The concept of the whole album is held together with its ongoing theme
of space and it works well without sounding twee. Disc two carries on where
disc one left of, rocking out big time on ‘Intergalactic Space Crusaders’.
There are more epic tracks on disc two, ‘Starchild’ stands out for n the
crowd with its keys and symphonic arrangements producing a song of sheer
class. Closing the album ‘The Two Gates’ follows a 70’s rock path with
Hammond organ driving things along - very Uriah Heep and classic Whitesnake
in sound. It’s one of the few songs on the album with audience participation
on it.
Having only recently discovered the wealth of quality music in the
melodic/prog metal genre I can heartily recommend adding this release to
your CD collection. Fans of Symphony X, Threshold and Ayreon will find
plenty to enjoy on here.
If you are quick off the mark as well and order now you can get a signed
copy as well! More details at http://www.ayreon.com
****
Review by Jason Ritchie
£13.99
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