Year : 2019 Style : Melodic Rock , AOR Country : Sweden Audio : 320 kbps + scans + Video Size : 157 mb
Bio:
Gathering Of Kings - A Swedish AOR/Melodic Rock Phenomena-type-project.GOK is a band supervised by Ron & Nina Dahlgren, bringing together top musicians from the current hard rock scene in Sweden.
Album:
"First Mission" was produced, mixed and mastered by Thomas ”Plec” Johansson (Soilwork, The Night Flight Orchestra, Nocturnal Rites, Dynazty) at The Panic Room in Skövde, Sweden.All songs were written by hugely talented Victor Olsson, except ”The Runaway”, which was written by Maurice Gibb & Robin Gibb from Bee Gees.The song is a cover of Carola's hit single from 1986. So that’s our tribute to the best Swedish female singer of all time! The amazing cover artwork was created by the German artist Markus Vesper Art.Have a look at the impressive list of musicians on the left side of your screen.
Line Up:
Rick Altzi - vocals (Masterplan, Herman Frank, At Vance) Björn Strid - vocals (Soilwork, The Night Flight Orchestra) Apollo Papathanasio - vocals (Spiritual Beggars, Firewind) Tobias Jansson - vocals (Saffire) Jens Westin - vocals and Guitar (Corroded) Alexander Frisborg - vocals (Helldog) Victor Olsson - guitar and keyboards (Saffire) Stefan Helleblad - guitar (Within Temptation, Jono) Martin Sweet - guitar (Crashdiet, Sister) Erik Martensson - guitar (Eclipse, W.E.T, Nordic Union, Ammunition) Nalle Påhlsson - bass (Therion, Treat) Richard Larsson - keyboards (The Night Flight Orchestra) Chris Laney - keyboards (Pretty Maids) Erik Wiss - keyboards (Cap Outrun) Jonas Källsbäck - drums (The Night Flight Orchestra, Mean Streak) Efraim Larsson - drums (Streamline, Diamond Dawn) Robban Bäck - drums (Mustasch, Eclipse, Sabaton, W.E.T) Henrik Sethsson - backing vocals (Casanovas)
Tracklist:
01. The Gathering 02. Forever And A Day 03. Love Will Stay Alive 04. Endless Paradise 05. Saviour 06. Passing Rain 07. Out Of My Life 08. Lonely Road 09. Angels 10. Long Way From Home 11. The Runaway (Carola cover) 12. Battle Cry (Bonus Track)
Gathering Of Kings - First Mission (2019) (RNR Records Deluxe Edition 2020)
Year : 2019 (RNR Records Deluxe Edition 2020) Style : Melodic Hard Rock , AOR Country : Sweden Audio : 320 kbps + all scans Size : 157 mb
Bio:
Gathering Of Kings - A Swedish AOR/Melodic Rock Phenomena-type-project.GOK is a band supervised by Ron & Nina Dahlgren, bringing together top musicians from the current hard rock scene in Sweden.
Album:
Reissued as a deluxe edition with an acoustic version of "Out Of My Life" included.Released in a standard jewelcase with clear tray and an 8-page booklet including lyrics.GATHERING OF KINGS (GOK) is not a band but more of a collaboration of amazing talent. The album “First Mission” was released late January 2019, and has captured a variety of listeners. All songs were written by Victor Olsson except “The Runaway,” which was written by Maurice and Robin Gibb of the BEE GEES, and was a hit single in 1986. GOK was the brainstorm of Ron Dahlgren, who wanted to assemble talented musicians of Swedish Hard rock. After a year of hard work, his vision became reality with the help of twenty-two of the most talented musicians and producers. The cast is long for this project, so I am eager to turn up the volume and see what this creation holds.The album leads off with a one minute intro, “The Gathering,” where all instruments are played by Victor Olsson. It is brief and subtle but takes us into the force of “Forever And A Day,” the single released late 2017. The vocals of Björn Strid are beautifully crafted around the music filled by keys, strong beats, and wonderfully crafted guitar riffs. “Love Will Stay Alive” is sung by Rick Altzi and it is really hard to not distinguish the vocal tone from the previous song. The music is simply beautiful and keeps pace with the beginning of the album. The guitar solo is the real highlight of the song. “Endless Paradise” breaks out a powerful love ballad reminiscent of the 80’s classics. The soft swoon of the vocals carry the music even more and add a different element that captivates your heart. “Passing Rain” is a powerful ballad that reminds me of "18 and Life" by SKID ROW. Instead of having those highs of Sebastian Bach, you have the lows of Rick Altzi. It holds an atmospheric dark vibe but the song never loses its true essence. The final cut, “Battle Cry,” has Altzi at the reigns again. There are others at the helm, Tobias Jansson – “Out Of My Life” and Jens Westin – “Lonely Road,” who hold true to the album's feel. “Battle Cry” is that song you want to end a record though. The strong riffs thrown over the keys and beats just keep you going with the entire 80’s Melodic rock feel.GOK is definitely a massive compilation of overseas talent. Ron Dahlgren has put together all of the right musicians in the right places to make such a great album. The music takes me back and keeps me thinking. “This song could have been on this soundtrack, and this one here”. The production quality simply amazes me as well. Every instrument, every voice, holds a certain distinction, without taking away from the vision placed before them. As for seeing them live, I am unsure of how you could even arrange a show with so many contributors, but I am sure if it can be done, they will all find a way to make it happen. If it happens, you will certainly want to be in the crowd for such an awesome display.
Line Up:
Rick Altzi - vocals (Masterplan, Herman Frank, At Vance) Bjorn Strid - vocals (Soilwork, The Night Flight Orchestra) Apollo Papathanasio - vocals (Spiritual Beggars, Firewind) Tobias Jansson - vocals (Saffire) Jens Westin - vocals and Guitar (Corroded) Alexander Frisborg - vocals (Helldog) Victor Olsson - guitar and keyboards (Saffire) Stefan Helleblad - guitar (Within Temptation, Jono) Martin Sweet - guitar (Crashdiet, Sister) Erik Martensson - guitar (Eclipse, W.E.T, Nordic Union, Ammunition) Nalle Pahlsson - bass (Therion, Treat) Richard Larsson - keyboards (The Night Flight Orchestra) Chris Laney - keyboards (Pretty Maids) Erik Wiss - keyboards (Cap Outrun) Jonas Kallsback - drums (The Night Flight Orchestra, Mean Streak) Efraim Larsson - drums (Streamline, Diamond Dawn) Robban Back - drums (Mustasch, Eclipse, Sabaton, W.E.T) Henrik Sethsson - backing vocals (Casanovas)
Tracklist:
01. The Gathering 02. Forever and A Day 03. Love Will Stay Alive 04. Endless Paradise 05. Saviour 06. Passing Rain 07. Out Of My Life 08. Lonely Road 09. Angels 10. Long Way From Home 11. The Runaway (Carola cover) 12. Battle Cry (Bonus Track) 13. Out Of My Life (Acoustic) (Bonus Track)
Year : 2020 Style : Melodic Rock , AOR Country : Sweden Audio : 320 kbps + scans Size : 157 mb
Bio:
Gathering Of Kings - A Swedish AOR/Melodic Rock Phenomena-type-project.GOK is a band supervised by Ron & Nina Dahlgren, bringing together top musicians from the current hard rock scene in Sweden.
Album:
GOK's new album was produced by Thomas "Plec" Johansson at The Panic Room, Skövde, with Ron Dahlgren, Nina Dahlgren & Victor Olsson as executive producers. Drums were recorded at Nordic Sound Lab by Thomas "Plec" Johansson, Bengan Andersson and Victor Olsson. The cover artwork was once again created by German artist Markus Vesper.Gathering Of Kings is created and supervised by Ron Dahlgren and Nina Dahlgren, bringing together top musicians from the current hard rock scene in Sweden. The idea was to create an AOR/MR project/band like Tom Galley's Phenomena or even Tobias Sammet's Avantasia, with multiple vocalists and instrumentalists. Victor Olsson is the main songwriter, with Alexander Frisborg co-writing the lyrics.The follow-up to 2019's critically acclaimed debut album "First Mission" will be released by RN Records on all digital platforms as well as on CD and vinyl.
Line Up:
Rick Altzi – lead vocals (3,12), backing vocals (3,9,11,12) Jonny Lindkvist – lead vocals (4,8) Apollo Papathanasio – lead vocals (2,9), backing vocals (2,5,8,9) Tobias Jansson – lead vocals (6,7,11), backing vocals (2,3,6,7,11) Alexander Frisborg – lead vocals (5,10), backing vocals (2,3,5,6,8,10,11,12) Victor Olsson – guitars (2-12), bass (2,4-7,9-12), keyboards (1-12), backing vocals (2-12) Efraim Larsson – drums (2-8) Jonas Källsbäck – drums (9-12)
Special Appearances:
Nalle Påhlsson – bass (3,8) Joel Selsfors – keyboard solo (12) Erik Gafvelin Wiss – keyboard solo (7) Henrik Sethsson – backing vocals (10) Theresia Svensson – backing vocals (6,7,10) Ron Dahlgren – backing vocals (10) Mathias Kihlberg – flute (9)
Tracklist:
01. Starsleeper 02. Riders Of The Light 03. Heaven On The Run 04. December 05. Highway To Paradise 06. The One That Got Away 07. Lorelei 08. Moonlight 09. Revelation 10. Kiss From Above 11. From A Whisper To A Scream 12. Final Hour
Year : 2022 Style : Melodic Hard Rock , AOR Country : Sweden Audio : 320 kbps + all scans Size : 126 mb
Bio:
Gathering Of Kings - A Swedish AOR/Melodic Rock Phenomena-type-project.GOK is a band supervised by Ron & Nina Dahlgren, bringing together top musicians from the current hard rock scene in Sweden.
Album:
What was initially a one-off band project, Gathering of Kings’ debut album was so well received by fans of 80s melodic rock that the decision was made by founding members Ron & Nina Dahlgren to keep the project going with regular band members and a rotation of vocalists. Fast forward a few years and we have the band’s third album, ‘Enigmatic‘. With five different singers, two guitarists, two drummers, it can be difficult to pinpoint who plays on what, but everyone brings their A-Game to this project.Like their first two releases, there are some solid tracks on here that do not disappoint. After an unnecessary 1:10 intro track (why do bands still do this?), the album kicks off with first single ‘Vagabond Rise’, a great start that shows all the talent on display. Several singers are featured on this mid-tempo rocker and all their vocals mesh well together, with no one singer overpowering the other. The band shake things up with an appearance from Swedish pop band One More Time for the song ‘Feed You My Love’. The song absolutely rocks, but they do add a bit of pop sensibilities with their harmonized delivery, making it a standout track.Top track for me goes to ‘Long Kiss Goodnight’, which is very reminiscent of singer Rick Altzi’s recent solo album. The keyboards take more of a lead here and give the song a sense of urgency that’s missing from several other tracks. ‘New Life’ has a great laid-back mid-tempo approach which once again allows keyboardist Joel Selsfors to shine in many parts of the song, including a guitar/keyboard combo solo that’s a highlight for both band members.GOK’s debut album ‘First Mission‘ was sheer melodic rock bliss. Second album ‘Discovery‘ nearly matched the brilliance of the debut but just missed the mark with a few filler songs that did not grab me. As for this new album, unfortunately the law of diminishing returns applies. This is the weakest of their three albums. Some of these songs as so generic sounding that if you played the song for someone without telling them who the band was, they would assume it’s another thrown together Frontiers Records project, which these days makes up a quarter of the bands on their roster. Tracks like ‘Here Be Dragons’, ‘A Rainbow and a Star’, ‘The Prophecy’, and ‘Lionheart’ sound like songs previously covered by other European bands. I found myself not wanting to return to them because I’ve been listening to similar songs like these for years.I reviewed singer Rick Altzi’s solo album recently and stated that the album offers exactly what Gathering of Kings fans would want to hear from the singer. I expected this album to be along those lines, but that record is far superior to this one. If you have not checked that one out, please do. As for this release, I enjoyed parts of the album and I am sure others will dig it as well. I was just hoping for a recording that offered something unique to make the band stand out amongst others or at least something as powerful as what came before. Unfortunately, I will have to settle for a solid half of an album.
Line Up:
Jonny Lindkvist - Vocals Rick Altzi - Vocals Apollo Papathanasio - Vocals Tobias Jansson - Vocals Alexander Frisborg - Vocals Victor Olsson - Guitar Magnus Mild - Guitar Mikael Planefeldt - Bass Jonas Källsbäck - Drums Efraim Larsson - Drums Joel Selsfors - Keyboards
Special Guests:
ONE MORE TIME
Nanne Grönvall – Vocals on "Feed You My Love" Maria Rådsten – Vocals on "Feed You My Love" Peter Grönvall – Keyboards on "Feed You My Love" Additional backing vocals: Theresia Svensson
Tracklist:
01. Galacticus 02. Vagabond Rise 03. Here Be Dragons 04. Firefly 05. How The Mighty Have Fallen 06. A Rainbow And A Star 07. The Prophecy 08. Feed You My Love (feat. One More Time) 09. Clone Trooper 10. Long Kiss Goodnight 11. New Life 12. Lionheart 13. Fool's Cabaret (Bonus Track)
