Warlord - And The Cannons Of Destruction Have Begun... (1984) (Japan SHM-CD Edition 2015)

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Warlord - And The Cannons Of Destruction Have Begun... (1984) (Japan SHM-CD Edition 2015)

Príspevokod užívateľa Horex » 14 Feb 2022, 15:51

Warlord - And The Cannons Of Destruction Have Begun... (1984) (Japan SHM-CD Edition 2015)

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Year : 1984 (Japan SHM-CD Edition 2015)
Style : Heavy Metal
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 110 mb


Bio:

Warlord is an American heavy metal band, formed in 1980 and based in Los Angeles, CA. The brainchild of guitarist/songwriter William J (Bill) Tsamis and drummer Mark S Zonder, Warlord made the trip from their native San Jose, California to Los Angeles and proceeded in crafting their unique style, which pioneered what is called today “Epic Power Metal." The new band caught the attention of Brian Slagel, whose label, Metal Blade Records, had recently issued Metal Massacre, a compilation featuring up-and-coming local metal acts such as Malice, Steeler, Ratt, Slayer and Metallica.An aficionado of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and admirer of the Euro-metal aesthetic, influences of which are evident in Warlord's sound, Slagel was impressed by Warlord's semi-progressive style inspired by such diverse acts as Rainbow, Scorpions and Jethro Tull. Slagel decided to offer the band a spot on his next compilation and Warlord would make their vinyl debut with "Lucifer's Hammer" on 1982's Metal Massacre II. Earning rave reviews, Warlord made a repeat appearance with "Mrs Victoria" on Metal Massacre III and were signed to Metal Blade for their 1983 Deliver Us album which got the band featured in important publications such as Kerrang, Sounds, Burrn, and Music Connection. Furthermore, Warlord was receiving continual FM radio play in major US markets.Adding further intrigue to the growing Warlord mystique was the band members' use of pseudonyms such as 'Destroyer' / 'The Raven' (Tsamis), 'Thunderchild' (Zonder), 'Damien King' (vocalist Jack Rucker), and 'Sentinel' (keyboardist Diane Kornarens) as well as Warlord's refusal to become just another LA club act, opting to present themselves on a grander scale instead. To that end, the band rented The Raymond Theater to stage what would turn out to be the only Warlord live performance in the USA until now (August 2013). It was filmed and recorded for the group's first full-length release, "And The Cannons Of Destruction Have Begun...," issued in October 1984 and accompanied by a VHS home video release of the same name (now in DVD). The album featured 2 brand new tracks, "Soliloquy" and "MCMLXXXIV", as well as both cuts from the "Lost And Lonely Days" / "Aliens" 12" single released earlier that same year. Tsamis, Zonder, and Kornarens were joined by bassist Dave Watry ('Archangel') and new vocalist Rick Cunningham ('Damien King II'). A third vocalist worked shortly afterwards with the band (even if just in studio-recording and never on a stage): Rick Anderson, also known at the time as "Damien King III".The prevalence of “hair metal," "rap music," and the inability to retain a live lineup that could be up to Tsamis' and Zonder's high standards led to the cessation of band operations in 1986. The band's label, Metal Blade, would issue "Thy Kingdom Come", a quasi Best-Of, in December of that year. An extended version, including the whole Deliver Us album, followed in 1989, titled "Best of Warlord." Unbeknownst to Tsamis and Zonder, however, the music of Warlord had already taken off in Europe, and the band amassed a cult-like following. This was largely due to rave magazine reviews, continuous radio play, and the circulation of many demos via "tape trading," as well as positive word-of-mouth promotion among metal fans. With the onset of the internet, the music of Warlord spread worldwide and thus helped secure Warlord a place in the history of heavy metal as one of the greatest metal bands of all time for both artistic integrity as well as their unique melodic style.Post 1986, found Tsamis recording first an acoustic demo under the name “Lordian Winds” as part of a sprawling project based on John Milton's "Paradise Lost" (released in 2012 by NoRemorse records) and then launching an apocalyptic-themed female-fronted band called Lordian Guard. In the meantime, Zonder joined Prog Metal pioneers Fates Warning and went on to release numerous albums with them as well as other bands since (due to his universally recognized talent) his skills were -and still are- in high demand.It was during one of Fates Warning's tours that Zonder realized that Warlord's following had grown considerably with fans approaching him to sign Warlord albums and demanding new music from the band.Zonder contacted Tsamis and, as soon as schedules permitted, Warlord was once again converted to active status. Vocalist duties were assigned to Hammerfall vocalist (and big Warlord fan) Joacim Cans. Thus, in 2002, a new album, "Rising Out Of The Ashes," was recorded and released worldwide to rave reviews. And this was followed by the first ever Warlord live performance at the Wacken Open Air festival.A string of mishaps and very serious family health issues plagued Warlord after these performances and Warlord was once again, put on a hiatus which lasted for almost 9 years. With these issues resolved and considerable pressure by fans and promoters alike, Warlord returned to active status formally in March 2012, with the surprise release of the first new Warlord song in 10 years. “Night Of The Fury” was first released on Warlord's fan club (and in general) on Facebook where it was also revealed that not only was Warlord back in the studio working on a new album, but that vocalist duties would be handled by one of the original 80s Warlord vocalists, Rick Anderson (whose stint in Italian band Martiria had just ended). Philip Bynoe (current Steve Vai) joined the band on bass and the collaboration resulted in a new 55 minute album, "The Holy Empire," which quickly sold out, leading to ongoing re-pressings. "The Holy Empire" was also released on all major digital platforms as well as a collector's edition limited-release cassette which sold out in under one day. A vinyl 2 LP version (with a live bonus track) of "The Holy Empire" will be released in October 2013 by Alone Records.In the meantime, mounting pressure by promoters and fans bore fruit and Warlord announced that it would headline the April 2013 German "Keep It True XVI" Festival. This announcement was followed by two more headlining dates in Greece - Thessaloniki and Athens which sold out, thus demanding a second show in Athens which was sold out as well.“The Holy Empire," has received numerous rave reviews from the international metal press and has been featured in almost all major in-print publications as well as internet-only outlets the world over. In April 2013 Warlord took the full page cover of the prestigious Greek Metal Hammer print magazine.On September 2013 during an interview with Mike Catricola, Tsamis and Zonder announced that they have tapped vocalist Nicholas Leptos of Arrayan Path and Astronomikon to be the new Warlord singer. Said Tsamis "In Nicholas we have found the perfect Damien King we were always looking for".Currently Warlord is working on their fifth yet-unnamed full length studio release as well as overseeing the production of a Blu-Ray/DVD/Double CD combo shot in HD video and audio during the Athens concerts.

Album:

Warlord is one of those bands that did not reach their full potential, both in the wider metal scene and their own scene, USPM. Listening to And the Cannons of Destruction Have Begun, Warlord gives the impression of a band much larger and more successful, like a band such as Queensryche if they were doubly more popular. This release and the band as a whole comes across as fairly odd. Releasing a live album is incredibly risky, especially since they have no full-length albums before this. I guess they are trying to do the same as kiss in the opposite way of Kiss. Kiss releases a live album to cover up how shitty their songs are and give the illusion of fun, while Warlord does so to show how great they perform musically. Indeed, this strategy works, with its smooth production, tight playing, and great songs. One thing I forget to mention is this album being live without an audience. Weird concept, I know, but they apparently recorded this album on video and it’s easily accessible on Youtube. Such a weird idea, releasing a live album without a live audience. The fact that they are so good running one take (as far as one knows) and the production is pretty good, one could be easily mistaken in thinking this is just a normal studio recording, which kind of defeats the whole purpose of a live album I think. But if one knows this is a live recording, I guess this release makes one more likely to go to one of their concerts.Now the songs themselves are good, even great. Warlord clearly has talent in the songwriting department with and incredibly strong setlist. USPM isn’t usually dark, but Warlord breaks this expectation right out of the gate with Lucifer’s Hammer. Every song on And the Cannons of Destruction Have Begun is kind of dark, with the exception of Lost and Lonely Days. Speaking of that track, it’s kind of the odd one out on this album. While the instrumentals are quite good, it feels like Warlord trying to sneak a single into a mainstream rock station. This is fine, but the mood of the other tracks and its themes of broken love don’t mix in with the satanic themes, abject loneliness, defeating evil, and an alien invasion on the other tracks.While I made a reference to a fellow USPM band earlier, I do not think a Queensryche comparison does Warlord any justice. A mending of Queensryche and a little-known USPM band called Shok Paris, and maybe a bit or Riot, is what Warlord sounds like to me. They certainly possess their own sound, but I like doing comparisons on occasions. The most interesting iteration of Warlord’s sound on this album is on Aliens. Aliens sounds like a Dragonforce Song written in the 80’s with one guitarist. Even with more interestingly named tracks, Aliens is a real standout, and perhaps one of the first instances of metal sounding electronic with its consistent trilling and high pitch sweep picking.One of the most interesting aspects of the live video recording are the interludes, with soliloquies with the nameless band members. While this isn’t part of the version I’m reviewing, it does give a glimpse into one of the potential pitfalls causing Warlord not to release anything new after this release. All the bandmates are insufferable and incredibly pretentious. If the songs were not all great, this album would awful. Warlord is one of those metal bands that ruins the fun with their lectures on how much they practice, calling their band an ideology, bragging about how intelligent their careers goals are, and their pretentiously named fan club called the “Battle Choir.” I thought power metal was supposed to be fun, not a brag fest about your genius plans to become a successful band (irony). Jag Panzer isn’t successful in the USPM scene because of bragging; they’re successful because they kick ass and sing about kicking ass. Thankfully, none of Warlord’s songs give off the air of arrogance, but that probably explains why they did not function as a band and thus, did not release anything after And the Cannons of Destruction Have Begun.And the Cannons of Destruction Have Begun is a classic in power metal. Not only that, And the Cannons of Destruction Have Begun contain the best recording of all the Warlord songs contained within. Listening to Deliver Us (the EP) is hard since the production of this album is so much better, with a better vocalist, and more energy. Overall, And the Cannons of Destruction Have Begun is a great album that USPM nerds such as myself must listen to.

Line-Up:

Damien King II - Vocals
Archangel - Bass
Archangel - Guitars (R.I.P. 2021)
Sentinel - Keyboards
Thunder Child - Drums

Tracklist:

01. Beginning - Lucifer's Hammer 04:22
02. Lost and Lonely Days 04:12
03. Black Mass 05:11
04. Soliloquy 04:33
05. Aliens 04:17
06. 1984 02:44
07. Child of the Damned 03:41
08. Deliver Us from Evil 04:47
09. End 00:38
10. Hands and Feet (Thunder Child Farewell) 04:01 (Japan Bonus Track)


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