Year : 2017
Style : Melodic Hard Rock, Melodic Heavy Metal
Country : Germany
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans + Video
Size : 138 mb
Bio:
When haunting songs at the interface between hard rock and melodic metal meet with the excellent musical skills and extensive experience of all musicians involved, the result is bound to be brilliant. UNITY are a prime example of this, all musical parameters pointing to an outstanding act with a promising future. After all, UNITY is the new group founded by Gamma Ray members Michael Ehré (drums) and Henjo Richter (guitar). Richter has been part of the Hamburg power metal outfit for some twenty years, while Ehré’s CV includes – prior to his joining the Gamma Ray fold in 2012 – renowned names such as Firewind, Uli Jon Roth and Unisonic, to name but a few. UNITY have spent almost 18 months working flat out on their first album, scheduled for release on Steamhammer/SPV in spring 2017. You don’t have to be a clairvoyant to predict a bright future for this band.After all, in UNITY the two instrumentalists and composers Richter and Ehré have surrounded themselves with excellent colleagues who not only share their artistic vision but have already played live on stage with them in other constellations: many fans have been familiar with exceptional Italian vocalist Gianba Manenti, guitarist Stef E, bassist Jogi Sweers and keyboardist Sascha Onnen since the launch of Ehré’s group Love.Might.Kill, which has released two albums to date and played shows in a large number of European countries.The initial inspiration for UNITY is impossible to pin down to a definite date but was apparently an extended and increasingly tangible process. “During many gigs and countless hours in the rehearsal room, Michael and I discovered that we are on the same wavelength, on a personal as well as on a musical level. So we came up with the idea of focusing that part of our creativity that goes beyond Gamma Ray in another band,” Richter explains. Michael Ehré adds: “Our artistic ideas are on the one hand so similar that we arrive at a common denominator most of the time and on the other hand they’re different enough to ensure a diverse album that doesn’t sound boring for a second. Particularly as this band consists of six first-rate songwriters.”Every note of their eponymously titled debut album oozes the great creative potential of all band members: powerful numbers such as the fast and tough ´Rise And Fall` and the grooving ´No More Lies` with its dynamic guitar riff and melodious chorus are just as symptomatic for the group’s unbridled energy as the slow, doom-laden ´God Of Temptation` which features a latent Black Sabbath flair thanks to its distinctive guitar hook.In addition, there are unusual tracks which lend the album its special note. ´Close To Crazy`, for example, lives up to its “crazy” title and puts the pedal to the metal throughout its barely three minutes playing time. By contrast, there’s ´Never Forget`, the recording’s most melodic and catchy song featuring a chorus completely in major key, an anthemnic vocal line and atmospheric keyboard parts that virtually live up to Journey standards. In line with this is the lyric which sees UNITY confess to their own origins and to the music they grew up with.The UNITY debut was produced by the musicians themselves, mostly at Ehré’s own B Castle Studio and mixed and mastered by Spain’s Miquel A. Riutort at the Psychosomatic Recording Studio. The impressive cover artwork, penned by Alexander Mertsch who has worked for the likes of Deep Purple, Gamma Ray, Status Quo and Europe, also deserves a mention.There’s no two ways about it – this is an album recorded by real masters of their trade, and their first release is eagerly awaited. After all, the name says it all – UNITY are guaranteed to unite fans of both hard rock and melodic metal.
Album:
Ah, melodic heavy metal, a hybrid invention with the purpose of injecting power to hard rock and AOR. Many bands have adventured through this dangerous – and blasphemous, to the most purist of headbangers – genre, taking advantage of its cheesiness, hooks and catchy nature. The Unity is another one of those bands, but with a catch: two of its members are known for their contribution to the power metal community, being them GammaRay members Henjo Richter (guitars) and Michael Ehré (drums, also ex-Metalium). Perhaps tired of making the same riffs and leads tried to exhaustion in power metal, Richter decided to do something very, very different: play the same riffs and leads elsewhere tried to exhaustion in hard rock/melodic metal. Shocking, huh?Be it as it may, the two gathered some firepower to put their project to life and wound up recruiting Ehré Love.Might.Kill bandmates Gianba Manenti (vocals), Stefan Ellerhorst (guitars) Jogi Sweers (bass) and Sascha Onnen (keyboards), forming The Unity. Their first full-length effort is bound to be released on May 5th via SPV/Steamhammer and according to the band themselves, “When haunting songs at the interface between hard rock and melodic metal meet with the excellent musical skills and extensive experience of all musicians involved, the result is bound to be brilliant.“s it, though? Well, not quite so, and it’s not even close. There are certainly some winners in ‘The Unity’, but these are exceptions to the rule. The album has a couple of filler tunes and some completely disposable passages, so to call it “brilliant” is at least ludicrous. Opener “Rise and Fall” is a good effort that flirts with the more metal side of things. Packed with double-pedal drumming and really good guitar work, the song reminds an early Herman Frank tune, especially because of Manenti’s vocal resemblance to Jiotis Parcharidis’ (ex-Herman Frank, ex-Victory, ex-Human Fortress).Also in the win department are the very interesting “God of Temptation”, the bombastic “Firesign” and the more cadenced but very competent “Killer Instinct”. The three, along with the already mentioned “Rise and Fall”, are the glue that holds the album together and the main reason why I didn’t gave the record a lower rating. “God of Temptation” is awesome and epic, with a vibe that takes us back to the great days of ‘The Eternal Idol’ and ‘Headless Cross’-era Black Sabbath and “Firesign” is the opposite, being upbeat and with catchier and more unpretentious lines, while “Killer Instinct” provides a good balance between heaviness and melody.The downside of the album is its middle portion. The uninspired ballad “Always Just You” and the ridiculous “Close to Crazy” see the band trying too much to accomplish a laid-back and cool vibe, which backfires completely. “The Wishing Well”, “Edens Fire” and “Redeemer” are just ok but too generic, and none of them feature any sort of climax nor take off in a bombastic or remarkable way. The first and second ones have that Euro “pop-ish” atmosphere distillated by bands such as H.E.A.T. and Harem Scarem, while the third one brings a rock ‘n’ roll attitude to the table with lots of guitar distortions and a 1980’s keyboard background. “Never Forget” closes the album and, ironically enough, it’s best that we forget about it altogether. It’s too “happy” instrumental-wise and tries too hard to be emotional; diabetics, stay the hell away from this one.To be brilliant in an ever-increasing genre – which is quickly becoming stale, as every other do from time to time – as hard/melodic metal is no small feat, so when you actually say that the result of your album “is bound to be brilliant”, you better know what the hell you’re talking about. Sadly for Richter, Ehré and their loyal rocker friends, brilliant is not a word I would associate ‘The Unity’ with. Instead, I find the album to be in the thin line between just decent and being good, and even not being a fan of this genre, I know for a fact that there are way better displays out there released this year, like Eclipse’s ‘Momentum’, Brother Firetribe’s ‘Sunbound’ and One Desire’s homonyms album.With that being said, the record is good enough to please the hardcore hard rock/melodic metal fan, while being utterly forgettable to everyone else. Production and execution-wise, though, it’s a great effort, but the compositions fall short of mesmerizing or surprising the listener in any way. The band has yet to find its identity, and knowing the musicians and their experience with this sort of thing, it should blossom with another album or two. Until then, Richter and Ehré are better off sticking to Gamma Ray.
Line Up:
Gianba Manenti - Vocals
Henjo Richter - Guitar
Stef E - Guitar
Jogi Sweers - Bass
Sascha Onnen - Keyboards
Michael Ehré - Drums
Tracklist:
01. Rise And Fall
02. No More Lies
03. God Of Temptation
04. Firesign
05. Always Just You
06. Close To Crazy
07. The Wishing Well
08. Edens Fall
09. Redeemer
10. Super Distortion
11. Killer Instinct
12. Never Forget
+ Video "No More Lies" (Official Video)
Please my link you can´t spread further and don´t upload to other hostings!!!
Remember! if You like the release, buy the original CD. Support the artists!
All download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
Odkazy na stažení všech alb naleznete pouze na našem blogu zde: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
Please when You buy a premium account, You can support our work, You can do parallel downloads with unlimited speed and never waiting.
Please click and buy some account only through icons below: (when You not see icons below stop AdBlock and AdBlock plus in Google chrome)
Cuando usted compra una cuenta premium, Usted puede apoyar nuestro trabajo, usted puede hacer descargas paralelas con velocidad ilimitada y nunca espera.
Por favor, haga clic y comprar de cuenta sólo a través de iconos por debajo: (si no ves el iconos siguiente parada AdBlock y AdBlock Plus en Google Chrome)