How do you go about putting
together a "super group" project? Usually it will be a couple of people from
separate bands, who might get together over a beer and suggest to each other
that they should "do something together". Demons & Wizards, the project put
together by Iced Earth's Jon Schaeffer and Blind Guardian's Hansi Kursch can be
seen in this situation. Or a group of musicians who aren't doing a whole lot at
that point in time decide that they should get together and do a project, a
little like Mike Portnoy and Russell Allen with Adrenaline Mob.
Back in 2004, session guitarist Magnus Karlsson was asked to put to write and record an album that would feature two high profile vocalists singing in duet and duelling on vocals. Those two vocalists ended up being Symphony X's front man Russell Allen and Masterplan front man Jorn Lande, and the album because The Battle.
The majority of the songs have these two great vocalists sharing duties, while there are also songs where each vocalist has the duties to themselves. Karlsson wrote all of the songs and lyrics, and played all of the instruments except for the drums which are handled with aplomb by Jamie Salazar. In this respect Karlsson has done a wonderful job of writing and performing. The mix of songs is terrific, ranging from heavy and faster metal songs to solid hard rock songs, most with a very progressive edge to them. The mix between the keyboards and guitars is performed excellently, allowing for the distinction between the out-and-out metal songs and the keyboard-hinted power metal songs.
Both parts of this work perfectly. The music never interferes with the brilliance of the vocals of both Allen and Lande. When they are singing, they are dominating the songs. In between however, there is some sensational guitar work from Karlsson, and some of his solo work is awe inspiring. It may only be a studio project, where all of these pieces have been fused together to make great songs and a terrific album, but that does not detract from this in any way.
The songs on which Russell dominates are the naturally strong heavy metal songs, while those where Jorn is the driving force tend more towards the power metal side of the coin. It is quite possible that the songs were written in such a way, or that the vocals of these two just naturally flow the music in that direction. No matter which way you look at it, this album is able to juggle the slight changes in music without ever losing the completeness of the album. It's middle ground is the progressive nature of the music without losing the basic concept of hard rock's beat and rhythm and metal's guitar-based heaviness. Certainly there are songs on here that are my favourites, and there are others than I can quite happily gloss over if given the opportunity. But on the whole this album should please most people who enjoy this genre of music, and certainly anyone who knows the vocalists will not be disappointed.
While the mix of vocals is great, I must admit that it would have been good to hear somewhere in the list a bit more of a duelling effect between the two singers. I'd love to have heard them going off against each other during the middle of a song, exchanging vocals in a lyrical battle in a way akin to the name of the album.
The success of this album has led to two further being produced, and a fourth apparently in the pipeworks. This was a pleasant surprise when I first acquired it, and that feeling hasn't subsided when listening to it to this day. Perhaps some people would think it to be too much of a formula-driven effort, given that one person performed the majority of the roles in getting the album to its completion. Perhaps that is the case, but it is an enjoyable album to listen to in all respects, and that should be the key no matter how or who got it to that point.
Back in 2004, session guitarist Magnus Karlsson was asked to put to write and record an album that would feature two high profile vocalists singing in duet and duelling on vocals. Those two vocalists ended up being Symphony X's front man Russell Allen and Masterplan front man Jorn Lande, and the album because The Battle.
The majority of the songs have these two great vocalists sharing duties, while there are also songs where each vocalist has the duties to themselves. Karlsson wrote all of the songs and lyrics, and played all of the instruments except for the drums which are handled with aplomb by Jamie Salazar. In this respect Karlsson has done a wonderful job of writing and performing. The mix of songs is terrific, ranging from heavy and faster metal songs to solid hard rock songs, most with a very progressive edge to them. The mix between the keyboards and guitars is performed excellently, allowing for the distinction between the out-and-out metal songs and the keyboard-hinted power metal songs.
Both parts of this work perfectly. The music never interferes with the brilliance of the vocals of both Allen and Lande. When they are singing, they are dominating the songs. In between however, there is some sensational guitar work from Karlsson, and some of his solo work is awe inspiring. It may only be a studio project, where all of these pieces have been fused together to make great songs and a terrific album, but that does not detract from this in any way.
The songs on which Russell dominates are the naturally strong heavy metal songs, while those where Jorn is the driving force tend more towards the power metal side of the coin. It is quite possible that the songs were written in such a way, or that the vocals of these two just naturally flow the music in that direction. No matter which way you look at it, this album is able to juggle the slight changes in music without ever losing the completeness of the album. It's middle ground is the progressive nature of the music without losing the basic concept of hard rock's beat and rhythm and metal's guitar-based heaviness. Certainly there are songs on here that are my favourites, and there are others than I can quite happily gloss over if given the opportunity. But on the whole this album should please most people who enjoy this genre of music, and certainly anyone who knows the vocalists will not be disappointed.
While the mix of vocals is great, I must admit that it would have been good to hear somewhere in the list a bit more of a duelling effect between the two singers. I'd love to have heard them going off against each other during the middle of a song, exchanging vocals in a lyrical battle in a way akin to the name of the album.
The success of this album has led to two further being produced, and a fourth apparently in the pipeworks. This was a pleasant surprise when I first acquired it, and that feeling hasn't subsided when listening to it to this day. Perhaps some people would think it to be too much of a formula-driven effort, given that one person performed the majority of the roles in getting the album to its completion. Perhaps that is the case, but it is an enjoyable album to listen to in all respects, and that should be the key no matter how or who got it to that point.
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