1022. Unisonic / Live in Wacken. 2017. 5/5

It was a busy little schedule at Wacken 2016 for Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen. Both were involved in the Hansen & Friends project, Kai as the instigator and Miki as guest on a number of songs, which played at the festival and released a live album of their own entitled Thank You Wacken: Live just a couple of weeks before this album was released. As well as that, then there was Unisonic, the band that Miki sings for and Kai guitars for, who also played on that weekend and which was recorded and packaged for this release, Live in Wacken.

It has been quite the journey, most notably for Kiske himself, who had so publicly slagged off heavy metal in the years after his departure from Helloween, and has now come (almost) full circle through the support of his part to play in the Avantasia project and through other friends in Roland Grapow (Masterplan) and Kai Hansen (Gamma Ray). The Unisonic band has progressed from an initial side project for all of the artists to one that has now released two albums and now this live recording, which ultimately goes to prove that the talents of the collective are quite high, and that they can do justice to their material in the live setting.
This is a cracking set list. I could not have chosen better if I had been given the job of choosing it. Every one of the best songs from their two albums makes an appearance here, along with the usual mix of older material from the number one vocalist. Opening up with “For the Kingdom” and “Exceptional” from the Light of Dawn album, the band exudes the energy you would expect from such an experienced and talented group. This is followed by “My Sanctuary” and “King For a Day” from the debut album, and both also have that energy you would expect. The joy that is “Your Time Has Come”, where Michi’s amazing vocals soar as well as they ever have, along with the twin guitar solos throughout the middle of the song between Kai and Mandy, and the double time rhythm from both Ward and Zafiriou makes for a terrific live version of this song.
Even the slower, less emphatic songs such as “When the Deed is Done” and “Star Rider” still have their moments here, even in their more melodic and less aggressive or fast arrangements. “Throne of the Dawn” is also an improvement on the studio version, and allows Kiske in particular to find a groove for the song that improves it in the live setting.
If you ever had any doubts about Miki’s vocal range… well, no… why would you… but my goodness, if you did, then listening to the two Helloween covers here would right that ship immediately. His own “A Little Time” is just perfect here, but it is possibly the interlude in the middle of this song will erase any doubt from your head forever. By incorporating a piece of Judas Priest’s classic “Victim of Changes” in the middle of this song, not only does it fit perfectly musically, but Kiske’s vocals are just magnificent, hitting every note in the lower scale and the upper echelons, as living proof he still has everything in his corner. Then the cover of Kai’s “March of Time”, which still ranks as one of my favourite Helloween songs ever, is just a piercing and harmonic and beautiful throughout. It is a masterpiece. Then album then concludes with “Unisonic” on overdrive, providing the perfect end to what is a sensational live gig and album.

It’s a fine line to tread when you have a project like Unisonic, where all the members have obligations in other projects, in order to make it work. Despite the range in music genres between the members of this band, it is terrific to hear it working so well in the live medium, which after all is where it all matters in the long run.

Rating:  “Chuggin like a monster, buzzing like a hive, everything is set to overdrive”.   5/5

744. Unisonic / Light of Day. 2014. 4/5

Light of Dawn is the second album for Unisonic, the group that marked the return of Michael Kiske to a band of a genre resembling power metal. The band is a gathering of friends from past collaborations, with a slightly different writing crew this time around, which means a slightly different album in the offering.

After the instrumental opening of "Venite 2.0", the opening track "Your Time Has Come" gallops along at a cracking pace in the best traditions of German power metal, with Kiske's voice invoking memories of his best from past ventures. This is followed by the self-describing "Exceptional", another terrific track where Kiske's vocals are... exceptional.
Guitarists Kai Hansen and Mandy Meyer trade riffs and solos like they have been doing it all their lives. "For the Kingdom" is a perfect example of this, with both playing off each other spectacularly and with speed. They are the highlight of this song. "Not Gonna Take Anymore" and "Night of the Long Knives" continue the excellent voyage of this album, both being mid-range tempo songs which are built on the solid rhythm section blasting along with Kiske riding in the high range of his vocals.
The drumming of Kosta Zafiriou drives along the best songs in brilliant fashion, especially on "Find Shelter", where an otherwise possibly ordinary song is brought to life by his drum work. "Find Shelter" actually combines both fast pace and a slower mid-section surprisingly well, while band leader Dennis Ward's bass lines tie everything together.
"Throne of the Dawn" is energised by Kiske's soaring vocals and the brilliant solo break from Hansen and Meyer again, while "Manhunter" feels like an old 70's rock song reheated and rehashed for the market in 2014, until the harmonic guitars suddenly burst into their individual solos, which busts this song apart for about 45 seconds.

Not everything can be roses and chocolates, and there are songs here that don't meet my complete approval. "Blood" is the kind of song I think Kiske started drifting towards during the mid-1990's, and while you can hear his enjoyment of the song in his vocals (it is also co-written by himself and Sandro Giampietro) it's not one of my favourites. The same can be said for the following track "When the Deed is Done". Both are too much in the power ballad style for my liking, with patented power ballad guitar solo attached. This is also true of the track that closes out the album, "You and I". For me these are the most average songs on the album, the ones that change the tide. As always, there are many people out there who love a good power ballad, and I'm sure they would think these are terrific. On an album that is not great, they just bring it down another notch. On an album I love I can tolerate them. 

Whereas Unisonic felt a little uneven and uncertain of itself, with different styles of songs and song writing trying to piece themselves together to make a cohesive album, Light of Dawn has been helmed almost entirely by Dennis Ward, who wrote the lyrics and music for every song apart from the two Kiske/Giampietro songs "Blood" and "Manhunter". On Unisonic, Kai Hansen was involved in writing about half of the album, and the two differing styles which both seem to be trying to appease their lead vocalist didn't gel in the way they would like them to. Here, with Ward shouldering the burden of the actual song writing, but allowing Hansen and Meyer to interpret their solos as they wish, it allows the song structure to flow without bumps, while still showcasing the great talents of these two guitarists. While I may well have enjoyed certain songs from the debut album more (not surprisingly, the one's that Kai wrote), I am positive that this album as a whole is much better than their first effort. As a band, they have produced a much better effort here. The hope from this is that they can continue to do so, because if they can reproduce this improvement again on a subsequent third release, they may well have the formula intact.

Rating:  You've made the world your stage, and you know your time has come.  4/5

597. Unisonic / Unisonic. 2012. 3/5

It was pretty difficult not getting excited about the release of this album. Since their short time together in Helloween in the late 1980's (which produced two of the finest metal albums of that or any other era, the magnificent Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 and the incomparable Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 2), Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen have moved in opposite musical directions. Hansen formed Gamma Ray, the premium metal band, and produced some of the best albums of the past 25 years. Kiske was involved in one of the worst, Helloween's Chameleon before renouncing his heavy metal spurs and producing some average albums that never ever showed off what an amazing vocalist he is.

Despite Kai Hansen's presence, I did not come into this expecting a heavy metal album, and that is not what this is. The music and songs had to be written in a style that would have pleased the leader - a compromise of styles, if you will. What you get is an assimilation of the band's that all of these members have been in, and an attempt to make that work.
There is plenty to like, and plenty to take stock of. The two major writers are Hansen and bassist Dennis Ward. While the album isn't fractured, it comes across as slightly schitzophrenic.

Hansen's contributions are a standout, and able to be separated from the pack. His are the songs that inject a bit of speed and a bit of grunt in the guitars, as well as the better lead break from both guitarists."Never Too Late" is one example. The similarities to Gamma Ray's "Time to Break Free" from the Land of the Free album, both musically and lyrically (yes, Kiske actually provided lead vocals on the song) are very easy to ascertain. But his contributions have been 'scaled back' from the absolute heavy and speed metal style of Gamma Ray, to fit in with the much more hard rock style that this band is about, no doubt to fit Kiske's preferred style.
On the other hand, Ward's contributions obviously reflect the style of his previous band's, such as Pink Cream 69 and Place Vendome (of which Kiske was also a part). They swing more towards the hard rock ballad style of song, rewuiring Kiske's soaring vocals to be at the forefront of the moody musicianship, much in the way that Whitesnake's "Is This Love?" did a quarter of a century ago. There is nothing wrong with that if you like that kind of stuff, but really, we've heard this before in Ward's afore-mentioned bands.

Compare, for instance, "Renegade" and "My Sanctuary", which are back to back in the middle of this album. "Renegade" is a Ward song, and it has that moodiness about it, and almost floats along with Kiske soaring to that mood. Then comes "My Sanctuary", essentially a Ward song, that Hansen has contributed to the music. It feels like a Ward song, but Hansen has come in and added some grunt, added some metal to it, and the song is all the better for that influence. To me, if this could have been done to the WHOLE album, rather than just the two or three songs that Kai 'helped out' with the music ("Unisonic", "My Sanctuary" and "We Rise") it would have been a better mix throughout. As it stands, the  momentum of the album ebbs and flows between the somewhat faster and heavier tunes, and the slower more circumspect soft rock moments.
Michael Kiske has the writing credit for one song on the album, the closing ballad "No One Ever Sees Me". It is the perfect example of the direction Kiske prefers his music in this incarnation of his life. It is pure syrup both musically and lyrically, and even the solo break from Kai can't redeem it for me. I am sure there are plenty of fans out here who will love this song. To me it may as well be Mariah Carey singing it, because it is a travesty.

I wanted to love this album. I wanted it to be a pinpoint, the album that all other bands would have to better if they wanted to have the best album of 2012. That hasn't  - and couldn't - happen. Despite the calibre of the musicians collected here, their styles were, for the most part, unable to combine to bring about the miraculous. There are good songs here, including "Unisonic", "Souls Alive" "Never Too Late" and "My Sanctuary", but the average tends to hold back the good. Instead, this is an album that is well worth a listen, but at the end of the day will become a shelf-filler.

588. Unisonic / Ignition (EP). 2012. 4/5

This single is the pre-cursor to the debut album from the new band Unisonic, and as a taster it succeeds in whetting the appetite.

What this brings to the table is what you are hoping - up tempo songs with that familiar European power-speed metal sound, powered up to 10 by the presence of Kai Hansen on guitar and song-writing duties, and driven by the still wonderful vocals of Michael Kiske.

Backing up the short and sharp single "Unisonic" is another song from the upcoming album, "My Sanctuary", and a fairly substantial demo version of "Souls Alive".

Then, just to prove these guys still pack a punch, there is a live version of the Helloween favourite "I Want Out", which showcases the band perfectly, and proves that they all still have what it takes.

All in all, this is an excellent EP to set up the debut album's release.