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EVIL MASQUERADE "Welcome to the Show" What a surprise this was! If it had not been for those cheeky Dutchmen taking Album Of The Month honours this Issue - then Evil Masquerade would have taken the honours. A Danish 4 piece - E.M is the baby of guitar virtuoso Henrik Flyman, and boasts one time Royal Hunt vocalist Henrik Brockmann, drummer Dennis Buhl and bass player Kasper Gram. To help matters further they also boast 4 of the world´s greatest keyboard players to do guest solos on certain songs, Mats Olausson (Yngwie Malmsteen), Richard Andersson (Space Odyssey, Time Requiem), Andre Andersen (Royal Hunt) and Lars Boutrup. Kicking off with a fabulous and powerful intro that incorporates 'Ride of the Valkyries', before shifting gear and launching full speed into a lush, orchestrated neo classical maelstrom, one is made painfully aware from the off that this band are out to kick arse - and do it with style. Produced by Henrik Flyman himself the sound is perfect to carry and sell this type of music - clear, huge and dramatic. As for his guitar sound - this will be one guy to watch over the next few years - he is simply amazing and his precision, speed and overall tast of compositions as well as soloing will make him a force to be reconed with and a name to be mentioned in Baroque and Roll circles. Anyway - I´m getting ahead of myself. We then launch into title and opening track proper 'Welcome to the Show' and the pedal is firmly on the metal for this. This is essentially neo-classical metal, yet the band inject a sense of the theatrical and dramatic in the passages and sounds they use - for example the vocal choral effect from Brockmann is amazing - and brings to mind some of the elements that made Symphony X so special. 'The Wind Will Rise' then leaps out the speakers with an announcing flurry of notes from Flyman. We are then treated to one of the best neo-classical songs ever played as the band effortlessly steams their way through a track littered with hooks, precision and power. If you´re not completely sold by this early point - your thought to please, and as 'Oh Harlequin' storms in following the exellence with yet more exellence, you begin to realise this album is a lot of fun. 'Surprises in the Dark' and 'But You Were Smiling' continue in a sound that the band now bask in, dynamic riffs, powerful drumming and great vocals with death defying solos. I could carry on track by track but I hope by now you get the point. Their version of Bachs 'Badinerie' is worth the cost alone and the album roars on to closer 'Evil Masquerade'. Some of you may be thinking I love this because it´s littered with solos, virtuoso passages and pompous tunes stuffed with self-importance. Yet I should point out that there is a very classic feel to this album with the emphasis firmly on the songs, and it´s the bands ability to use just the right amount of flash technique to lift the songs - not plague them. On more than one occation I heard DIO in there - just check out closing track riff and see for yourself. Otherwise though, this is possibly a hybrid of Symphony X, Time Requiem, Malmsteen and many other neo-classical bands to mind. One of the brightest new entries in the neo-classical market. Nick Hinton/Virtuosa Magazine |
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