Band:	Saeko
Album:	Life
Style:	Heavy metal
Release date:	March 24, 2006
A review by:	Jeff

01. Leaving
02. Wings Of Broken Dreams
03. Tears Of Life
04. Sa-Ku-Ra
05. The World Of Pain
06. Sky
07. The Call In Us
08. Wanne Be Free
09. Identity
10. Eternal Destiny
11. My Way

I suppose that some of you already know Saeko, a young artist who comes from Japan and started her "metal history" in 2004 with the release of "Above Heaven, Bellow Heaven" an album which got some good feedback back there. Always with the help of Lars Ratz and Michael Ehre (both in Metallium), our girl is doing her comeback this year with a new release, "Life". Something exotic on a side? and damnly uncolored on the other one. Let say that it is something for the true fans of Power Metal who want some Japanese spirit in their favorite music?

"Life" isn't a bad album; actually it's just a good album of Melodic Power Metal, but a really classic one. I mean that the songs aren't so bad and some of them are really catchy (like "Wings Of Broken Dreams") but it's extremely classic. Don't expect something new or outstanding, the music of Saeko isn't bad but she never took any risks with her compositions, this is a bit pale and it's a shame. It's a shame because nowadays it's a bit easy to do this kind of release that we already saw 10000?. others time. A bit of spices and originality don't kill goddamn?

But evidently if the structure is extremely classic, there is however a special sound on this release. And if you didn't understand that Saeko comes from Japan, I'm sure that you'll understand it when you will only listen to the first second of the CD. Actually when I listen to this album, I have the feeling that I'm back in the 80's when I was a kid and when I was watching like an idiot all those Japanese cartoons on TV. I'm sure that some of you remember the music of Saint Seiya and Captain Harlock, well I won't say that Saeko plays a music in the same spirit but really her music smells the big Japanese cliché in general, and we're not so far at the end. Some of you will like it of course but some others will hate it, I'm sure, this is just a matter of taste but I need to warn you before?

Well at least the production is really good and for a Power Metal release this is not so bad, just classic. Note that you'll find at the end a Japanese cover of "Comme d' Habitude", international hit of the deceased French singer Claude François (yes yes, "My Way" is just a cover of this song ). I'm sure that Saeko has a strong potential, she is a good and charismatic singer but now she will have to prove that she can do a music a lot more original? and she can do it?