Mastercastle - The Phoenix review
| Band: | Mastercastle |
| Album: | The Phoenix |
| Style: | Heavy metal |
| Release date: | April 17, 2009 |
| A review by: | Bas |
01. Words Are Swords
02. Princess Of Love
03. Space
04. My Screams
05. Lullaby Noir
06. The Phoenix
07. Greedy Blade
08. Dawn Of Promises
09. Memories
10. Cradle Of Stone
In the world of metal there are basically three different ways an album can suck. The first way is describing something as nu metal (or metalcore) - all "true metalheads" will instantly hate it and proclaim that it isn't really metal at all. The second way is when the musicians have as much talent as a dead fly, simple as that. Finally, the third way is when it's so amazingly lame that you've heard more than enough of it after a minute, are really happy when the first song is over and feel like something just broke inside you when the second tracks begins. Sadly, the third best applies to Mastercastle from Italy.
Let me describe the band a bit more apart from how much they bore me. Guitarist and mastermind Pier Gonella already made himself known by playing in Labyrinth and Necrodeath. Still, that doesn't change the fact that I've definitely heard every riff on this album before from other heavy metal bands. As for the solos; soul-less would be the best way to put them in words. I'll be honest though, the guitar work doesn't bore me nearly as much as Giorgia Gueglio's vocal performance. She has about as much power as a light bulb that stopped working a few weeks ago and I can name quite a number of pop singers that have more personality in their voices. Furthermore, her pronunciation made me laugh two or three times. It's not without a reason that I like the two instrumentals on this album best.
Production-wise the whole disc is pretty weak too. And what about the songwriting? I've heard the whole CD five times now, even though my thoughts about it are exactly the same as after the first spin. There's not a single catchy chorus to be found, nor a single song that stands out from the rest. Eight tracks of a boring porridge of heavy metal, hard rock and a little bit of power metal with weak vocals and two without. That's it.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 7 |
| Songwriting: | 4 |
| Originality: | 4 |
| Production: | 4 |
Written by Bas | 29.04.2009
Comments
Comments: 12
Visited by: 124 users
| GT Coffee!! Staff Posts: 5101  |
Haha nice review. I'm not going to listen to this album 
----  Dreams are made so we don't get bored when we sleep
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| Dane Train Beers & Kilts Elite Posts: 8902  |
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| Aiko Posts: 1 |
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| dany Posts: 1 |
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| Bas Retired Staff Elite Posts: 5591  |
Written by dany on 10.05.2009 at 01:12 Although I review a lot of different styles, metal with female vocals is one of the styles I'm best at. I know a lot of bands from this genre. Knowing a lot of bands with female vocals, it really didn't take all the chances I gave this band to realize that the music is just 100% lame. Of course the ethically right thing to say would be that I respect your opinions, but instead I'll just say that some people have very low standards for what they like. I like high quality music and you, well, apparently you don't need that
---- BAS - Beautifully Accented Sexiness
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| jupitreas hi-fi / lo-life Staff Posts: 6660  |
Written by dany on 10.05.2009 at 01:12 Written by Aiko on 02.05.2009 at 14:41 dany and Aiko are obviously either fanboys/girls or band members inanely trying to promote the band. Just look at their user info - both registered at a similar time, both have Italian e-mail addresses and both posted only in the comments to this review. You are of course free to disagree with the review and engage in meaningful discussion regarding the album but please don't engage in inane masquerades that we can all see through!
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| Raiden Down Under Staff Elite Posts: 8292  |
"Princess Of Love" made me die a little inside but I'd probably give the album a 6 maybe. It does have a couple of good points. Giorgia Gueglio doesn't sound as bad when she's not attempting higher notes.
---- "Scream for me Melbourne!!!!" - Bruce Dickinson "I don't see any god up here" - Yuri Gagarin (while in orbit, 1961)
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| Bas Retired Staff Elite Posts: 5591 |
Written by Raiden on 06.10.2009 at 14:52 I suppose that means you just haven't heard as much of this CD as me 
---- BAS - Beautifully Accented Sexiness
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| Raiden Down Under Staff Elite Posts: 8292 |
Written by Bas on 08.10.2009 at 19:48 Haha well I haven't concentrated on it quite as much I would think but there are some times when she doesn't sound as bad I thought.
---- "Scream for me Melbourne!!!!" - Bruce Dickinson "I don't see any god up here" - Yuri Gagarin (while in orbit, 1961)
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| Lord_Regnier Posts: 1469  |
Written by Bas on 10.05.2009 at 14:25 I haven't heard the album, so I won't comment on it. (I checked the review to see if it could be something interesting for me because I never heard of this band before) What I wish to say is I agree with you, in the sense that I have the feeling some people, when they like a genre, will like and praise every piece of shit some bands vomit at them, as long as it belongs to that metal genre. Some people have very low standards, indeed.
---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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| atrox Posts: 133  |
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| atrox Posts: 133 |
Written by jupitreas on 10.05.2009 at 14:33 Nice one, Sherlock (in a good way)!
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