"Greatest hits" or "best of" packages always have the objectionable factor tied to them, especially for those who have followed band in particular over the course of their career, I mean everybody has their personal favorites. For Millennium, it's really hard to say where this collection stands, number one it's a excellent starting point for those who might not have any of the material that these guys have released and number two, from listening to this compilation, there is really no weak point.
Maybe at this point I should add that this is my one-on-one introduction to this band, I mean it really was the first time I sat down and listened to a CD by these guys instead of hearing them on Internet radio, and I was amazed how they play their brand of melodic metal with the whole spectrum of technical chops fused with their strong songwriting skills to create such ear candy.
It's a long compilation, lasting over two hours with two discs of material spanning three records (disc one features material from
Hourglass and
Angelfire, while disc two showcases the
Millennium record as well as new material and outtakes),
The Best of. sums up a career of the band whose lineup has consisted of virtuoso musicians including vocalists
Jorn Lande and Todd Plant, guitarist Ralph Santolla, and drummer Oliver Hanson along with guests Don Airey, Sean Phillips, and Manfred Binder among others, who have made the band the forerunners of melodic metal throughout
Europe and Japan.
With an album-by-album tracklisting, you can get the feel for each section of tracks, they all sort of fit together in sections, but the highlights on the set includes the straight up hook ridden catchy
"Saving Grace," "The Color of Night," "Believe in Love," "Superstar," "Hourglass" (with Lande doing his Coverdale-esque vocal style), and the ballad
"Almost made it to Heaven" rounding out this anthology with guitar riffs and anthem choruses, sort of if you were to combine the writing of
Harem Scarem with the production of Malmsteen Rising Force, which is where these guys stand, sort of in the middle of that mantra.
The bonus material features, well, of course, newly recorded material as well as outtakes from the
Hourglass record, not to mention demos, which sound more like master session material, being more sophisticated in sound rather than filling up the set with bland material.
Worth every penny, this "beginners guide to Millennium" is a great place to start, so if there is one last melodic metal album you buy this year, let this one be at the top of that list.
Written by
Hashman Monday, November 29, 2004
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