| CD REVIEW Fallen Angel |
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Band : Fallen Angel Although this is only the first album by this Rochester (upstate New York) based Heavy Metal act (don't confuse for the shitload of other bands by that name - most of the past and long-since forgotten, but there's still a US Death Metal act and a Spanish Power Metal act in active duty), the story that binds its members goes back quite a long way. In fact, co-lead guitarists Joe Crupe and Robb Lotta, and drummer Frankie Quaggs have been working together of and on since their teenage years, and the latter two have also frequently played with bassist Joe Surace from early on. Crupe had already been walking around with a great idea for a conceptual music piece, in wanting to see it combined with the simultaneous release of a novel and comic book...or actually, he envisioned telling his tale as a trilogy! So when in early 2007 he finally decided to get started on the project, there was no way he was gonna do it without his childhood friends. But the guys also wanted to do everything on their own, knowing that their project would be badly received in the “normal” music business scene. This meant that, besides trying to tie in each other's already busy schedules (in 2008 Lotta toured with former Anthrax frontman Joey Belladonna, even laid down some tracks in a studio) to composed the songs, they also had to play the occasional gigs to start interest I the project (adding to the visual aspect by performing masked as one of the 5 evil characters in the story), raise the money to gradually pay the comic book artist, and build up their studio...all at the same time, while Crupe himself took care of writing the novel. As lead singer, the four enlisted one Steve Senink, a true high-pitch siren! The story line? Well, here's a loose description given by Crupe himself: “...the story arc reflects the journey of one man's soul through a near-death experience, and ultimately his final demise where his adventure truly begins. He learns that the mysteries surrounding the dead surpass the mysteries that surround the living, and that every mortal being has their own cross to bear in one way or another. As he struggles through the realms of the damned attempting to follow the proper path, he learns that unity and coexistence is the true path to salvation and that segregation no matter if it is applied to race, religion or political views is the wrong path for anyone to achieve piece or divinity...the brief description I have just given barely scratches the surface of what the primary character experiences during his intense travels...Some fans may want to leave the light on when they go to bed after reading certain parts of the novel!” Intriguing, eh? But as intense as the story's content is also the music, which can best be described as a high-pace & intense Progressive Heavy Metal with frequent wacky sound additions to the twin lead guitars (oh, evidently, there's also a couple of songs where the band goes into a calmer mode, even adds an atmospheric keyboard, through which the soaring quality of Senink's voice nevertheless manages to come through). To enhance the cinematic feel of the album, the guys added a coupe of “instrumental” soundscapes, and to further help the listener in his visualization of the story the band added a stunning 32-page booklet with elaborate artwork, lyrics, and added liner notes! You can find 6 songs off the 20-track (72 minutes long, can you believe?) at myspace.com/bandsitefallenangel, but really you're better off to log in into the band's own website (www.) fallenangelofficialwebsite, because there you get a better background on the band. As mentioned, this is only the first part of the Fallen Angel trilogy, and the novel is already available. Although the comic book was meant to be ready around the same time, there was just too much the outsider artist had to work in, and the release of that part of this unique project is therefore something for a later date. Meanwhile, the band is already working on the next part of their trilogy, to be titled Fallen Angel II – Cast Out Of Heaven, and to be released in 2, 2 ½ years. Meanwhile, there's part 1, which I like well enough, but somehow refuse to include in my year-lists...sorry for that! Oh wait, I forgot to mention the single, which consists of a radio edit of the title track, its 5:55 full-length version, and a live-in-the-studio rendition...none of which I was able to listen to due to the disc being damaged. Oh well...great promotional tool though, especially if you want your music being played on radio stations and such (and the added live version is a nice perk for the fans!) 95/100 Tony. |
