DELANY - review added 13th November 2009
Album Review: Blaze And Ashes (2009)
For fans of: Hard Rock Concept Albums... and sword clenching ladies of dour mood
Blaze And Ashes is a concept album based on the work of legendary German sci-fi author Wolfgang Hohlbein, a writer with more than 35 million book sales to his name. The translation of those ideas and concepts into musical form was handled by bassist/songwriter Volker Leson (Wizard), vocalist/songwriter Davy Vain (Vain) and Torsti Spoof (Leverage). Davy, along with Peter Weigel, also produced the work.
Featured alongside Volker and Davy are vocalists Lana Lane and David Readman (Pink Cream 69), drummer Tommy Rickard, and guitarists Jamie Scott (Vain) and Dano Boland. Eric Norlander pops up on keyboards on 'Love's Tears', and rent-a-superb-producer Dennis Ward handles mix and mastering.
The story takes place in London and has the usual plots, characters, suspense and intrigue. Interestingly, this is not an album that comes across as a typically compromised rock-opera release. Many of these vast storytelling LPs are amazing pieces of work, but they're not actually that great to listen to. It's normally easy to be impressed by them, but as actual musical experiences, they often leave a lot to be desired.
This is different. Blaze And Ashes sounds no different to any other band album. Yes, there are three different singers which can break the flow, but each song has one lead so it doesn't come across like a silly operatic conversation. Each song is an actual stand alone entity you can enjoy in its own right. You don't need to have heard the rest of the album for any individual track to make sense.
Saying that, the quality varies throughout and not all the songs are that great. Nothing is truly terrible, far from it, but more songs than I'd like are hovering around the dirty underpants of Mr. Average. Best efforts are the superb 'Love Tears' and 'Shadow On Your Heart', both featuring the creamy tones of Lana Lane. The groovily rocking 'Distance Of Love' with Davy Vain is jolly handy too. The title track, the surprisingly heavy 'Incarnation', and final entry - the only proper rock-opera effort - 'London Bridge' provide a solid and enjoyable back-up.
Overall, this is a well performed good sounding album that leaves me a tad cold. There are good moments, but simply not enough of them. Blaze And Ashes is close, but not worthy of the proverbial cigar.
Check out... Lana Lane's vocals. She's gooooood.
CD Track List:
01. Blood And Ashes (Vocals by: David Readman)
02. Here Comes Lonely (Vocals by: Davy Vain)
03. Love's Tears (Vocals by: Lana Lane)
04. Incarnation (Vocals by: David Readman)
05. Web Over London (Vocals by: David Readman)
06. Eternity Is Yours (Vocals by: Lana Lane)
07. Planets Turning (Vocals by: Davy Vain)
08. Shadow On Your Heart (Vocals by: Lana Lane)
09. Distance Of Love (Vocals by: Davy Vain)
10. Dead Undead (Vocals by: David Readman)
11. London Bridge (Vocals by: David Readman)
Label: Music Buy Mail
