Bob Catley - Immortal

\r\nWho believes Queen were the beginning and end of symphonic hard rock? Well I am sure that whoever states that, hasn’t heard of Magnum and the masterpieces, such as, the legendary "On a Storyteller’s Night", they have released. So here we deal with their vocalist, Bob Catley, whose solo career has also offered some great moments, including, the monumental "Middle Earth". At this point I would like to mention his past cooperation with another superb vocalist, Garry Hughes of a great band called TEN, who has composed his first three albums. To write about Bob Catley’s previous releases, Garry Hughes and TEN, would take forever, so I will stick to this release called "Immortal", which is his sixth (including a live one). Taking a look at this cd’s lineup, where one finds, some familiar names such as drummer Dirk Bruinenberg of Elegy, guitarist (of Starbreaker, Primal Fear, Allen / Lande) Magnus Karlsson, who is the keyboardist/composer of this album and bassist of Pink Cream 69, Dennis Ward, who is also responsible for the production.
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\r\n"Immortal" is a great piece of Melodic Hard Rock with an epic mood (including lyrics and compositions). Amazing arrangements, passionate performing and choruses that you will remember immediately after the first spinning! Songs balance between heavy, aor and hard rock concerning the music, the production (which is more heavy than we are used to) and the playing. Needless to mention that Catley’s unique voice, makes the, already high-quality, compositions sound even better. Among equal songs I would pick the first two, which prepare you for what will follow, the hard rockin’ "One More Night", the groovy "Open Your Eyes", the emotional "Light Up My Way", the epic "War In Heaven" and "Win The Throne", the heavy "Haunted" and slower-tempo (ballad-like) "Heat Of Passion". I think that I have mentioned nearly the entire album, but I can’t find a song that is even medium!
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\r\nThe only (subjective) objection, is the sound. Even if it’s very good, it seems too heavy for the whole mood and what Catley has done in the past. So for everybody who is in to hard rock - heavy metal and even Epic Metal, this will be a very good reason to invest time and dig in. The title says everything. Bob Catley is the immortal, the tireless legend, who is here to deliver his pure rock creating another great album and enchain the audience with his majestic voice.\r\n

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\r\nJohny "L.O.V.E. Machine" Litinakis \r\n

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