Zihard -2007- Life of Passion

Zihard -2007- Life of Passion
Жанр: Neoclassical Heavy Metal
Страна-производитель диска: Japan
Год издания: 2007
Издатель (лейбл): Soundholic/Tokuma Communications Co.Ltd.
Номер по каталогу: [TKCS-85214]
Страна: Korea (South)
Аудиокодек: FLAC (*.flac)
Тип рипа: image+.cue
Битрейт аудио: (lossy + lossless)
Продолжительность: 44:56
: by. ilijan
: да
Треклист:
1.Intro
2.Crying In The Midnight
3.Viper
4.Strange Without You
5.Adversity Of My Life
6.Once Again
7.Against The World
8.Sad Memories
9.Fire In The Sky
10.Crying In The Midnight (Live in Busan) (Bonus Track)

Лог создания рипа

Об исполнителе (группе)

Zihard is a neo-classical metal band from Korea. Unlike most neo-classically influenced bands, Zihard is not power metal; rather, they play a straightforward form of traditional heavy metal. And they sound a whole hell of a lot like Yngwie Malmsteen while doing it. Guitarist Bak Yeong-Su is basically another one of those Yngwie clones that we're all tired of hearing. He really doesn't do anything to separate himself from the stereotype either; he plays fast and accurately, but doesn't do anything original or unique. And that pretty much sums up the album (well, not the fast part).
The songwriting is good, at least. Classical music is a huge influence and it shows up throughout the entire album. None of the songs are overlong and they all generally are interesting enough to hold your attention while listening. However, the songs generally sound the same. There are two ballads, Strange Without You and the instrumental Sad Memory, but the rest of the songs are medium-tempo. There are no songs or even sections of songs that go any faster than mid-paced. This is a shame because the album really gets boring with the same formula being used over and over again.
The riffs are the main emphasis in most of the songs, and they are well constructed. However, there are only so many distinct riffs you can create when all of your songs are the same, so overall it feels like ideas are being recycled over and over again during the album. The end result is that at the end of the album you can't remember a single thing you heard (even the choruses, while good, simply aren't catchy). It takes repeated listens to get anything stuck in your head at all, and even more listens to be able to distinguish one song from the other.
As I said before, the guitarist here is a huge Malmsteen worshiper. He shreds on almost every song, anywhere they could fit him in. It sounds really good, but he's not especially interesting. He should put his obvious talent to better use, and perhaps he would get more of the attention he deserves. The other instruments are just kind of there. I never noticed the bass once during the album. The drums never do anything attention-grabbing either; it's mostly rock beats and some occasional double-bass drumming. Even the vocalist doesn't really catch my attention. He, as is to be expected, has a distinct Asian accent, but he hits the notes and doesn’t completely fail when going for the higher pitches. There apparently is no actual keyboardist in the band, but there is a small presence of keyboard here. The songs would lack a lot of depth if it weren't for the keyboardist sitting in the background with his soft strings. He even gets to solo occasionally, and the solos are what convinced me that there was a real guy on keys and not just a computer. These solos are fast and reasonably expressive; I only wish there were more of them.
For a debut, this shows potential. The entire album is repetitive and (let's just go out and say it) boring, but it's well-written and well-produced. After you're done listening you will not remember a single thing about it, but you'll be able to appreciate this album while it IS playing for its numerous good qualities. If Zihard manages to increase their originality a little bit, their sophomore effort should be great. As it stands, this is only worth getting if you are a big Yngwie fan.
Review written by Charlo for metal-archives

Состав

Kim Seong-Hoon - Vocals
Jang Jong-Gweon - Bass
Shim Dong-Nim - Drums
Bak Yeong-Su - Guitars