This legendary
band is back once again with yet another album for us worshipers of
their epic and characteristic heavy metal. The last few years have
been very productive for them, releasing new albums on a regular
basis, which you, as a fan, of course are very thankful for.
First of all I'm
a bit skeptic towards the production. Since the opening title track
is a semi acoustic, semi heavy song, the lack of dynamic instantly
gets very clear, and it just sounds kind of flat. Compared to their
previous album it's definitely a step down, sound wise. But since the
reformation of the band in the early 00's, several of their albums
have suffered from a weaker production but still have been able to
win you over because of the greatness of the songwriting.
Musically, The
Blessed Curse is a very consistent album. As stated above, the title
track is some kind of fusion, but beside that, the songs are
basically divided into six heavier and three slower numbers. The
heavier ones all maintains high quality, Reign Of Dreams being my
personal favorite. On the other hand, I think the songwriting
sometimes show some signs of being a bit repetitive and tiresome.
Maybe it's a consequence of their tight release-schedule. When it
comes to the slower ones, I also like them all. At first I thought
Tomes of Clay was a bit monotonous, but after hearing it a few times
I instead started to love its mystical atmosphere. Falling and the
closing The Muses Kiss also keeps me captivated. I don't think any of
them really reaches the same heights as songs like Art Of War, The
Fountain or Sea Witch though.
Adding it all up,
I would probably say that this is one of their weaker albums since
they returned with Atlantis Rising, which might seem a bit of a poor
rating, but in fact I hold several of their newer albums (as well as the Hellwell-album) even higher
than some of the considered classic ones they released in the 80's.
So even though The Blessed Curse isn't one of their strongest
efforts, it's still another overall great album that won't let any of
their fans down.
I should also
mention that the album also includes a bonus disc, entitled After The
Muse, which offers some acoustic songs. Some of them really good, but
what steals all the attention is definitely the plus 10 minutes
monstrous All Hallow's Eve. An old rehearsal track from back in 1981
of a song that was forgotten but somehow survived, and thank god for
that. What a song. I even think I would dare to say that it's on the
top 10 of their best songs ever, witch says quite a lot when we're
talking about this band. Sadly, they ran out of tape before they had
finished the song, but a re-recording from last year is also featured
on the bonus-CD. So if a new album by the masters themselves isn't
enough to convince you to buy this release, All Hallow's Eve will
eliminate any hesitation. 8/10
