Lion Music
BOOK of REFLECTIONS is yet another vehicle of virtuoso guitarist LARS ERIC MATTSSON. This is the third installment in the band saga, this time featuring two great vocalists. Carsten “Lizard” Schulz (EVIDENCE ONE) and Markku Kuikka of STATUS MINOR both have what it takes for this neo-classically tinged metal.
Opener “Until the Day” is one of the finest moments on the album. The feeling of a modern day RAINBOW is there. And the album continues along that line. The aim to make a more straightforward album gets us the two best songs on offer; the guitar masturbating riff of “Rise Up!” and the heavy “Ritchie Malmsteen” style of the heavy “Crashing Through”. But there is not so much lacking in tracks like the refrain-based “Angel Shed a Tear”, “the melody Mecca of “Dance with the Devil”, or the slowly groovy “Somewhere Else to Be”. The songs that seem least special to me are the keyboard riffing “Bleeding Dry” and somewhat unnoticed “Gates to Oblivion”. But the solid musicianship, great vocals, emphasis on impeccable guitar work and inspiration from the giants of the neo-eighties really does it for me. It is rally painstakingly close to perfection…
Track List
Until the Day
Dance with the Devil
Angel Shed a Tear
Bleeding Dry
Rise Up!
Chrashing Through
Somewhere Else to Be
Gates to Oblivion
Keep Us Afloat
Without My Angel
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