ENDZONE |
| Endzone are : Igor Lobanov on Vocals and 2nd Guitar Oleg Mishin on 1st Guitar and Flute Alexandr Dronov on Keyboards Roman Senkin on Bass Guitar Oleg Milovanov on Drums Maestro Raro on Cello Elena Petrova on Backing Vocals Boris Spektor : Spoken parts on 'The Remedy' The tracks are : 1. Alpha (0:52) 2. The Vortex Of Reality (6:57) 3. Dual Infinity (6:17) 4. The Remedy (5:37) 5. Khovanschina (Final) (3:18) 6. Refuse/Resist (3:28) 7. Afterwards (8:43) Endzone hail from the Ukraine and mix metal with traditional folk sounds and classical music, "So What", I hear you say, "Thats Nothing New" No, maybe it's not, but it's the way Endzone handle the classical side of things that makes Eclectica so unique. You see most bands simply use classical music to make their sound more dynamic, Endzone on the other hand give the listener the impression that they have written two individual pieces of music for each track, one metal and one classical, this not only gives the songs a more solid base, but helps to eliminate that annoying stop/start sound you get with progressive music. Also Endzone's metal is a bit different as well, yes theres the standard Rush, Dream Theater influences for all to hear, but the guitar work suggests that Endzone have also listened to much more extreme music and I wouldn't be suprised if bands such as Machine Head, Sepultura and Korn feature very heavily in Endzone's record collection. As for the songs themselves, well the opening two tracks 'Alpha' and 'The Vortex Of Reality' contain all of the above, with 'Vortex' conraining some fine stabbing riffs and excellent string arrangements. 'Dual Infinity' features some fine keyboard work and a drop dead guitar solo mid-song. 'The Remedy' is without doubt the most frantic song of the set with dualing guitars and drums cutting in and out at every opportunity, but once again it's the way that Endzone handles the classical element of the song that turns 'The Remedy' into something special. The instrumental 'Khovanschina' has a real russian feel to it and Endzone even cover the Sepultura number 'Refuse/Resist' and even that doesn't sound out of place. Just listen out for the keyboards and strings. The final number 'Afterwards' has some really outstanding moments, the intro features some haunting keyboard work, the classical parts are mixed together to the extent that the listener gets the impression that they're standing in some 18th Century Palace surrounded by all forms assocaited with that time. This number has real depth to it, the only thing that would let this down is the listeners lack of imagination. Eclectica is a fine album that shows Endzone to be first class musicians and songwriters, yes, they are competing in a tough market place, but I'm sure with the right people behind them, thers no reason why Endzone cshouldn't be playing to much wider audiences in the very near future. Now where did I put that bottle of Vodka! For more information contact : Endzone , Rimskogo-Korsakova 14-143, 127566, Moscow, Russia Website : http://www.ipcom.ru/~endzone Email : endzone@ipcom.ru |