Ivory TowerIVORY TOWER |
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Ivory Tower: Andre Fischer
- vocal chords Tracklist: Right now the world is overflowing with bands that are playing Progressive Metal. Ivory Tower is one of them. They are from Germany, a land where this genre is bigger than elsewhere right now. This is a very new band. It's actually rather unbelievable that they have released their debut CD already, considering that they were formed in 1997. Even more unbelievable is the fact that Ivory Tower on such a short time has become one of the better bands in this genre. When you're listening to their music it isn't that hard to understand though. They are delivering Prog Metal of the finest qualities, with all you can expect from a Prog Metal band in world-class Complex rhythms, good musicians and strong compositions! A funny thing to mention is the cover of the John Miles song "Music". It contains one of the better lyrics that have ever been written about music: "Music was my first love, and it would be my last. Music of the future, my music of the past. To live without my music, would be impossible to do. In this world of troubles, my music pulls me through." If you're into Progressive Metal, this is a CD you should have in your record collection. Buy! LIMB MUSIC LMP 9810-006
CD -Reviewed by Greger Rönnqvist- |
Beyond the StarsIVORY TOWER |
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Ivory Tower: André Fischer
- all vocals, percussion Additional musicians: Tracklisting: This is the follow-up to Ivory Tower's debut CD "Ivory Tower" from 1998. Their debut-CD was well received both by the critics as well as the fans throughout the world. They could be filed under the same category as Dream Theater as they're obviously a very big influence. Their Dream Theater reminiscences are both good and bad. The world has in recent years been overflowed with Dream Theater clones, so the market has reached saturation point. It's a shame that such great musicians as Ivory Tower keeps on copying when they could've carved their own place in music history by becoming more original. That was the negative criticism, now onto the positive. This album is much heavier and more technical than their debut. As I said they're very skilful musicians, and their compositions are very good with many time changes. Actually they have more memorable melodies and hooks than Dream Theater. I love Dream Theater, but I have always thought that they are too technical, while other bands such as Vanden Plas and Ivory Tower are more accessible and have far better choruses. The highlights on this CD are the opening "Silence", "Secret in Me", the +11 minutes "Foreboding" and the closing "Treehouse". The production is very good, but the CD cover doesn't appeal to me, and it's too reminiscent to the cover on their debut CD. Perhaps this CD is better than their first, but the times have changed and the competition is bigger. Ivory Tower are still one of the better bands in this genre, so if you can't get enough of Prog-Metal in the Dream Theater vein, this album is a good investment. LIMB MUSIC / INSIDEOUT
LMP 0004-018CD -Reviewed by Greger Rönnqvist- |