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Мировой триумф 1997 года итальянской symphonic power metal группы Rhapsody породил множество подражателей по всему свету и вывел итальянскую metal-сцену на новый уровень. С тех пор много воды утекло… итальянских англоязычных power metal-команд развелось столько, что и не сосчитать. Многие добились успеха, еще больше остаются в тени. 4th Dimension относится к большинству, на мой взгляд, совершенно незаслуженно.
«The White Path to Rebirth» - дебютный альбом этой группы. Ее представители позиционируют свою музыку, как symphonic power metal, а идейными вдохновителями называют такие именитые команды, как Stratovarius, Sonata Arctica и, разумеется, Rhapsody of Fire. На самом же деле в музыкальном плане 4th Dimension ближе к melodic power, чем к symphonic, хотя бы из-за отсутствия хора (неотъемлемой части данного жанра). Но все же симфонические элементы присутствуют, а их искусственность обусловлена, вероятнее всего, маленьким бюджетом.
Вокалист группы Andrea Bicego очень неплохо справляется со своими обязанностями, его голос интересен и, самое главное, узнаваем. Но я более чем уверен, что многим вокал покажется чересчур слащавым и нехаризматичным, так показалось и мне когда я послушал первую композицию, но с каждой прослушанной песней эти ощущения становились слабее и, слушая «Landscapes», я думал о том, что вокалист довольно хорош. После нескольких прослушиваний альбома мое мнение лишь укрепилось. Так что если вам сразу не понравится вокал, то дайте ему шанс, и возможно ваше мнение изменится.
Что до отдельных композиций, то я бы хотел коротко рассказать о некоторых. Легкая и романтическая «Goldeneyes» с красивейшим соло на синтезаторе (записана, кстати, совместно с Alessio Lucatti из Vision Divine), мрачная меланхоличная баллада «Landscapes (Vestige Of The Earth)» с тревожной клавишной мелодией, «The Sun In My Life» с непривычной для жанра вокальной партией в куплетах, еще одна баллада «Winter's Gone», будто украденная из архивов Stratovarius тех времен, когда Tolkki и Kotipelto были друзьями. И, наконец, самая сильная (на мой взгляд) композиция «A New Dimension» - по-настоящему сложная и величественная в музыкальном плане, она станет настоящей жемчужиной для любителей symphonic power. Именно на этом треке в роли приглашенного вокалиста выступил Fabio Lione, его голос удивительно гармонирует с голосом Andrea Bicego, и эта гармония выходит за рамки привычного "половину куплета один – половину другой – припев вместе"; вокальная партия в «A New Dimension» гораздо сложнее и необычнее. Эта композиция действительно может удивить.
Теперь о плохом. Записан и сведен альбом не на высшем уровне: вокал иногда тонет, музыка местами перегружена. Но все же такое в power metal встречается довольно часто, лично я всегда привыкаю после нескольких прослушиваний и слушаю в дальнейшем без дискомфорта, так случилось и в этот раз. Также хотелось бы выделить две слабых композиции – это «Consigned to the wind» и «Sworn to the flame», на мой взгляд, они совершенно неинтересны. В остальном же релиз очень хорош.
В итоге, хочу сказать, что «The White Path to Rebirth» - очень сильный дебютный альбом, разумеется, это не «Legendary Tales», но надеюсь, группа будет совершенствоваться, становиться известнее и в дальнейшем сможет создать настоящий symphonic power metal-альбом с большой буквы. |
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Caged, unable to realize
My thread’s spinning fast, unravelling into this hollow illusion of life…
Were you but a strange dream, a deceiving so real
A snowdrop alone in spring…
You’re the sun in my life, the star in my night, the beating I feel in my dreams
Inspiration that comes to my singing and reaches for heavens unknown
I still search for your light though from bliss I’m denied
And in shadows I roam without hope
Gentle sweetness has turned into ice cold,
Barren winter has knocked on my door…
Embers of bright passion glowed in your eyes
The circle is broken, our legacy dies…
Precious sun of my life, guiding star of my night
Beloved beating of my waking dreams
Not a tear will you shed for our love lost,
Crystal shards bound to melt as white snow
You have shattered my heart, stained your soul with my blood
Burnt to ashes the wings of my dream
All the magic has gone with the wind now, but my sacrament will live on…
Forever…
2) CONSIGNED TO THE WIND
I’ll never dispel the shadows between us,
God He knows how long I’ve tried
I soothed my thirst for vengeance, forgiveness touched my bitter lips,
But still I faced only pain and sorrow…
Sad past, its shade lingers on,
I’ve fought and lied, yet it’s thee I love…
Hear the tale, flying on the wings of fate, a poem unfolding we’ve left incomplete
Frost Flower, can’t you see…
We had time, but we lost ourselves, time, time when we could grow divine
To defy Heaven’s blessing’s a sin, consigned to the wind…
Seasons have passed, the circle’s been closed now,
Awkward silence in coldness reigns
Rage of the fools did rule us, searing words as fiery blades,
Plunging deep to the core…
Two wastelands of half-healed wounds, the aftermath due
No glory, to bitter shame we’re subdued…
On a winter’s night, by the diamond moon, eyes would meet, Chance stirred anew
In the coldest hour we stood still, souls aflame, one Fate to fulfill
Though distant, those memories they won’t fade…
Concealed in my heart, yet their flicker remains…
Hear the tale, flying on the wings of fate, a poem unfolding we might yet complete
Frost Flower, can’t you see…
There’s no time, time it’s here, time, time for you to be mine
One word, our circle will bleed, consigned to the wind…
On that winter’s night, bright Herald of Doom, by her light I’ve pledged life to you
In the midnight hour, kneeling still, truthful tears, a promise thus sealed
Not even a shade in your heart will remain…
Hear the tale, flying on the wings of fate, a poem unfolding we’ll never complete
Frost Flower, can’t you see…
That in time you’ll regret the time, time when you could have been mine
One’s fault, my heart is released…
Frost Flower, can’t you see…
That in time you’ll regret the time, time when you could have been mine
Our love, dawn of a dream, we’ve consigned to the wind…
Consigned to the wind…
3) GOLDENEYES (feat. Alessio Lucatti)
Keeper of my past, a friend that would never turn her back,
Sister beloved you were to me…
Companion of my youth, reflection of my soul,
An angel from the Heavens above…
Silently feeding my heart with love, leading me through into manhood…
Until winter's dead end closed by, taking you back to the Elysian light…
Watch me… touch me… love me… enlighten my life… spell me…
What I've become, all I am now I owe to you…
When the loss seems too high and the Void grows inside
When a shroud veils my day and my way's gone astray
A falling star will dispel the night and I'll think of you, my Goldeneyes…
Watch me… touch me… love me… and now light up the sky… heal me…
Never will I forget those eyes, pools of burnished gold staring into time…
Watch me… touch me… love me… my One, stay by my side… bless me…
And though my life will cover one million miles
We’ll rejoin again my Goldeneyes…
4) SWORN TO THE FLAME
Wrath, born unto deceit and hate, black child of fate, now rule supreme
Fire, counsellor of vehemence, cleanser of sins, sweep over me
Till my judgement day has come, until my flame is won,
Till I'm burnt out from the pattern that engulfs us all…
I'll survive, lone I will uphold
The sacred principles of courage, truth and love I serve…
Here I stand, an Avatar,
Ray of gleaming light for the people of these sad, barren times…
Ice, quiet source of pureness, vanguard of reason, quench my dark side
Pride, old father of sorrow, utmost of all sins, will you challenge me
Through the shadows cold and bare where morrow's hope yet fades,
Through this madness grown out of pain where dreams are turned to haze…
On I'll ride, my candlelight
Flickers threatened by the cruel winds of Limbo…
Still I stand, I'm just a man,
Torn and battered, but my high cause shines on…
Time goes by, fool human kind,
Frail and faint-of-heart, still sows the seeds of wrath and pride…
Sacrifice, kneel by the Light,
All throughout your life be sworn to the Flame…
5) EVERLASTING (feat. Melody Castellari)
Cold blows the wind, old memory bleeds…
Days I had left behind, drops of my life, scattered leaves from the past,
Frozen in endless fall…
Fields where I walked, as a child, rain and sunshine
Strength and love flow on through time…
Hidden in Neverland, a beacon still shines,
Answer’s there to be found, in the seasons long gone I will find who am I…
Echoes of simple joy, grief dignified, daily deeds that uphold the circle of life
People I loved of yore, lorn now I mourn
Shedding a tear, I lose myself in remembrance…
Only pale shades remain, searching for sanctuary in me, everlasting
I won’t deny the shadows, they’re a part of me meant to be everlasting…
Gift of a memory, feelings I’ll treasure inside
Snows of December and flowers of April are one with my soul
Warmth of a fire that burns deep within, tongues of flame leaping high,
Legacy of my blood I will never deceive…
Cold blows the wind, my history slowly unfolds…
Worn pages of life, one by one, bathe in the light
I‘m not alone, a crossroads of dreams lives on through me…
Only pale shades remain, reaching the sanctuary in me, everlasting
I won’t deny the shadows, they dwell in me, making me everlasting…
Gift of a memory, feelings I’ll treasure inside
Snows of December and flowers of April are one with my soul
Warmth of a fire that burns deep within, tongues of flame leaping high,
Legacy of my blood I will never deceive…
6) A NEW DIMENSION (feat. Fabio Lione)
(Me) What is the meaning, the secret behind signs I’ve read all my life
Fire, earth, air and water, they talk to the wise...
(Conscience) All of these years, void and sadness were friends to your misery and pain
Lonely days of delusion and cruel make-believe sowed a shade deep inside
(Me) Times are ripe to learn all of the answers and seize the day at last
(Conscience) The quest for life heavily weighed on your shoulders,
(Me) Guilt of the ages encumbered my soul
(Conscience) Hard years of fighting eluded your searching
(Me) Striving for peace I found war on her wake...
Deny this age of broken dreams, feel the surge of power heal you from within
Be yourself a receptacle of light
Embrace your gift, the long lost tunes shall flow forth,
Your voice will rise into the wind
Bathe into the silver gleaming light of the new day
(Me) Visions of heavenly beauty await far beyond human reach
(Conscience) Marble temples and ivory towers raised to defy the higher skies
(Me) Crystal bells toll proclaiming salvation, a spring that never ends...
(Me) Your quest for life’s bound to reach for the heavens
(Conscience) Dark mortal ages will not drain my soul
(Me) Though years of fighting eluded your searching
(Conscience) The path has been laid, a new dimension awaits...
Into the age of golden dreams, feel the surge of power heal you from within
Be yourself a receptacle of light
Embrace your gift, the long lost tunes shall flow forth,
Your voice will rise into the wind
Bathe into the silver gleaming light of the new day
7) WINTER'S GONE
Dawn is breaking on these woods cast deep in shades of doom
My road is long, the end so vague, I’m praying to be true
All around a world of ice, so cold and torn apart
I’m trailing on a path of old forsaking days of loss
There came an eerie wind, a calling from the north
The urge to learn the answer to a question left untold
Winter’s gone – and I’m left alone
Winterborn – Father, hearken my call
Truth’s been waiting, patient, unnumbered years
Countless days I wasted shedding unnumbered tears
Winter’s gone...
Fragments of reality, the shards of a past long gone
Stars and moon, the vault beyond, a poem carved in stone
Virgin whiteness, ancient beauty, a glimpse of Winter’s Heart
Dreams they fade yet lore arcane sustains my mortal faith
The coldest night, His lost domain, my oath upon a ring
Rhymes renewed for ages, soon I will fulfil...
Winterborn – No, I’m not alone
Winter’s Gone – His essence still flows
Snow keeps falling, whirling, spiralling high
So are falling, cleansing, clear tears of ice from my eyes...
Winterborn – I’m one with His world
Winter’s blood – Scarlet stains on the snow
Still she’s falling, daughter of ashen skies
I’m falling, falling, close to the light
I feel whole…
I am snow…
8) LABYRINTH OF GLASS
Fleeing from my rotten thoughts, down I whirled into the spiral
Stifled by guilt and regret, senses drifted afloat nothingness
Foreboding, dawning inside, dragged me in pain towards the Mind’s Abyss…
Godlike glassy walls around, beyond, the Waste unchanging
Will-deprived there I stood, just a pale reflection,
A withered soul, my human sins I’m bound to pay…
Wandering lost in this maze, a garden of entombed emotions and dreams,
Is this the sheer truth ‘bout the man I used to be?
Condemned to this stillborn plane, my existence has yet ceased to be,
My inner self once drenched with life is now drained to the lee…
Walking down the silent streets, hollow witness of my own decay
I failed my chance a man to be, pledged myself to quench the higher flame
Still a spark strives, inner sanctum, pleading me to look inward and see…
Velvet light, a Poet’s dusk that mirrors on the ocean
Foaming waves of blue-dye diving on white shores
Could withered wings try to spread and fly again?
Gliding through skies turning bright, ascending infinity, oblivious of time,
Seagulls rejoice their freedom flight
Bound to the dirt still it stands, eyes staring blank at the sun,
My vestige of glass (the man I was…) crumbling to dust…
Wandering lost in this maze, the grave of emotions and forgotten dreams,
Essence of life reached out to me
Urge for enlightenment stirs, I’ve glimpsed the Idyll redeemed,
Spreading my wings… (a newborn child…) I set out to live…
9) ANGEL'S CALL
The mirage of Light in the distance, yet dark clouds loom on us
Streaming Chances, tides eternal, stretch between still unformed…
(Feeble in silence their echoes remain…)
Feed on your greed, human madness, Creation will tremble
Dreams forebode but scorching ashes for the beauty of old…
Waken your minds, sons and daughters, true scions of Gaia
Days of bliss may still be written in the great vault of Fate…
“Imbue their hearts with Your wisdom”, my prayer to the Almighty,
“Grant us strength, faith, judgment fair, love for life till the end…”
Angels of Heaven descend into the Night,
Bless humankind with pure Light
Legions of darkness fall back to the Abyss,
Children of Earth live in peace
The Angel’s Call:
Apocalypse
Time repeats itself
War that once tore the host of angels
Throws cruel reflections upon the race of man
As the first Archangel cast Lucifer farthermost from the Light of God
So you, brethren, unleash the divine waters,
And may the purging wave wash the black taint away,
Cleanse our blood and deliver us from sin…
The Guardian of Eden is calling, Word’s spreading across land and sea
We’re all being given a second chance to believe and to redeem our lives…
Angels of Heaven descend into the Night,
Bless humankind with pure Light
Lucifer’s armies fall back to the Abyss,
Children of Earth you will live…
Live in peace…
10) LANDSCAPES (VESTIGE OF THE EARTH)
Out of the windowpane, horizon unfolds
The spell cast upon my land blurs my blue eyes…
Ancient feel, a time long gone, earth power unleashed
Vestige of a dying day, dusk setting over woods centuries old
The starlit sky, the zenith moon, so pale
Cold wintry light, ignite with crystal fires these landscapes clad in snow
Close my eyes, fear forgotten in the ancestral night
Deep into my dreaming world, I’m one with the creation
I breathe my freedom, I yield to the majesty, the beauty,
Mesmerizing certainty that I do live…
A perfumed breeze, warmth on my skin, iced winterland gone
The arching of the higher dome, night kneeling to the grace of a new dawn
On birches white, prime growth of life is born
Blessed summer flame, enshroud my wild domain, a wraith on fiery wings
Elder age, ‘ere man taught the earth the law of pain
Whispering and calling forth, she’s pleading for remembrance
I grieve, I do still breathe the lost innocence and wisdom,
Though I’m part of younger flawed humanity…