Truly a Gem
Scott Ramsdell | Lincoln, California United States | 12/07/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Yet a nother 5 /5 rating for Dark Moor. I first heard these guys like in...March I think it was and I could not stop saying "WOW" I heard the short clips Amazon offers to listen to and I had to buy it. This is yet a nother gem I bought on a hunch and I have to say I would be les of a metal fan with out this album. I am a Huge fan of Adagio, Blind guardian Rhapsody and Heavenly. This album has the most of B.G., and Rhapsody . Songs to anticipate when you order are The Bells of Notre Dame, Beyond the fire, and Somewhere in Dreams. There is no question that any one a fan of good clean power metal needs to buy this one, and so does every one else. And any one not familiar to this band they have a woman singer! Though she's not as beautiful of a voice as Tarja from nightwish she's still good, I'd say she's like a girl Hansi (If I can say that) from B.G. So go out and get this one you'll love it."
A stimulant that Takes Your Breath Away
Frosty Cold One | Seattle, WA USA | 05/05/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If this CD became embedded in my car stereo, I would probably not bother to have it forcibly removed for quite a while. This is a classic: I venture to say that it will still be seen decades from now as a masterpiece.
'Hall of the Olden Dreams' exhibits a tremendous improvement from their debut Shadowland, which unfortunately has been described elsewhere in at least one review as "deplorable." That critique is harsh; rather, I consider Shadowland to be a document showcasing the creativity of a band destined to blossom into one of the finest metal acts so far this century.
With 'Hall' we notice that Elisa has either improved her singing skills or that the mixing has smoothed the edges of her vocals. Really, Elisa is what (who) ultimately makes Dark Moor rise above. While not displaying the seductive qualities / operatic voice of Tarja T. [Nightwish], there is nonetheless something extremely intoxicating about Elisa's powerful vocals.
The lyrics are a little bit funny translation-wise, but I give the band credit for their attempts -- hey, I certainly can't write original lyrics in Spanish! (There is nothing more pathetic than an American metalhead complaining about the heavy accent of foreign singers).
Most of the tracks exhibit a certain mastery of music (at least evident in the keyboards) that is realized more fully in their 3rd album, 'Gates of Oblivion.' It seems that most critics prefer 'Gates' over 'Hall,' but 'Hall' is the disc that I keep returning to. The songs on their 2nd album are not marred by unrestrained double bass drums -- a shortcoming of their 3rd album.
Simply put, the 2nd album is catchier. I feel that "Silver Lake" is the highlight of the album, along with the closing track (classical scales abound). These two songs especially are breathtaking, leaving the listener with a distinct impression of genius in composition."
By far the best of the Rhapsody imitations
king wolf | Jotunheim | 08/22/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I love old Rhapsody, so I have spent a lot of time and money tracking down bands that are in that same genre of symphonic fantasy metal. Dark Moor is far and away the best of these.
The songwriting is excellent: the lyrics probably better overall than Rhapsody (which admittedly isn't saying much), and the symphonic compostions and interludes are superb.
Musically Dark Moor is, to my ears, a clone of Rhapsody, right down to the guitar tone, except for one thing: the use of a female vocalist. She is the sole weakness of this band. While she is much better than the awful Nightwish type of wailing wench (that is, the cold-fish opera singer who just walks through it using technique, hitting the notes without actually trying to breathe any life into the lyrics), the singer here is just too erratic. Her sense of pitch is fallible and at a couple of points, she is singing out of time and out of tune, which is just inexcusable. The explanation for why these parts were not re-recorded on such a well-produced recording would likely be that she wasn't capable of doing any better. The effect of hearing this great band and this great material fronted by this amateurish wailer is strange, to say the least -- like a bad paint job on a brand new car, or discovering a hair in what was, up to that point, the best bowl of soup you'd ever had...without her, this would be a five-star album all the way, and fully up to the level of Rhapsody themselves.
However, there is good news: she left the band some time ago and they evidently got a real singer...but in the meanwhile check this album out. The singer sings like she means it, at least, and as erratic as she is, she doesn't kill the album. This is such strong work you could pull somebody off the street at random to do the vocals and it wouldn't kill it (unless he or she was a black or death metal vocalist, or a rapper, or something. Yuck!)."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1
