Customer Reviews

Awakening

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In response to the well-meaning writer who said that this "Narnia" has no relation to C.S. Lewis "Chronicles of Narnia", I must disagree. C.S. Lewis' Christian faith inspired him to write the Narnia Chronicles, which are filled with parallels that come directly from Biblical stories and Christian doctrine. Literature with such parallels is called Allegory. If one is not familiar with the Bible and doctrine itself, it's easy to see how the writer would only view Narnia as a mere fantasy story. Narnia's message and music, even when it does not include direct references to the Narnia books (Narnia's other very good albums like Desert Land include very clear references to the books, like "Witch and the Lion"), is inspired by the same source that inspired Lewis- faith in Jesus Christ and the Judeo/Christian message set forth in the Bible from beginning to end . Both draw on the same ultimate source. There are many books and biographies relating to C.S. Lewis and the Narnia series that point out the biblical parallels for those who are curious.

This is an amazing album from start to finish. OK so the lyrics are a bit cheesy but the music makes up for that, CarlJohan Grimmark is an amazing musician, he plays guitar, keyboards and bass on this album and also programs the drums which I'm not shure are real or not but they still sound great all the same.
I just wonder if he is influenced by Yngwie at all??? .... There is possibly a small chance he might be . All the same he a great guitarist and does a good job even thought he does sound a bit too much like his idol.
The vocals are not the best in the world but they still do a good job.
I can't get enough of 'No More Shadows from the Past', what a song that is!!!! 'The Awakening' is also a favorite of mine on this album. All of the other songs sound good too there isn't really a weak song on here.
This is a great album overall and I ant wait to check out more of their stuff.
Rock on NARNIA!!

These guys are on the right track. They are praising the Lord and are filled with the Holy Spirit. Combine this with Christians intense lead vocals and the excellent guitar work and this is what Metal Head Christians have been looking for. No screaming vocals like that of Stryper.

This is the terrific debut album of Swedish neoclassical metal heroes Narnia.
The band consisting of only guitar hero Calle Grimmark and singer Christian Liljegren, really shows what melodic metal is all about.
Calle Grimmarks guitar style is wery much compared with Yngwie Malmsteens (another Swedish guitar hero).
His fast accurate technique fits like a glove with the melodic music that signifies the whole album.

And as every Metal Head Swede out there would say: Rocka Gärnet !!!

Track listing:

1.Break the chains
2.No more shadows of the past
3.The return of Aslan
4.Heavenly love
5. Time of changes
6.The awakening
7.Touch from you
8. Sign of the times (in Sweden).

DONT MISS THIS ALBUM. IF YOU LIKE HALLOWEEN, HAMMERFALL, GAMMA RAY, STRATOVARIUS AND MANOWAR, THEN THIS IS THE ALBUM FOR YOU.

ROCK ON !!!

Narnia is not heaven, read the whole series... I don't want to give away what happens in "The Last Battle"

and this band has been around since the 90's... before the movie came out.
So, it has nothing to do with the motion picture soundtracks. I haven't heard much of this band. They came out during the bizarre MCM records movement (Christian Goth). But I'm not a metal fan. I do like Saviour Machine (out of the same movement).

I'm really unbiased on this album. I don't have an opinion. When musicians work on their craft I think we should respect that. That doesn't mean the music is good or bad.

I agree with annie that narnia is not necessarily christian literature

I pefer not to label anything as Christian music, I just take it as music. This cd is a great listen, the vocals and production stand out. I see this band somewhere between Stratovarius and Ten, leaning toward Stratovarius. They are very melodic and very well paced.

There is a spirit behind the creation of this CD, as well as behind the original book series upon which it is based. For those who doubt, please read the following Times story:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1903338,00.html

"An unpublished letter from the novelist C S Lewis has provided conclusive proof of the Christian message in his Narnia children's books.

"In the letter, sent to a child fan in 1961, Lewis writes: "The whole Narnian story is about Christ." It has been found by Walter Hooper, literary adviser to the Lewis estate.

"Supposing there really was a world like Narnia . . . and supposing Christ wanted to go into that world and save it (as He did ours) what might have happened?" he wrote. "The stories are my answer. Since Narnia is a world of talking beasts, I thought he would become a talking beast there as he became a man here. I pictured him becoming a lion there because a) the lion is supposed to be the king of beasts; b) Christ is called `the lion of Judah' in the Bible."

This is really a great band ....... that god bless them!!!! If you never heard their music ... do it!

For the record, there are no references to the chronicles of writer C.S. Lewis on this album beyond the cover and title of the band. The lyrics are praising God, and therefore the music has been labeled as "Christian" metal. I suppose you can find some parallels between Narnia and the Bible, but that is for you to decide. I have no idea what Lewis was thinking about or trying to create when he wrote "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe," as well as his other novels in the Narnia series. But I can't imagine why any of this would matter! Just as many bands sing about evil, Narnia has decided to make their songs about Christian themes and God. I just don't see why this would be a problem to a listener. I guess to some it may seem corny, but any true music fan should be able to appriciate the production and musicianship on this album. And by the way, this is not "Christian Metal." What does that mean, anyway? If I had a heavy metal band that sang about trees, would we be "Forest Metal?" No, we'd just be a heavy metal band that sang about trees. Narnia is not "Christian Metal," because the lyrical content should not determine the genre; it is the music that does this. This is Power Metal in the vein of Stratovarious and Helloween. The guitar playing is very clean and skillfull, and while vocalist Liljegren does not display a very impressive range, he does have a very good voice with a distinctive timbre. The drumming is solid but I am having trouble deciding whether or not it is real. The keyboards are a nice touch but unfortunatly overshadow the rest of the music at times. The bottom line: Get over it. If the Christian-themed lyrics bother you that much, go but some other power metal, because as good as this is, there are others who do it better. I reccomend Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force, Stratovarious' Visions, and Luca Turilli's King of the Nordic Twighlight for other quality power metal listening.