Customer Reviews

Carpe Diem

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

So after a long long LONG time of not having listened to anything from the Heavenly catalog, I decided to download the newest album of theirs, Carpe Diem. As echoed in the title, they really seized the opportunity as a band to really write something entertaining, and truly refreshing to power metal as of late, as well as refreshing of themselves as a band.
It seems to be a common agreement that A Better Me is a very standout track, and my god, this album wreaks of Queen influence, as well as I noticed some very Angra-ish solos coming from a few of the songs. All I could think of is "Kiko Loureiro?" (not sure the spelling of his name, too lazy to check at 4 a.m.)

Anyways, this album I had no trouble with listening from start to finish. It's great, and I hope some more can give it a whirl!

It's been years since I have heard anything by this band, but man, this one is really good. Sounds like a mix of Helloween from the Keepers era, Power Quest and Rhapsody. Yes, is that good. An excellent performance, nice vocals(almost a clone of Michael Kiske)and a sweet melodic sound that leaves you satisfied. If you like melodic power metal this is probably one for you.

If you're anything like me, you've kept a close eye (and ears) on this band. Heavenly have released consistently high-quality, entertaining albums over the years, and Carpe Diem is no different. Now, keep in mind this album is closer in style to their earlier efforts, and not the critically acclaimed Virus. This is a double-edged sword in a sense since critics will likely dismiss this as Heavenly 'playing it safe', however fans of Heavenly's earlier works will truly appreciate their dedication to the catchy, enjoyable power metal that has served them and their true fans since Coming From the Sky.

If you pine for when power metal valued melody and catchiness over "progressive elements" (despite their being a very small amount on Carpe Diem) and commercial sensibilities, Heavenly has the medicine you need. It may lean toward being cheesy, but isn't that what power metal should be when it's fun? Great melodies and great musicianship keep Carpe Diem on-par with any other Heavenly album. Carpe Carpe Diem will most likely have every song in it's track list thoroughly lodged in your head for days on end.

The album cover art is also worth mentioning, perhaps a bit steamy and not-at-all representative of the music, but it is quite pleasing to the eyes.

A must-have for fans of melodious, fun, and catchy power metal!

After one listen I thought this sounded like a Broadway style Queen wannabe band. I shelved it and didn't play it again until after listening to Virus and Dust to Dust and enjoying both of them. So I pulled out Carpe Diem and really got into it. Now it is one of my favorite discs! Fun to listen to and I really like the Queen flavored sound. Only one track, Ashen Paradise, will rip your head off. Great opening scream and riff on that one. Highest recommendation for those who want to hear something different and have a good time doing it!

[First paragraph: "What do we have here?"] The back catalogue of French power metal band Heavenly might appear a little untraditional. First of all, they formed in 1994 and didn't release an album until Coming From the Sky in 2000. We might expect this from a black metal band that went through seemingly dozens of demos, but not power metal. Everyone knows who Kai Hansen is, right? Helloween/Gamma Ray? Yeah, well, he makes a guest appearance on this the first album of Heavenly - obviously demonstrative of a band showing promise. A year later saw Sign of the Winner, an even better album than the first with much more crisp production and a cover art that is out of this world. Most people these days (I imagine) are familiar with Heavenly through their third album, Dust to Dust, in 2004. This album is more essential for a power metal fan than some Gamma Ray albums! It is unbelievable! 72 minutes of one power metal anthem after another, including to-date the band's longest song which is a +ballad+ and is amazing! Not to mention this album being an epic metal album in which our protagonist is a vampire. 2006 saw Virus, the only Heavenly album I don't have. That's because I listened to samples on the band's myspace back in the day and did not know what happened to the band's feistiness for fast and eye-opening power metal. But I did decide to pick up Carpe Diem, and I believe it to have been a good decision.

I like to divide the album into two parts: the first five songs and then the last four songs. The distinction to me is obvious as I hear the guitar riff early in track 6, Ashen Paradise, which is shortly followed by what is by FAR the fastest portion of the album and would not at all be out of place amidst the 6-minute+ speed monsters on Dust to Dust. Ode to Joy (based on the classical melody) is your other fast song on the album. But the real difference between the two halves of the album is that the first five songs all seem to me to be directed by the vocals while the latter half are all guitar-oriented songs. In Ode to Joy, Ben Sotto's voice is as close as I've ever heard to Michael Kiske and the song could come straight off one of the Keeper albums. Not once on this album does he sound like Timo Kotipelto as he has done in the past (The World Will Be Better, The Angel). Shred solos are only found in the two fast songs - a surprise from a band whose solo in The World Will Be Better (one of the best power metal songs I've ever heard from an underrated band) sounds like a mirror image of the traded solos in Stratovarius's Black Diamond. In summary, the first five songs are more poppy melodic metal that would fit the label that power metal is dying while the last four songs are testaments to power metal's survival/revival. We +have+ had some great power metal in 2009 and thus far in 2010 - Stratovarius's Polaris, Cain's Offering's Gather the Faithful, Sonata Arctica's The Days of Grays, Rhapsody of Fire's The Frozen Tears of Angels, and Blind Guardian's At the Edge of Time. It seems Kai Hansen and Tobias Sammet are the only ones stuck in the let's-turn-power-metal-into-hard-rock rut.

The bottom line is I DO like what Heavenly has done on this album. Lyrics are inspirational (Carpe Diem does mean "seize the day," after all) and the music comes from the widest range of inspiration I have yet seen on a Heavenly album. Oliver Hartmann of At Vance does guest vocals on the last song, Save Our Souls. At Vance, recall, is the band that is notorious for their classical variations on their albums, especially the 8-minute Beethoven's 5th Symphony. Does it catch your attention that here is Heavenly doing one of their own classical variations on the same album featuring At Vance's vocalist as a guest on one song? Piano segments are scattered throughout songs on Carpe Diem that also suggest classical influences. One in A Better Me sounds particularly Christmas-y to me.

My biggest complaint on the album is the ballad, Farewell. Track 3. Ben Sotto singing very high-pitched vocals throughout. This song sounds really out of place to me and I wouldn't be surprised that it turns into a song I skip over in any start-to-finish plays of the album. I'm not saying it's a horrible song - just that it doesn't seem to fit on the album. Maybe it would be better as a bonus track, but then again, Save Our Souls closes the album quite nicely.

I recommend this album rather highly. To someone so resolved that power metal is dying (or has died) and will only listen to the older stuff, listen to Ashen Paradise. To someone who is just getting into metal, this album serves as a great starting point as a number of different influences are evident in the songs. To someone who has always and still loves power metal, this could be considered one of the better power metal albums of 2009, perhaps just a half-tier below the new Stratovarius, Cain's Offering, and Sonata Arctica.

Take equal parts Queen and Edguy throw it in a blender and then add a little Meatloaf for seasoning and you've got Heavenly's "Carpe Diem." This album was my first introduction to the band, and I only wish I had heard of them sooner. Some of the songs are balls to te wall power metal remniscent of Edguy/Helloween while others are more epic and theatrical rife with piano flourishes and Freddy Mercury vocals. My favorite songs tend to be the latter bunch, but there is not a mediocre song in the lot. In fact, there is not even an average song in the lot. Track three, "Farewell" and track 5, "A Better Me," literally could be Queen for the 21st century. If you like power metal or Queen, pick this up. I'm going to buy the rest of their catalog right now.

With 2006's "Virus," Heavenly appeared to be a band on the verge of shedding some of the more hackneyed elements associated with speed, power, and/or Euro metal bands. That being said, it's obvious to anyone that Heavenly's music will never evolve to a point where it will be free from such perceptions, but it goes without saying eliminating some of them is a step in the right direction.

In this respect, "Carpe Diem" isn't a step backwards, but the same cannot be said when it comes to overall creativity. While nothing here sounds as dated as "Bravery in the Field" and "The Power & Fury" did on "Virus," some songs ("Farewell" and "Ashen Paradise") channel the sound heard on previous albums like 2003's "Dust to Dust." "Ashen Paradise" even starts out with the lyrics "Master now we wonder..." which, if you know anything about the story behind "Dust to Dust" immediately makes you reflect on it. Add to this some very odd, yet surprisingly solid moments like "A Better Me" where the band churns out something I'd expect to hear on a Queen album and it's easy to see some of the songs are at odds with one another stylistically even though some of them flow into each other quite well.

One of the underlying factors that seems to effect Heavenly's music is the lyrics - but it's not really the lyrics as a whole as much as word choice. Perhaps more than any band I can think of, the band's singer and primary song writer Ben Sotto appears to favor certain words/phrases (like "carry on") very heavily. This isn't saying the lyrics are stale, but it often times gives the impression that his English vocabulary is limited, or more limited than his contemporaries. This isn't meant to be an insult, and what ever the cause it is forgivable given that English is obviously his second language, but it's certainly an aspect to note when examining Heavenly's music.

Everything said and done, Carpe Diem is a solid outing with tracks like "Fullmoon" and "A Better Me" offering something new, at least to the band's catalog. Still, I'm glad I'm went with the download rather than buying the physical product even though the peculiar hotness portrayed on the cover made it somewhat tempting. Also, it's nice to see the band has finally settled on a style for their name/logo.