Customer Reviews

Hall of the Olden Dreams

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What can I say? I love this band!!! Let me tell you about them... They are a power metal band from Spain, but they sing in English, like most heavy metal bands do nowadays. What makes them different from other bands? They had a female lead singer with a very powerful voice. I warn you, you will notice her spanish accent, but I'm sure it won't bother you. Why am I speaking in the past tense? Because, unfortunately, Elisa Martin, the singer, has left the band, along with two other members, and they are now called Dreamaker. Dark Moor has hired a male singer, but neither Dark Moor nor Dreamaker has released an album yet. Their style can be compaired to Rhapsody's, they play epic power metal, with lots of choruses. They don't have many ballads, and my advise on them is to skip them! They are definitely not their strong point.
Now, why do I love this particular album? It starts with "The Ceremony", a great instrumental which introduces us to my favourite song in the whole album: "Somewhere in Dreams". This is such a powerful song, and so different from what I am used to in the power metal scene... Check it out! "Maid of Orleans" and "Bells of Notre Dame" are also great, but the song that follows, "Silver Lake" is awesome! "Mortal Sin" is also nice. Then we have "The Sound of the Blade", the ballad, which as I told you before, is not exactly the best song in the album. Following that we have "Beyond the Fire", I love the way Elisa sings this song... The next song is "Quest for the Eternal Flame", the longest one in the album. This is your typical epic song, with a wonderful chorus. "Hand in hand" is also nice, but doesn't stand out in the album.
This is Dark Moor's second album, and although the third one "The Gates of Oblivion" is perhaps a more mature album, I prefer "Hall of..." The songs are really catchy, and they don't sound repetitive, whereas "The Gates..." may sound boring at first.
I hope you give this album a chance! As you can guess from my review, I highly reccommend it.

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.

This is one of the best-new bands i have heard. Actually this is a spanish band most of them aren't so famous, but this band is special because of the english singing. The sound is perfect because it where recorded on an italian studio (the same that labyrinth recorded "Return To Heaven Denied"). The vocals are pretty clear, and is awesome because it sings a woman. But the most interesting thing about the songs are the CHORUS are pritty elaborated and at the same time easy to learn and follow. Another good stuff; i always like from an album is the cover by itself, the cover was make by Andreas Marshall same one who draw for Blind Guardian and Hammerfall. This band have very good influences which combining them gives a very good quality of band. Most of the influences are: Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Symphony X, Angra, Rhapsody, Helloween, Nightwish, Dream Theater. In conclusion this band really worth the 5 stars and more, it should win the "best new band". If you like any of these bands mentioned this is your percfect album to buy. This CD worth every cent from your pocket, i will recommend it to any power metal fan. You will be possessed with the CD!!!

Dark Moor is a great Italian band. Elisa brings forth a female voice like you've never heard. She's not operatic like Tarja of Nightwish and not angelic like Sabine of Edenbridge. Instead, she's just flat out good. She isn't like Power Symphony's vocalist, either. Dark Moor uses a lot of choirs.

There are no epics on this CD and the first track is a short intro. For those of you into beauty in a very soft form, "The Sound of the Blade" is perhaps the most beautiful song out there. I love quite a few other ballads more, but the pianos, choirs, and synthesizers/keyboards make this song AMAZING. Too bad its track 7 and you can't listen to a sample... Take my word for it - do you like Season of Change? Do you like Don't You Cry? Do you like Lamento Eroico? Then you'll love this one.

Speed is one of the harder things to explain with Dark Moor. Recall the opening song on "A Time Nevercome" by Secret Sphere if you've heard of it. Remember how the speed is constantly changing? That's what Dark Moor sounds like most of the time. They can go from super fast drums with a super fast bass to mid-tempo just like that with perfect transition. One time, I came up with a great thing to say about Dark Moor. It was to say that Dark Moor is Kenziner + someone. I can't remember who, but I guess if you like Kenziner, you should like Dark Moor.

Overall, the sound of Dark Moor is quite beautiful. Keyboards are all over their sound. On their newer CD, Between Light and Darkness, the first 3 tracks are like all acoustic or something, and there is almost no bass sound. Track 4, "The Echoes of the Sea", is an instrumental song that I don't know how to describe yet. Its not all that atmospheric. Its almost newage sounding. Tracks 5-8 are more like what you hear on tracks 2-6 and 8-10 on this album (7 is the ballad discussed above). Tracks 7 and 8 total for about 20 minutes. Also, Dark Moor is the band who did a cover of Helloween's Halloween, found on the CD Keeper of Jericho. Good luck finding that CD for less than $35.00... The original is on Keeper... Part I.

There's a lot to say about a band like Dark Moor. They can closely be compared to Secret Sphere, only with a female vocalist. That's really all there is to say unless you wanted a track-by-track explanation. When you get the time, please go read some of my other reviews and say if they were helpful to you or not.

The CD came within time and the quality of the Dark Moor CD is great.A great person to do business with online.

Let me just say, that despite Neo-Classical Metal (with Power Metal, Symphonic Metal, Speed Metal as sub-genres) being my favorite genre of music, I can be VERY picky about my metal, especially when it is extremely fast. I absolutely hate it when it FEELS rushed to the point it takes away from the emotional value of the music and you feel like you're listening to "punk-metal" for lack of a better term. If Dragonforce gives metal a bad name, Dark Moor is most certainly its opposite. This album is nothing short of phenominal!

I never even knew Spain had great metal bands! So rarely does power metal reach these heights!! The track that initially drew me in was "Somewhere in Dreams" (intro was good too) and the rest was history....I must have listened to it 20+ times in a row before I could move on to the rest of the album. The vocal melody is rock solid and it feels like it came from a folk song that has been around for a hundred years. If you can get past Elisa Martin's accent, you will realize what a phenominal female metal singer she is! She doesn't try to immitate Tarja Turunen, Sabine Edelsbacher, Sharon Den Adel, or any other of metal's leading ladies and that is exactly what you want in a lead singer - that signature sound that you can instantly recognize. Her voice is so powerful and she more than holds her own with the guitars and synthesizers when it comes to the mix. She has become one of my favorite vocalists in all of metal and for all her power, she can still do a ballad as icing on the cake! It still dumbfounds me how she can rattle off those big words with such speed and precision and still make it sound beautiful....Unforgettable

Do not even get me started on the guitarwork....As a guitarist I could fill many volumes on just how epic it is on this album. I have a VERY extensive collection of Neo-Classical/Symphonic Power Metal from the 1980s up through today and the guitars on this album really take the cake. These are not mindless, dizzying, uninspired arpeggio exercises by any means! I feel as if every note in every riff has been meticulously planned out and no stone has been unturned. Every note counts towards painting the tapestry that is Dark Moor. Every interlude and bridge smoothly leads into the next part of each song. These are SERIOUS musicians that have thorough knowledge of musical theory and the compositions are just fantastic! I mentioned speed earlier...The thing is, Dark Moor gets something that a lot of other bands don't. You have to mix it up to keep things interesting. They are extremely proficient at being able to go blazingly fast, slow it down to mid-tempo or slower, and being able to kick it into high gear again without missing a beat! Sometimes you don't even notice. This is some of the most interesting playing I have ever heard on a metal album. I don't feel they over-use riffs or fall into any patterns. Take the solo on "Somewhere in Dreams" for instance - It attacks like a traditional symphonic metal solo and then halfway through it, changes up and you feel like you're listening to a 1980s guitar solo from Steve Vai. The twin guitar attacks are awesome to listen to with all the back and forth dueling and harmonizing!!

This album has a lot of synthesizers/keyboards on it and in Dark Moor's case, more really IS more. I love the atmosphere that it adds and sometimes those synths can give the guitars a run for their money when it comes to virtuosity. I noticed they don't get buried at all which is a common mistake when it comes to peers of their genre. Whether it's a nice pad, vox, or rapid fire harpsichord line, the album does not disappoint in this department!

Bonuses:
-Beautiful album artwork done by the same artist who did Blind Guardian's albums
-Celtic influences are masterfully represented in the compositions
-Songs have actual themes and deeper meanings derived from history
-Every song is unique, there is NO FILLER

FINAL THOUGHTS:
This album is absolutely stellar for any lover of melodic music! You don't even have to be a metal fan to appreciate it! I notice something different every time I listen to it. It is one of the best metal albums I have EVER heard--JUST BUY IT!!

I wish I could give it more stars but I can't!

PS: I thought the closing seconds of the album ("Hand in Hand") was so cool - It involves a fading technique where they go from full on symphonic metal attack into a beautiful piano. The fade is done so smoothly, I couldn't believe it. Never seen a metal band end a song that way, that was so cool!

If you're a fan of European power metal with lots of smphonic touches akin to the first Rhapsody album, this is one for you to check out. The female singer isn't stellar, but she's not terrible either, and she isn't trying to sound like singers from other female-fronted bands such as Nightwish, Epica, etc. My main complaint about this album would be that the songs sound very much alike; some more variatoin in the songwriting would help the tunes stand out more, rather than running together. Still a solid album overall; I plan to check out more of their catalog when I have the chance.
Do note that more recent albums feature a different singer 9and several other lineup changes too). Some folks seem to like the new lineup just fine, while others think the band went downhill after the change. I can't say, having not heard the newer material

This band rules! Full of virtuosity!
Every track has its own magic. It could be better but it's really good.
In case that you don't know this genre try the "...Oblivion" album, that one is almost perfect.

Guess every country needs its own, but fortunately for Dark Moor only Rhapsody itself leaves it second as they've got all the extra gear, namely choirs & orchestras backing 'em, while Dark Moor's fresh spot is (or was) the female singer.
Very enjoyable music.

All I have to say is Children of Bodom meets Rhapsody. This album had enchanting melodies, excellent guitars, and amazing keyboards. I also recomend it if you are annoyed by the overly powerful voices like those of Rhapsody.