Customer Reviews

Kiske / Somerville

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Here's another great ensemble album put together by the melodic rock geniuses at Frontiers Records. Former Helloween (and current Place Vendome/Unisonic) vocalist Michael Kiske is paired with Amanda Somerville, who has worked with bands like Epica and After Forever. The duo is joined by bassist Mat Sinner (Primal Fear, Sinner) and guitarist Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear, Starbreaker), both of whom handled most of the songwriting on this album.

The album has a bit more punch than Kiske's recent Place Vendome work, but is still a bit lighter than the average Karlsson/Sinner release. It's just a really well put-together melodic rock album in terms of songwriting and musicianship. Oh yeah, it has great vocals too! I never would have guessed from albums like Keeper of the Seven Keys Parts I-II that Michael Kiske would become such a smooth AOR vocalist, but he really shines here, rivaling his best Place Vendome work. Amanda Somerville is also outstanding. She has great power and range, and wisely opts not to go the operatic route. I'd be surprised if she doesn't end up fronting a new band before too long.

If you're a fan of Kiske's post-Helloween work, particularly his Place Vendome albums, you'll definitely want to hear this album. It should also appeal to After Forever and Epica fans, as long as you aren't expecting a metal album. It's just a really good melodic rock album with some very impressive vocal performances.

This is the first time I've felt compelled to write a review. I just feel that this album deserves a lot more exposure than it might be seeing.

As the name might imply, this is an album of duets by two amazing singers. As such, you expect the vocals to be great, and they are. What I find even more amazing though, is the band. I expected the music behind the singers to be somewhat bland, but that isn't the case. The band does not take a back seat to the two singers, they are there to play, and play hard.

All in all, its a great album to listen in every facet.

`Frontiers records' has come up with some rather original ideas for melodic albums but this one is really genius. `Kiske - Sommerville', as the title suggests and most are already aware, is a melodic hard rock/metal album based on vocals duets of legendary German vocalist Michael Kiske and female vocal authority Amanda Somerville.

I suppose there is not much reason to go into details regarding the abilities and approaches of the two singers as they are both metal idols at their own right while their contribution on this album has been very much explored by other reviewers.With that in mind I would like to stand on the other factors (beyond Michael and Amanda) that make this album such a musical success and for that matter are just as important as the names on the front cover.

A key success factor was bringing to the project possibly the most capable songwriting core of `Frontiers records' that of bassist Mat Sinner and guitarist Magnus Karlsson. Both have been known for delivering amazing melodic works in the genres of melodic AOR, hard rock and metal; and the collaboration of the seasoned Mat with the younger Magnus ideally balances old school and modern influences on the album. The album features additional songwriting by Keyboard player Jimmy Kresic and Amanda, the material they come up with is more mid tempo and symphonic/orchestra-oriented. So closing the songwriting part, the listener does enjoy a variety of rock and metal styles throughout `Kiske/Somerville' while all songs are consistent in big melodies and stellar production.

In terms of performing line-up the project finds Matt Sinner on bass guitar, Magnus Karlsson on lead guitar, Sander Gommans also on lead guitar, Jimmy Kresic on keyboards while drum duties are divided between Ramy Ali and Martin Schmidt.
Instrument-wise this project continues to surprise as Sinner's bass is louder and more aggressive than one would expect, Magnus' solos are instantly recognizable and never compromised in their length, while the drumming is far more intense than anyone would have anticipated, referring not only to the double bass attack but to the very technical stick work that is to be found throughout the album.

Yes, "Kiske-Somerville" does capture the best of Michael Kiske and Amanda Somerville still it goes on to offer the listener much more that simply an all star project. It is impossible to find any fault on this album:
1)The concept is original 2) The songwriting is diverse yet consistently melodic 3) the singers live up to their reputation while uncovering much more of their vocal abilities than expected 4) the performance on instruments unforgettable and 5) it is all topped by possibly the greatest production ever.

The limited edition features a 12th bonus track `Set Afire' and a DVD with the two breathtaking promo videos for `If I had a wish' and `Silence'.

I listen to a lot of albums and this one really caught my attention. After hearing it for the first time I immediately played it again. During the next two weeks I played it about 7 or 8 more times. This is really really great music. First, it rocks with great crunching guitar riffs. But, what really does it for me is the great singing. Not much music these days feature male/female duets which is part of what captured my attention. But it's not just that, it's that it's so so good!

The "Kiske / Somerville" project was promoted as being the melodic metal debut album of the year. While not exactly true, this is an enjoyable duet album with a lot of hooks, exceptional vocal performances and several outstanding songs.

The idea of bringing Michael Kiske (ex-Helloween, Place Vendome, Avantasia) and Amanda Somerville (Aina, Avantasia) together to form this project was conceived by Serafino Perugino, president of the record label Frontiers Records. The songwriting was assigned mainly to Mat Sinner (Primal Fear) and Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear, Allen/Lande), with further input from Sander Gommans (After Forever), Jimmy Kresic and Amanda Somerville.

The self titled debut album finds the two vocalists dueling with one another and singing together in unison, in a diverse sounding project. The music includes melodic rock tracks, melodic metal numbers, ballads, AOR moments, along with some symphonic touches as well.

Just to get things out of the way, the vocals throughout the album sound amazing, with great trade off lead passages as well as harmonized choruses. Both Kiske and Somerville give their best, delivering diverse vocal performances and working with one another as if they had sang together for years. While neither singer tries to overshadow the other, or to display his/her full range, they still manage to individually shine throughout. The instrumental portion of the album is also solid and filled with memorable guitar riffs, wonderful solos, orchestrations and great drumming by the numerous participants.

Highlights of the album include Silence, Arise, End Of The Road, Devil In Her Heart, If I Had A Wish, Don't Walk Away and Set A Fire.

The single "Silence" is a melodic hard rock ballad with some of the most memorable vocal performances on the album. Violin backing, keyboards, guitar riffs and energetic drumming provide the backbone for both Kiske and Somerville to interchange both emotional lead vocals and harmonized choruses as well. The addition of orchestral moments together with some keyboard soloing gives us one of the stand out songs on offer.

"Arise" is a groovy hard rock number. The song includes impressive guitar riffs, squeals ala Zakk Wylde, nice bass lines, soft verses, a fitting guitar solo and an infectious chorus, carried mostly by Somerville and finished in a higher pitched mode by Kiske. This is one of the heaviest, more up-beat and more memorable moments of the album.

"End Of The Road" is a symphonic ballad done in a magnificent way. Emotional vocals, orchestral parts, some heavier outbursts and an addictive chorus provide the recipe for one of the best tracks on the album.

"If I Had A Wish" is a strong melodic metal track and another stand out song. It starts with a melodic intro and continues with catchy guitar riffs, impressive drumming, nice guitar solos and exceptionally well sang verses (but suffers a little from a somewhat uninspired chorus).

"Devil In Her Heart" includes a bombastic arrangement, a catchy double chorus, memorable guitar/keyboard solos, along with a lot of vocal transitions and trade offs. A very well done melodic rock song, which brings to mind the most impressive duets of Meta Loaf.

"Don't Walk Away" is an up-beat AOR track, which resembles the happier moments of Kiske's Place Vendome project. An uplifting tempo, Kiske's flawless higher range vocals, a catchy chorus, a simple but fitting guitar solo and you've got another good track. Keep in mind that if you`re a hard core metal fan, you will definitely hate this track.

"Set A Fire" is the heaviest song on offer and closes the album in a great metal form. The track is characterized by heavy and melodic guitar riffs, emotionally sang verses by Amanda and backed by Michael and a heavy chorus containing higher notes by both vocalists.

"A Thousand Suns" features Amanda on the vocal lead and it is her shining moment. Melodic guitar leads, more emotionally driven verses and an outstanding harmonized chorus, provide the elements for a good power ballad.

"Second Chance" is your standard slower ballad type of song. While nothing spectacular, the song is emotional, includes deeper lower range vocals and is a memorable offering.

The down side of the album are some weaker tracks, one of which seems rather strange as it conveys a mixed feeling of trying to be both a little heavy and mainstream at the same time. The inclusion of some generic choruses, doesn't help the weaker tracks either.

Fans of Michael Kiske, Amanda Somerville and Place Vendome will surely love this effort. Fans of Mat Sinner's and Magnus Karlsson's songwriting will also enjoy most of the songs. Hard core metal fans will probably like 3 or 4 songs and hate the rest. The majority of the album features truly great tracks, excellent musicianship and amazing vocal performances.

(This particular edition comes together with a bonus DVD. The DVD includes 2 enjoyable videos for the songs Silence and If I Had A Wish, along with a 10 minute Behind The Scenes documentary)

THIS ALBUM HAS A LOT IN COMMON WITH THE STYLE OF "FUTURE WORLD" FROM "KEEPER....I", IT'S JUST THIS ONE HAS LOVE SONGS AND INVOLVES A WOMAN SINGER. AT SOME POINT IN SOME SONGS YOU COULD SEE THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THIS ALBUM AND THE BAND NIGHTWISH, WHICH ALSO HAS A WOMAN VOCALIST. BUT OVERALL, THE BAND DOES HAVE SOME GOOD RIFFS, AND KISKE'S VOICE DOES COLLIDE GOOD WITH SOMMERVILLE'S. THIS IS A MIS TEMPO HARD ROCK, AND I WOULD NOT CALL IT HEAVY METAL. BUT THE RIFFS AND VOCALS ARE GREAT, SO I GIVE THEM A FOUR STAR WHICH IS WELL ACCOMPLISHED. IF YOU LIKE PREVIOUS KISKE PROJECTS, I WOULD DEFINETELY BUY THIS ONE. BUT DO NOT EXPECT SPEED METAL, IT IS JUST HARD ROCK WITH GOOD RIFFS AND GREAT VOCALS. GOOD HARD ROCK-LOVE ALBUM!!!!

This was an album that I was really looking forward to getting my hands on this year. With the great voice of Michael Kiske teamed up with a very competent female vocalist, plus band members Magnus Karlsson (Allen/Lande, Primal Fear) and Matt Sinner (Primal Fear, Sinner) on guitar and bass, it was an album that promised much. The songs have been written for the most part by Karlsson and Sinner and consist of a mixture of melodic metal, hard rock and some lighter rock leaning more towards AOR, and whilst nothing ground breaking they are extremely melodic & catchy. Sinner and Karlsson have both been around for a while now and have found the winning formula in terms of song writing with their other bands and projects, and as you would expect their playing is first class. There are some great solos on offer here from Karlsson and Sinner provides some pounding bass rhythm throughout the album, which has been produced to perfection. Each instrument sounds full and rich, yet clear and don't overpower the vocals, because after all the dual vocals are the whole point of this album. As far as the vocalists go, both complement each other very well and in contrast to Karlsson's Allen/Lande project there are no songs on this album sung by only one of the vocalists. Each share parts of all of them, but some obviously have one or the other as the primary vocalist. Amanda Somerville is very pleasant on the ear, singing in a very melodic way with no operatics.

I think the album starts off with a bit of a fizzle though with Nothing Left To Say which musically is great, and both vocalists also sound great, but the song just seems to fail to have enough energy with it in terms of the pace of the vocals to be a winning opening punch in my opinion. Track 2 is the single Silence and I think it also suffers from the same fate. In fact, whilst I can't fault the performance or production, the melody or the hooks, in terms of the pace of the vocals over the entire album they hardly ever shift out of second gear. Almost all the songs are sung at the same pace, that being medium. I say almost because there are some ballads where you expect a slower pace, and track 5 End Of The Road is a fine example of a great ballad, as are track 7 A Thousand Suns, track 9 One Night Burning and track 11 the more AOR oriented Second Chance.

Kiske does get going a little bit more in tracks 6 Don't Walk Away and 10 Devil In Her Heart which are two of my favorites with the former sounding more like the stuff he did with Place Vendome, but for my mind I would have liked him to unleash a lot more as he is no doubt capable of doing. (If you have heard the songs Cross The Line and Streets Of Fire from the Place Vendome albums you will know what I mean. That is how Kiske should sing more often). The last half of the album is better than the first, and in general the music on this album does have a harder edge and bit more bite to it than the music on both Place Vendome albums. But I wouldn't really say that it is better. Just as good but different would probably best describe how I feel about it. But I did expect it to be a better album than what it is, which is quite strange really when I can't really find much wrong with it except for the pace of the vocals. Certainly though it is not as good as either of the Allen/Lande albums released to date. I think in terms of being a quality recording it is certainly right up there but ultimately I just don't find it to be fully satisfying and therefore can't give it a 5 star rating.

i bought this on the stength of Kiske. i was not disappointed. the production is top notch. the vocals are very clean, the lyrics are good. overall this album rocks. somerville has a really strong voice. Matt Sinner, you outdid yourself again.

i finally got a chance to hear this full album today. i had already heard the tracks SILENCE and IF I HAD A WISH through the videos on youtube, but the rest of the album had been a mystery to me. finally today i downloaded each song individually and arranged them into album running order and listened to it. all i can say is WOW! this is a truly fantastic piece of melodic hard rock/metal mastery. every song is a winner. no filler here. each song is instantly enjoyable and could be a single in it's own right. this album is full of heart, soul, and emotion and takes you to a different place in your mind. that and it just puts a smile on your face.
the voices of kiske and somerville sound fantastic on this recording and the music is written and played well by the musicians on this album, including magnus and mat from PRIMAL FEAR.
all in all, this is a great album for any fan of melodic hard rock and metal. it's a nice break from the uber-heavy things that are out nowadays. i sincerely hope they release another album together soon. pick this cd up, you wont be disappointed.

I rarely feel the need to add a review but........
my God this cd is AWESOME

Please release another one
Jacob