Customer Reviews

Kiske-Tentative Title

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This is Michael Kiske's fourth solo album and it is a step away from anything he has done in the past. There is no comparison between KISKE and his Helloween days, nor with his participation in metal projects (Avantasia, Tribuzy, Masterplan) or the amazing melodic hard rock/AOR of 'Place Vendome'.

KISKE is a singer-songwriter type of album with songs ranging from acoustic ballads to melodic pop-rock. This is an atmospheric and peaceful record, which is overflowing with emotion and is overall great for what it is. The instrumentation includes mainly acoustic and at some parts electric guitars, bass guitar, some nice drumming, a small amount of keyboards-piano in the background and a slight dose of violin in some places. Michael Kiske is at his usual best vocally and lyrically, demonstrating his huge range in a more soothing atmosphere. In this album he displays the most emotional and warm vocals that I ever heard from him. Most songs contain deeper lower and middle range vocal parts, with scarce but very effective high pitched delivery and just the right amount of vibrato added for good measure.

The strongest tracks on the album are the acoustic ballads "King's Fall", "The King Of It All" (which contains a truly memorable chorus and violin orchestration) and "Sing My Song". The other highlights are the pop-rock songs "Painted", "Knew I Would" and "Fed By Stones", which contains some very thought out lyrics. This Japanese edition of the album includes a bonus track well worth having, the cover of "Mary In The Morning" (Elvis) sang in a truly magnificent way.

With this release Michael Kiske proves once more what a talented songwriter and what a gifted and extraordinary singer he is. This is his most mellow and emotional sounding release ever and it should be listened and enjoyed for what it is, instead for what it is not.

(Note: metal and hard-rock fans should definitely stay away from this album IF they expect a return to those genres as they will be very disappointed.)

"KISKE". a journey into the heart and soul of this exceptional artist and person. Musical arrangement and lyrics are peaceful but also demanding, accusing and inviting the listener to "think". This CD is a statement of Kiske's points of view, convictions, feelings; it gives a very personal insight of the artist's innerlife.

Being already known among his audience as one of the best voices on this planet, Kiske performs his songs with his best voice ever - mature, fully developed and steady even in the high tones.

Personally I miss at least one song with his well-known 'crescendos' of former albums (like 'Do I remember a life' or 'Shadowfights') but it doesn't devalue this work in any way. "KISKE" is the outcome of a personal developement of an extraordinary singer and songwriter.

And what to say about 'Mary in the morning'? Simply wonderful, amazing performance and worth all the up-price to get this marvellous bonus-track.

Hopefully there will be many more new outputs of Michael Kiske to come... always in his way!