Customer Reviews

Universal Religion 2008

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This CD gets better and better. I can't stop listening to it. I'm not even a hardcore trance fan. There really is something truly magical about the selection of every one of these tracks. Nearly every single one of them is a favorite of mine. I will admit, there were a couple of moments during my first listen of this CD where I actually thought, "Oh, it just sounds like another typical trance album." I put the CD down for a couple of days. I put it back in, and suddenly every song just sticks out amazingly. The melodies are pure and beautiful in every one of these tracks, especially the ones with vocal, and I'm usually not a huge fan on vocal tracks, but these are gorgeous.

I love to DJ, and I like being as open as possible to all the music I hear of all genres, and trance is not my favorite, but this album truly does it for me. I own all of Armin's State of Trance albums and some other live sets of his, so you can expect amazingly flawless mixing, but putting that aside, and focusing more on the quality of these tracks, there truly is something about these melodies that hits the spot. If it doesn't hit you in the face at first, please give it another try. I really believe this album is magical. Oh yeah, and you can hear the crowd too, which is always a lovely touch.

I was finally getting bored from all the previous mix albums released throughout the year (Tiesto, Above & Beyond, Thrillseekers, etc) and then I saw this on iTunes 5 days before it's release! I love the live mix and it should be a requirement that every DJ put out one live mix a year. You can feel the energy of the crowd and for some reason it makes the music seem that much better. I love the first two tracks as they create a great intro to one of the best sets list of the year. I would have to say "Resound" and "How Long" are my favorites with "Resound" being the best anthem-like track since Above and Beyond's "Good for Me". The version I bought on iTunes has 16 tracks and I'm not sure if Amazon is missing them or if this release doesn't include them. Find out first because the last two tracks, 15 and 16, are just as good with 16 already being on his State of Trance 2007 mix! Definitely get this album!

Armin as usual has done a great job on this mixes. I just can not stop listen to it. I strongly recommend this product for those who really like dance on the best Armin Van Buuren style.

Truly amazing trance albums come along so very rarely. This is one them. It's fantastic, and on par with some of the greatest of all time, like Oakenfold's Tranceport or Seven Ways by Paul Van Dyk. Armin Van Buren has almost gotten to this point before in State of Trance 2006, but this album really takes things to a whole new level.

I knew this was a special album half way through the first track "Another Day on the Terrace," when the audience first begins to cheer; I literally felt chills. The rhythm building into a crescendo of sound, and then the crowd clapping out the beat. I'm not normally a live music fan and prefer the more polished sound of studio albums, but sampling the live audience into this track was masterfully well done.

Each song builds off the last, making the CD feel seamless and like a complete work of art. Trance is best when served with more than just a great beat; its those small touches like the live audience, careful synthetic melodies in the background, songs that ebb and flow together, making them more than just individual tracks and into something more. Call it ecstatic trance, call it 'religious' trance, call it whatever you want, but this CD has that oh so hard to define 'it' that separates it from the rest of the track.

Now on my favorite CDs of all time list, Universal Religion is one of the most satisfying trance collections ever assembled. If you enjoy trance, this is a must, must MUST have.

Just buy it.

What can I say. This Disc does not deserve 5 Stars, it deserves alot more. I am a huge GU fan & in recent times have bought very little outside of GU. But this is one of the best music I have bought in few years. It is simply amazing. Anyone who enjoys Trance will simply love this album. I will say in AVB style one will find here many tracks with lyrics but it is very well balanced. And ofcourse a top notch mix during 2007 would have to include Roadkill-Dubfire. The way this Mix opens with Sunlounger's Another Day on the Terrace is hard to describe in words. I can see this being one of AVB's most memorable work. Enjoy!!!

First off - let me start out by saying I've been a fan of trance music for many years now.. and Armin has been my favorite artist from the genre. I've owned all of his work as well as seen him in concert many times.

Now - let me tell you that this CD has taken it to a whole new level. Every single track on this CD is put together and mixed extremely well. As you listen through the entire mix, you'll notice that the hard hitting bass and melodic trance just flows perfectly. If you're familiar with Above & Beyond, I feel like a lot of the tracks on this CD are reminiscent of their work - which is certainly not a bad thing. There is a perfect match of melody, vocals, and continuity that makes you want to listen to it over and over again.

Do yourself a favor and pick this up right now and listen to the whole thing start to finish - and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

Armin has done it again and set the bar even higher (if that was ever even possible!)

I must say though my favorite track on this CD is "Till the Sky Falls Down - Dash Berlin" Markus Schulz played it live when he was at Vision Nightclub in Chicago on January 12th, and it blew the crowd away!

What can you say about Armin that hasn't already been said? He performs. He delivers. He takes you on a ride. Simply the best trance album for 2008 thus far.

This was the first Armin van Buuren CD I listened too. I was immediately hooked, shunning the depressing and angry music from Linkin Park, Green Day, Vanessa Carlton and Evanescence that I blasted during my teen years. This is the album I listen to when I don't know what to play on iTunes; it has a home alongside ATB's "In the Mix" series, "Sirens of the Sea", Paul van Dyk's "In Between", The Thrillseeker's "Nightmusic" series and Nevarakka. This mix starts out nice and ambient with "Another Day on the Terrace" by Sunlounger aka Roger Shah, and ends on a strong, powerful note with "If You Should Go". I loved Susana's vocals on "Shivers" so I was happy to hear her again. "Big Sky" is a popular song you can find on a lot of other DJ mixes, but I like it the best on this one, it feels so at home.

I have seen this album listed as Universal Religion 2008 and Universal Religion Chapter 3, but they are the same so don't buy two copies. I have yet to listen to UR Chapter 4 and I'm really hoping it's as great as this one!

In short, this is one of Armin's better products. It really pulls you through the whole set of tracks with gaining momentum. It is pretty hard hitting with the rhythm and some fantastic mood changes. It is hard to compare this release and A State of Trance 2007, except I would say this is more like disk 2 of A State of Trance. It pulls you right into the groove. I have this on rotation as one of my favorite CD's.

This album is so good that the first three songs give me chills when I listen to it! Yes, it's that good! Buy it and I promise you will not regret it! It's awesome knowing that the crowd it there and that they were enjoying it as much as you are... by the screams that they are making. Just wish I could have been there live myself!

It's almost a year later and I still love listening to this CD. It's especially good listening to it during a warm summer night. I just love the effect that the crowd adds to some of these songs.