Customer Reviews

Warrior Soul

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The pint-sized German belter triumphantly returns to her classic heavy metal roots with this powerhouse cd. Great guitar hooks, catchy lyrics (had that darned "Thunderspell" chorus stuck in my head for 3 days now), and of course, Doro's distinct, fierce vocals make this a must-have for her loyal legions. There's also a music video and trailer from her upcoming movie "Anuk", a nice bonus for your buck. While some of Doro's prior releases tend to get bogged down with sentimental ballads, "Warrior Soul" is 90% rockers and headbangers. Though none of Doro's solo albums have yet to achieve the benchmark status of Warlock's "Triumph and Agony", this one comes awfully close.

I have to say this album really rocked. It is not common that I find an album that I love nearly every track on but this is one of the rare occasions that I do.

Best song I think is Thunderspell - hard and fast rocking beat and Doro's patented screams bring me back to the days of Warlock. Same goes for Strangers Yesterday and the title track, Warrior Soul.

And for those who also love Doro's mellow side - Heaven I See, 1999, and In Liebe und Freundschaft (In Love and Friendship) dont disappoint.

I highly recommend this album!!!

Doro is back four years after 2002's Fight. She's released several compilation albums and did a massive tour where she also played some of her classics with Warlock in the interim (including a show at Wacken). There was talk about Warrior Soul being a return to her earlier, heavier roots, but truth be told, this album is just another addition to her trademark solo career.

With a solid lineup and various guests, Warrior Soul is mostly a midtempo record, so don't go expecting a very heavy, guitar-laden effort. That said, there is plenty of guitar work that should please Doro's earlier fans, but the production dictates a more vocal-driven album through most of its course. Actually, this is perhaps the first Doro album where her vocals are mixed so up front. Everything in the music is of secondary importance to her vocals, even though there are some serious rockers in the form of "You're My Family" and "Strangers Yesterday", both still marked effectively by today's modern soundscapes. The songs both begin with atmospheric keyboards and then feature Doro's vocals almost in a capella style. Then Joe Taylor lays down some groovy hard rock guitars, utilising some nice blues licks and opting for lengthy shred guitars. Unfortunately his guitar work is obscured by the loud vocal mix (which I assume was a conscious effort on Doro and the producer's parts). There are 80's-styled big, sing-along choruses with the one in "Thunderspell" being truly awesome. With the arrival of the title track, the album loses most of its pace (not that anything was utterly fast to begin with) and puts Doro's ballady material under the spotlight, still employing some bluesy axework. "Heaven I See" is the expected power ballad from Doro, starting slowly with acoustic guitars and getting wilder towards the end. I'm not sure about the motives behind "Creep into My Brain", but except for a live setting, I don't think this is among her best songs. Way too modern-sounding and upbeat for my and many older fans' tastes, the song does feature a full bass bottom from Nick Douglas, but aside from that it's a just a call-and-response type of thing with the guitars hitting a chord and then Doro singing her part. The true ballad "Above the Ashes" will secure itself a place for any future ballads compilation Doro or her company may have in mind, but it is the amazing "My Majesty" where Doro comes really close to rocking out hard. Amazing vocals, slightly accented but very aggressive, forceful bass, pummeling drums, and a brief yet effective guitar solo. The German acoustic ballad "In Liebe und Freundschaft" (which would translate as something like "With Love and Friendship") is a love ballad, yearning for the loss of a lover. By the way, I've always liked Doro's vocals, and never really understood people who constantly complain about her heavy accent. It's true that she has a very pronounced accent, but that mostly comes through when she speaks during live shows. Other than that, she always sings like that, including in the rocking "Ungebrochen", another German song.

Doro fans have been waiting for this album for so long, and I doubt they will be disappointed. I just don't think this is a return-to-form in any way. Not that it has to be, but I'll still forewarn those who were expecting otherwise.

This album is great. It's a must-have for your metal collection. I've been waiting a while for some good music to come out, and here it is. Just to qualify my statements a little, I've been a metalhead for over 25 years and listen to everything from Bon Jovi to Slayer. I'm an amateur musician, too, and have been in bands. I appreciate any kind of music that is played well. I can't wait to see this band live finally when they are on tour in the U.S.

On this CD, the musicians are awesome and Doro's voice is great. The sound quality and mixing are good, though Doro's vocals might be a little louder than the music on some songs. The music covers all grounds, from ballads to rockers to anthems. If you like to hear a little variety like that, this is a great album to have.

There are some really cool, catchy songs on here, such as "You're My Family," "Haunted Heart," "Thunderspell," and "My Majesty." "Heaven I See" starts out like a ballad, but then turns into an anthem, producing a killer song (and I've put this one on a mix CD already). "Above the Ashes" is another great anthem, but I think I like the sound of the live version better (which I've seen in various videos on-line). Since I'm a huge Judas Priest fan, I think the chorus of Doro's "Shine On" reminds me of Priest's "Before the Dawn." (Try it out.) There is a hidden track, at the end of "Shine On." It's just a clean-channel electric guitar and vocals version of the title track. Oh, and there are two German songs on here, but don't worry about that if you don't know German. One is a ballad, and Doro sings it so beautifully that you won't care what language it is. The other is an attempt at a punk-like, just-for-fun song. It's so "in your face," that the primary language of the song doesn't matter, either. Don't worry; Doro's English is perfect on all of the other songs.

This album has been in constant rotation in my CD players since I've gotten it. Just like other U.S. fans, I was a Warlock fan in the 80s (since "Hellbound"), but I lost track of Doro's work since the early 90s after her self-titled album. I'm glad she and her band are still around and producing great work. This album needs to be on American radio.

I will keep this review short and to the point. This is without a doubt the best work by Doro Pesch since her Warlock days. Its harder than her previous work, and has more catchy tunes.

This CD is like the Doro/Warlock of old. I was head banging all the way through. It's nice to see Doro going back in time. She really needed it. I'm definetly going to see her at BB Kings in NYC in June. I am also very impressed with the sound and mix of the CD itself. Some of the previous CD's have been drowned a little. Long live the QUEEN.

Another triumphant record from the always-reliable Doro, this time providing us with even catchier songs and memorable ballads. If there's a thing about Doro, is that she knows what the ears find easy to digest, and she does this by creating easy-listening tunes with hard rock edge and occasional Metal moments. However, it is her voice that carries the soul of these songs, reaching for the aggressive angle when needed to and the more soulful, soothing side of her that adds emotional charisma to the compositions. Doro once again graces us with a record worthy of your purchase. With Doro, you know what you'll get and you know it will be a good thing.

I've been a fan since her days with Warlock. Doro really shines on this album. Doro is the queen of metal.I have to buy most of her music at import prices here in the U.S.A. but it is worth it.

Unless you are a true fan of hard rock and heavy metal it is highly conceivable that the name Doro Pesch does not ring a bell to you. Doro was the lead singer of German hard rock band Warlock in the 1980's and experienced very limited success here in the United States. Even for many of you who may remember Warlock with the exception of the excellent Triumph and Agony album or a few songs like "All We Are" or "Fight For Rock," you probably know little about the band.

Around 1990 due to legal contractual problems, Doro was no longer allowed to use the name Warlock and became essentially a solo artist (though much of her current band has been with her over a decade). Doro's first solo album called Force Majeure was released in the States and did so-so. Fans of her old band Warlock, however, complained that the album was a bit too ballad heavy. Our second release was entitled simply "Doro" and contained a slightly heavier edge and contained contributions by KISS bassist Gene "I would sell my mother for a dollar" Simmons, lol. The album was a definite improvement but sadly went unnoticed in the United States. A few years later, Doro had lost her U.S. contract due to the fact grunge now ruled the airwaves and Doro was never that big in the United States even during hard rock's heyday. That is a shame because talent wise she was always ten times heavier and better than Lita Ford and other more successful female rockers.

Doro continued to record in the 1990's and came up with some decent more modern sounding albums such as "Love Me in Black." However, the sound was a far cry from her 80's and even early 90's sound. Doro remained a fairly strong attraction in other parts of the world and her albums sold decently throughout the world, just not the United States where frustrated fans like myself had to buy everything through import.

With grunge no longer popular, Doro made a return to the U.S. with her first really solid album since "Doro" called Calling the Wild. The album was much more rocking and even had a remake of the Billy Idol classic "White Wedding." It also contained some contributions from Lemmy of Motorhead (and you know Lemmy isn't into mellow sounding albums)

Realizing she had regained some momentum, Doro went back into the studios for the album "Fight" which was another decent album but broke little ground. In other words, Doro had found her niche and was putting out decent, but not memorable albums.

However, 2006 changed all of that. Realizing that 80's sounding hard rock and metal was becoming accepted again, she put out her best album since Triumph and Agony entitled "Warrior Soul." The album, while containing a few modern sounds is a throwback to the Warlock days and my favorite metal album of the year to date. There are a few ballads on the album, but not that many. Almost every song is heavy in sound with great killer guitar work that seems to be missing from most of today's metal music. Doro's voice is in fine form and there is not a weak track on the album. Highlights include You're My Family, Haunted Heart, and Thunderspell.

If you have never heard Doro Pesch sing or never bought anything by her, this is one album you need to own if you are a fan of metal the way it is supposed to sound. It is good to see the queen of metal is truly back.

I just wanted to and a little to Murat Batmaz review of May 21, 2006. In that review he mentions that Doro's vocals are mixed much stronger than the guitars and other instruments. I have to agree with this. Althought Doro has great hard rock/metal vocals most metal heads like to here the ripping guitar riffs. The CD has the hard hitting, brain bending metal guitar riffs in it, however they are litterally mixed in the background. They are hard to hear and leave you trying to turn it up to hear the riffs. In my opinion the mixing on this CD really sucks. It really detracts from the music and listing to it. I would gladly pay for a rereleased copy of this CD with the guitars turned up. I think this could be a truely great CD if everything was mixed on a level field.

So, while it is very good and Doro does a great job with the vocals and tracks, if you are expecting to hear the guitars with her vocals . . . you'll need a guitar hearing aid.