Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Panzer's newest release "Casting the Stones", May 14, 2005
Looks like the reviews are mixed. In my opinion this is the strongest release since Fourth Judgement. Not that the other albums in between were weak by any means but this one everything just seems to come together. More pronounced keyboards in certain songs bring a depth missed in prior releases. Vocals (both lead and backing vocals) are stronger. Songwritting both music and vocal has matured and the band sounds like they all showed up on the same day. Tracks 2,4,6 and 7 are worth notable mention. Not every song is going to tickle your fancy. I don't like every song and there's other Panzer albums I like more songs but even with that said, this is their best "collective effort as a group" to date since Chris Broderick joined the band. This is certainly an album worth adding to your power metal collection.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
More Solid Jag Panzer, March 25, 2005
After the brilliant 'Thane to the Throne' Jag Panzer slid done a bit to make the still excellent 'Mechanized Warfare'. Sadly, 'Casting the Stones' is a bit weaker then that album, so they're still slipping a bit, but the standard set by 'Thane to Throne' was too high to be maintained, and high enough to allow a bit of slipping while still making very worthwhile albums. 'Casting the Stones' isn't a brilliant album, but it's well written, well crafted, and definitely worth your time and money if you're a fan of the band.
Naturally, there hasn't been a severe reworking of the Jag Panzer, but this album shows some subtle changes. It's a bit slower and denser, more double bass and a generally darker, more somber tone to the whole thing. Still, the basics remain, with the wild, severely operatic vox, the mad shredding on the lead and the bruising, pounding riffs combined with some sharp, clean melody lines. No real innovation, for sure, but they refine and color their sound sufficiently to make this album plenty interesting.
There's no real specific way that I can think of to explain why this album isn't quite as good as the last two. Simply put, the songwriting just isn't as solid. Still, this consists of them moving from having half the songs being great, the other half merely good, to having a few great songs, and the rest just pretty good, with one kinda medicore track. The 'kinda mediocre track' would be the oft maligned 'Cold'. A little to repeptitive, and the chorus can kinda get on my nerves. Fortunately, everything else is worthwhile. 'The Mission' and 'Tempest' both standout in particular. 'The Mission' is totally classic JP, with the driving verses and the utterly epic, powerful chorus. Nice choral backing vox too. 'Tempest' is a bit different, a kinda nervy, cold and tense track with a great main riff and a fabulous vocal performance from Conklin. (His delivery of the line 'Heaven help us just to make it through this night' is particularly effective) The acoustic middle break is really effectively atmospheric, and fits the song very well. (Stuff like that is usually just thrown in there for the hell of it, but here it seems to really fit.) Nice solo too, but JP's solos are always awesome, of course. Other than those two we've got a lot of good, if not amazing tracks. 'Feast of Famine' is the fine opener, with another classic JP chorus and some nice, perpetual double bass work. 'Starlight's Fury' isn't one of the best tracks here, but it is sorta interesting, with a weird, morose tone and kinda spacy feel at times. Sorta reminds me of Control Denied. 'Precipice' is a good closer, another one of their slow building, partially acoustic epics. It didn't grab me completely at first, but it grew on me pretty quick.
Eh, I'm done with this review. I like this album. Get it.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Solid Effort, November 16, 2004
Jag Panzer – Casting the Stones
Out of all the Power Metal bands today, Jag Panzer is arguably the most difficult to get into. .Their style has never been very accessible, they usually stay around mid-tempo with the occasional fast anthem, and Harry Conklin’s singing is not everyone’s cup of tea. To make things worse, their new album “Casting the Stones” is their least accessible album to date…. But does that make it a bad album?
Song by song review
1. Feast or Famine (04:14) – I did not like the fact they start with a mid-tempo song as their opener. If you are already a Panzer fan then you will instantly notice how much heavier and more layered this album is mixed. 6/10
2. The Mission -1943 (04:09) – Now this should have been the opener, the song grabs you from the beginning and it doesn’t let go. We get the usual great Conklin vocals. This song has a great bass line and I like how the lead guitar comes every so often. 7/10
3. Vigilant (05:03) – A more progressive side of Jag Panzer is shown in this song. Its kind of hard to get into it but after a couple of listens you should be able to enjoy it and understand its greatness. 7/10
4. Achilles (02:46) – This song is brilliant! BRILLIANT. Mark Briody (guitar) explained how this song was supposed to be an epic but they opted to make it different and make it a mini-epic (thus the very short length of it). Very melodic and catchy. 9/10
5. Tempest (04:40) – My personal favorite song of the album. This leans more to the Progressive side again, with its layered mix. This song has it all… Great vocals, detailed drum work, tight bass lines, and very cool lyrics. We get a nice acoustic section in the middle of the song before the awesome guitar solo. An instant classic. 10/10
6. Legion Immortal (04:31) – Classic Jag Panzer song. Not much to say except nothing really stands out in the song. 7/10
7. Battered & Bruised (04:46) – The song is upbeat and has nice riffing. Same as above, these two tracks maybe foreshadow are not bad songs but needed a bit more to make them more memorable. Catchy chorus. 7/10
8. Cold (03:36) – Ouch. This song is not very good, and the layered vocals don’t help much. The only sub par song in the album. 4/10
9. Starlight's Fury (06:18) – Fortunately we get an awesome song after the dreadful “cold”. This is classic Jag panzer progressive song. Excellent drumming throughout the entire song. 8/10
10. The Harkening (04:44) – This song brings back memories of the “Thane To The Throne" album in its song structure and the use of choirs extensively. This is a good song but nothing really stands out. 7/10
11. Precipice (06:26) – What would a Jag Panzer album be without a very epic closing song. This one doesn’t disappoint. This song is epic and catchy, closing the album well. 10/10
This album may take a few listens to get into and then you’ll be introduced to the genius of one of the premier US Metal Bands, Jag Panzer. I wouldn’t recommend listening to this album first as an introduction to Jag Panzer. If you’re new to Jag panzer then start with “The Age of Mastery” album, and then you might be able to enjoy this album more.
Final: 8/10
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