EURASIA [2000] - reviews
Metal Heart (Sandra Eichner)
... AVALON haben es mit EURASIA geschafft, sich selbst treu zu bleiben, trotzdem
ihrem Stil weiterzuentwickeln und dabei noch ein ganz selbständiges,
einzigartiges Werk auf die Beine zu stellen, das in seiner Eigenheit sehr
faszinierend wirkt. Wer das Talent der Münchner für anspruchsvoll-melodische
Musik schon kennt, darf sich auf das Highlight der bisherigen Bandgeschickte
gefaßt machen. Wer von AVALOIN noch nichts gehört hat, der sollte die vierte
Platte der Jungs/Mädels als echten Grund sehen, sich einmal näher mit der Band
zu befassen. Fazit? Ein ausgereifte Scheibchen, das mit sehr viel Musikverstand
und Sorgfalt aufgenommen wurde. Geheimtip!!!
Break Out (Stefan Treu)
... In den abwechslungsreich arrangierten, atmosphärisch-kompakten progressive Metal des Quintetts hat man zur
enorm druckvollen Gitarrrenarbeit von Sebastian Eder geschickt einige
Klangelemente aus fremden Kulturen integriert, die im sowieso schon
unverwechselbaren Avalon Sound noch mehr für Farbtupfer sorgen, ohne
aber den Bogen und die Aufnahmefähigkeit des Hörers zu überspannen, denn
jeder Song bleibt trotzdem klar strukturiert. Der Titel "Eurasia"
verkörpert genau diese Kombiantion aus europäischem Kraftrock sowie
asiatischen Sounds, und diese Symbiose ist der international besetzten
Band (Sänger Chitral Somapala stammt aus Sri Lanka, Drummer Jacques
Voutay aus Frankreich) perfekt gelungen. Für eine optimale klangliche
Umsetzung sorgte übrigens Sascha Paeth in den Wolfsburger Gate Studios,
seine hervorragnede Arbeit macht "Eurasia" zu einer gelungen vertonten
und interessanten Reise durch die unterschiedlichen Kulturen und
Religionen des eurasischen Kontinents, die ihr Euch unbedingt zu Gemüte
führen müßt.
Rock It! (Birgitt Schwanke)
... AVALON liefern nun schon seit mehreren Jahren in regelmäßigen Abständen
wirklich gelungene progressive Hard Rock/Metal-Scheiben ab, welche eigentlich
das Herz aller Freunde klomplexer Rockmusik höher schlagen lassen dürfte, die
nicht unbedingt auf endloses Gefrickel sondern auf wunderschöne Melodien,
kombiniert mit Power, setzen. Sänger Chity Somapala, der ursprünglich aus Sri
Lanka kommt, braucht sich ganz und gar nicht hinter den bekannten Szenegrößen
verstecken - im Gegenteil, denn er schafft es immer wieder mit seiner
angenehmen, in mittleren Höhen angesiedelten Stimme, den 12 Kompositionen die
nötige Wärme einzuhauchen ... Eine gelungene Symbiose, die dieses Album zu einem
der bislang wenigen Genrehighlights des Jahres 2000 macht.
That's Metal (Michael Kohsiek)
... der absolute Höhepunkt der Bandgeschichte. Hoffentlich bekommt die Band nun
auch national die Anerkennung, die sie schon seit Jahren verdient und
international auch schon teilweise erreicht hat. Dass Avalon der Spagat zwischen
traditionellem Metal auf der einen und asiatischen Klängen auf der anderen Seite
mehr als gelungen ist, liegt gleich an mehreren Faktoren: Sänger Chitral
Somapala ist glücklicher Besitzer einer der besten Stimmen Deutschlands und
schafft es nun auch alle vokalen Facetten offen zu legen ... die Songs stimmen
von vorne bis hinten: Melodic Metal vom Feinsten bekommt der Hörer auf neun
Tracks vorgesetzt (Intro, Outro und die gute Mr. Mister Coverversion "Kyrie"
dabei noch gar nicht mitgerechnet). Was hält Fans und Kritiker nun also noch
davon ab, Avalon endlich mal Respekt zu zollen?
PROG-REVIEWS (Greger Ronnquist)
... This album has a delicate mixture of various Asian instruments, Buddhist
chants, big choirs, power metal, prog-metal and heavy guitar riffs. To achieve
the splendid result, they have invited a numerous of musicians to guest them on
northern Indian classical sitar, dolky, brushes, djembe and female vocals.
Besides the Asian influences on this album, Avalon has reminiscences to Angra,
Dream Theater, Queensryche, Savatage and Scorpions. Avalon has something as
unusual as a female bass player named Petra H. Delorian. She's an extraordinary
good bassist! ... Avalon has been to long in the backwaters of Prog-Metal, but
this release proves that they deserve to make it big. This is Avalon's best
release so far. What will the future bring?
On the Rocks Online Magazine
AVALON are one of Germany's most promising Prog Metal bands and their fourth
album "Eurasia" is definitely their previous masterpiece ... Especially the
first four songs "Burning Souls", "Temujin", "Black Hole Wisdom" and the
outstanding "Eternal Flame" are finest Prog Metal and can keep up with high
reputated acts like VANDEN PLAS and THRESHOLD ... the fantastic cover version of
MR. MISTER's "Kyrie", the album contains two more killers! Everyone of you who
has an open ear for melodic Prog Metal in the vein of VANDEN PLAS or THRESHOLD
must take a listen to "Eurasia". It's one of the biggest surprises this year!
Metal Observer
Wo sind die Kritiker der mangelnden Originalität, wenn mal eine Band nicht nur
versucht sich von der Mehrheit abzuheben, sondern es auch schafft? ... "Burning
Souls" bietet dem Hörer dann die Gelegenheit, die Begegnung aus der bekannten
AVALON mit den neuen AVALON, sozusagen, zu begutachten, denn hier mischen sich
Melodic Metal mit Instrumenten und Melodiebögen aus Sri Lanka, was einen sehr
reizvollen Sound ergibt, den es so sicherlich noch nicht gegeben hat ... Daß man
aber nicht komplett in andere Sphären entrückt ist, zeigen Songs wie der
knackige Up-Tempo-Metaller "Temujin" ... das von Chitrals Gesang getragene
"Black Hole Wisdom" oder auch das sehr abwechslungsreich gestaltete "Eternal
Flame" ... Man kann AVALON also konstatieren, dass sie ein so sicher noch nie da
gewesenes Album kreiert haben, bei dem sich Tradition und Wagemut die Hand
reichen. Weiter so!
BARCODE (Bjørnar Bevolden)
I`ve been eagerly awaiting this new cd by German Avalon ... and I personally
think this is their best and most consistent release to date! You got juicy,
crunchy guitars, a wonderful rhythm section and a mid-ranged superb vocalist in
Chitral Somapala from Sri Lanka. Into this sizzling style of euro powerprog they
have incorporated traditional Asian sounds, and it works out very well. The
melody-lines and choruses are very accessible and with the huge catchy
hooks, these songs are simply irresistible ... Songs like Burning Souls, Black
Hole Wisdom and The Stranger are all killer songs and perfect examples of the
quality that lies within this band ... lots of killer songs to be found which
makes this a worthwhile purchase ... Avalon has made their best album to date!
Highly recommended!
... Im kommenden Oktober ist eine Europatour mit METALIUM geplant, da gibt´s
dann aber mal wieder ein Metal-Package vom Feinsten. Da könnt Ihr Euch mit
eigenen Ohren und auch Augen davon überzeugen, dass AVALON nicht nur im Studio
Großes vollbringen, wie dieses aktuelle Scheibchen, welches sich im großen Markt
des Melodic-Powermetal keinesfalls verstecken muß, sondern vielmehr einige
andere Produktionen lockerst in die Tasche steckt ... Also verhelft der Band
endlich zu der längst verdienten Anerkennung.
My first experience with this band was the previous release "Vision Eden", which
I was very impressed of actually. I'm normally not very much into a millions
different metal bands (I was though), but Avalon had something extra that made
me like their music ... On this album Chitral got lots of new melodies expressed
in the typical "Avalon-style". Powerful but still melodic and emotional ...
Avalon opens up with hit in your face metal "Burning Souls". Really good ... All
songs of the album are performed with a great feel for metal, and with sounds
and influences from Accept, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Stratovarius, Scorpions
and much, much more ... Get this one!!
Progeny Magazine
... melodic hooks and choruses that stick in your memory, even if you haven't
listened to the disc for a few days. There's plenty of variation too. You get a
very well balanced mix of fast-paced songs and ballads, with some very
interesting use of Asian sounds and structures. Highlights on the album, for me
anyway, include the opening track Burning Souls, Temujin, The Stranger and The
Painting ...
My first introduction to German progressive metal quintet Avalon came via their
rather fantastic third album 'Vision Eden' ... this is still quintessentially
high calibre progressive metal, but now that Chitty has become fully embroiled
in the songwriting, these have been mixed with some decidedly Asian influences -
a smattering of classical sitars and the like ... As for the progressive
influences, these too have matured slightly, indeed the more traditional hard
rock leanings displayed on their past efforts have now all but gone, to be
replaced by a sleek, sophisticated metal machine with a sound pitched somewhere
between Dream Theater and Vanden Plas, particularly the latter. At the heart of
this formidable beast is guitarist and Omega Records head honcho Sebastian Eder,
an extremely gifted talent equally at home cranking out some amazing riffs or
taking centre stage with some dazzling solo displays. Whilst the rest of the
band also provide some fantastic contributions in their own right, the other
real weapon in the Avalon arsenal is vocalist Somapala ... indeed I'd go one
further and suggest that, the forthcoming Symphony X opus aside, this is
probably the progressive metal album of the year so far, no question ! ... Fear
not though, as the riffs kick in soon enough with the pulsating 'Burning Souls'.
A swaggering, mid paced number, full of subtle twists and turns and an immense
chorus, this should really strike a chord with all the Vanden Plas fans out
there ... Absolutely brilliant !
VISION EDEN [1999] - reviews
"(New Rock &) Metal Hammer"/Germany [December 1998]:
"...epic-dramatic, sinfonic, and always flowing compositions are in the foreground...a longplayer which maneuvers in its totality in a clever way between melodic-, power- and progressive Metal and spreads an atmosphere of Fantasy feeling..."
[6 of 7 possible points]
"Soundcheck"/Germany [December 1998]:
"With "Vision Eden" the southern German metal act presents itself with a new lineup: New are singer Chitral Somapala from Sri Lanka and drummer Ronny Dehn. When listening to the opener, it is already clear what a lucky chance for AVALON it is to have these new members in the band: Suddenly the groove has more power, complex arrangements are played truly on the point and the frontman convinces with power, charisma and a voice with a wide bandwidth. Thus the 10 own compositions become an eventful excursion through up-to-date progressive metal."
[rating: 2=good (1=very good / 6=worst rating)]
"Mystic Places," Avalon's second album was a good example of melodic metal, but it was not that well balanced and focused as its successor, "Vision Eden." With a new singer in place (he has a more-clean/less-rough voice than the old one), Avalon sound very fresh, energetic, and concentrated. In fact, the intensity of the songs is quite surprising to feel; and it points out band's will to form their own identity in the getting-too-crowded melodic metal scene. When the music slows down, it gets similar to mid-tempo bombastic metal of Threshold. Once you get into the fictional conceptual theme and busy and rich flow with one leading melodic line, they hardly let you slip away. "Vision Eden" is more advanced than basic heavy metal, but very song-oriented. Not a milestone, but a solid release. The tracks worth mentioning are "They Are in Between Us," "Dancing
with the Devil," "Gene Genius," and "Fate of Centuries."
[rating: 4 of 5 possible points]
"Third album from these Germans. "Vision Eden" is also their best effort to date. A new vocalist has made the band sound better. There are monster tracks on this album. Check out the two opening tracks, this is solid melodic power metal."
[rating: 4=good (1=crap / 6=essential)]
"Breakout"/Germany [November 1998]:
"...with the fusion of melodic Metal and progressive Hardrock the band goes it's own way, which should lead into a bright future. AVALON fulfills the expectations, which were upon them after their '97 release, completely..."
"Heavy Oder Was ?!"/Germany [November 1998]:
"...the opener "They Are In Between Us" pleases with driving power, memorable hooklines and musical subtlety. "Lord Of Dignity" is a great midtempo-hymn, and "Age Of Salvation" developes into a real hit. ...AVALON...delivered some real superb songs..."
[9 of 12 possible points]
"Rock Hard"/Germany [November 1998]:
"...AVALON...plays slightly progressive melodic Rock, in a very beautiful and proper way...Sebastian Eder is a wizard on the guitar with Steve Vai-like riffs and new singer Chitral Somapala is blessed with a versatile voice..."
[7,5 of 10 possible points]
Mystic Places [1997] - reviews
"Metal Hammer"/Germany [August 1997]:
"...Metal like hymns...with occasional experiments [Gregorian chorus] and sporadic Celtic licks..."
"Heavy, oder was !?"/Germany [March 1997]:
"...Metal has to be like this...the extraordinary progressive song "Blind Dance",...tremendous power and interesting Flamenco extras...I would like to see them live..."
"Rock Hard"/Germany [June 1997]:
"...everything allright with "Mystic Places"...perfectly..."
"Break Out"/Germany [June 1997]:
"...at this time AVALON is the greatest hope at the Metal scene, within this masterpiece one highlight is followed by the next highlight..."
"Planete Hard"/France :
"...again a release in high sized luxury...with this teutonic energy it will glour our hearts..."
"Kronika"/France :
"...this German band is a killer..."
"Friday 13th Zine"/UK :
"...a really impressive and progressive atmosphere...it's a brilliant CD and you have to buy it..."
"Thunder"/Switzerland :
"...who creates such hymns, actual should be placed in the upper grade scene..."
More reviews of "Mystic Places" appeared in: Hard Rock Magazine/France [03/98], Metal Hammer/Spain, Metal Hammer/Italy, Metal Shock/Italy [8,5,10/97], Metalized/Denmark [9,10/97], Rock Report/Belgium [4,5/97], Fox Metal Magazine/Belgium [8,5,10/97]
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