The Legend and the Truth
| The Legend and the Truth | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Dezperadoz | ||||
|
Publication |
April 21, 2006 |
|||
| Label (s) | AFM Records | |||
|
Format (s) |
CD |
|||
|
Title (number) |
15th |
|||
|
running time |
50:42 minutes |
|||
| occupation |
|
|||
|
Alex Kraft & Dennis Ward |
||||
|
||||
The Legend and the Truth is the second album by the band Dezperadoz and the first under the current name, after the band called themselves Desperados on their debut album "The Dawn of Dying" from 2000 . The album was released on April 21, 2006 via AFM Records.
The work is a concept album about the historical gunslinger and sheriff Wyatt Earp and tells individual stations from Earp's life in the songs. The style of music can be found in the heavy metal area and is also influenced by influences from Southern Rock and classic Western soundtracks .
history
After the first Desperados album in 2000 with the participation of Tom Angelripper had more of a project character, Alex Kraft reactivated the band in 2006. In spring, the new record deal with AFM Records and the new band name were announced. In addition to bassist Alex Weigland and drummer Sascha Tilger, who played with "Onkel Tom" like Kraft, Dennis Ward, known from the band Pink Cream 69, was another prominent musician with the band. In contrast to his main band, Ward plays guitar instead of bass.
Members of successful bands including Michael Weikath , Tobias Sammet , Doro Pesch and Joacim Cans were invited as guests for the recordings, which took place in Kraft's own studio in Heidelberg and were mixed by him and Ward . A renewed collaboration with Tom Angelripper only came about for the bonus track " Ring of Fire ", a cover version by Johnny Cash .
The album was released on April 21, 2006 as a CD in a jewel case . As a bonus, a sticker with the band logo and the slogan “Western Metal that will shoot you down!” Was included. The CD booklet contains not only thanks from the band members in the form of profiles, but also a brief outline of the life story of Wyatt Earp.
Following the release, the band went on tour through Germany and Switzerland in spring 2006 as a support act for Axxis and Krokus .
Track list
- The Legend and the Truth (2:29)
- Dust of History (4:47)
- First Blood (5:10)
- Dead Man Walkin '(4:51)
- Rawhide (2:23)
- Tombstone (1:49)
- Hellbilly Square (3:42)
- March to Destiny (4:29)
- OK Corral (4:45)
- Shootout (0:49)
- Look into the Barrel of My Gun (2:30)
- Earp's Vendetta (4:04)
- Friends til the End (4:20)
- Echoes of Eternity (4:09)
- Alex (0:23)
All songs were composed by Alex Kraft. The only exception is “Rawhide”, which was composed by Ned Washington and Dimitri Tiomkin .
Content of the songs
- “The Legend and the Truth” is an orchestral intro, the instrumentation and melody of which is heavily based on the soundtracks of Ennio Morricone in general and especially on “ Play me the song of death ”.
- "Dust of History" is an invitation to the listener to ignore the many legends surrounding Wyatt Earp and instead deal with the historical core.
- "First Blood" opens with a spoken introduction by Earp's father, in which the latter advises his son to use a weapon in case of doubt and to use it to defend himself. Accordingly, the song is about the first killing of a person by Earp. Helloween guitarist Michael Weikath has a guest appearance in the song .
- "Dead Man Walkin '" describes the Earps' contempt for alcohol and the departure of him and his family to the west.
- "Rawhide" is a cover version of the popular song Ned Washington and Dimitri Tiomkin . After "Ghost Riders in the Sky" (by Stan Jones on the previous album) this is the second cover version on an album by the band.
- "Tombstone" is an instrumental piece for acoustic guitar. In the introductory dialogue, Earp introduces his companion in the form of his brother Virgil , Doc Holliday and Bat Masterson .
- "Hellbilly Square" describes the growing conflicts between cowboys and Earp.
- "March to Destiny" is dedicated to the events before the shooting at OK Corral and describes Earp's decision to face the cowboys around the McLaurie brothers and Billy Clanton on this ranch. The following song "OK Corral" and the instrumental piece "Shootout" also deal with this event, which took place on October 26, 1881.
- "Look into the Barrel of My Gun" deals with Virgil Earp's throat taking on December 28, 1881, which led to his death. Likewise, "Earp's Vendetta" deals with the revenge campaign on the part of Earp.
- "Friends til the End" describes Earp's farewell to the seriously ill Doc Holliday.
- “Echoes of Eternity” is set shortly before Earp's death and with numerous samples and musical quotations lets the entire story pass in review.
- "Alex" is a short instrumental piece in the style of a film credits that ended the previous album.
reception
The album received good reactions from the record reviews, which particularly emphasized the mixture of different stylistic elements:
“The ingenious Washington / Tiomkin cover“ Rawhide ”naturally reinforces the already totally authentic Western feeling, as do one or the other radio play-like interlude or acoustic guitar piece (“ Tombstone ”) and the danceable“ Hellbilly ”, which is totally country-style Square ". [...] A cool, independent and convincing album that rocks from Alpha to Omega! "
“The Dezperadoz manage the feat of banning absolutely cool, more than party-friendly music on" The Legend And The Truth "and at the same time building in songwriting depth. What else should I write: Buy! "
“After a stylish intro, the Dezperadoz walk in the footsteps of western legend Wyatt Earp with lots of fun in their cheeks, sometimes rocking hard, sometimes casually bluesy. US-heavy hard rock à la Skid Row meets Morricone! The mix certainly works wonderfully live, and a dream comes true for western fans in the hard rock community. "
Web links and sources
- ^ Review of The Legend and the Truth at powermetal.de
- ^ Review of The Legend and the Truth at powermetal.de
- ↑ Brother Cle: Desperados . The Legend and the Truth. In: Rock Hard . No. 228 , May 2006 ( online [accessed November 29, 2015]).