War of Kings
| War of Kings | ||||
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| Studio album from Europe | ||||
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Publication |
March 2, 2015 |
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| Label (s) | Hell & Back Recordings | |||
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Title (number) |
11 |
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running time |
58:13 |
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Studio (s) |
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War of Kings is the title of the tenth studio album by the Swedish hard rock band Europe , released in 2015 . It was designed by Dave Cobb (u. A. Rival Sons ) produced .
background
With the album Bag of Bones in 2012, the band changed their sound towards the classic, British -influenced hard rock of the 1970s. The album produced by Kevin Shirley received mostly positive reviews, but some authors criticized the sound of the album. Thomas Zimmer stated in Rocks that as a result of the so-called “Loudness War”, the band had “fallen victim to a mastering that was too loud , which in connection with Shirley's already suboptimal mix for a dull, undifferentiated sound”. That takes "for example the stylish organ sounds of Mic Michaeli in pieces like Demon Head or My Woman My Friend some of their effect."
For the recordings of War of Kings , the group set itself the goal of using elements that could be reminiscent of earlier Europe records in order to achieve a more dramatic effect. Nevertheless, the influences of bands like Deep Purple , Rainbow , UFO or Led Zeppelin are clearly recognizable, overall the album offers more heaviness and force. Keyboardist Mic Michaeli in particular was given more space for his instruments; instead of relying almost exclusively on the Hammond organ , as was the case with Bag of Bones , he varied the sound spectrum primarily by using a mellotron , but also by using synthesizers .
David Cobb's engagement came about because the band liked Rival Sons' album Pressure and Time . The Europe management then offered to contact Cobb, who was interested and flew to Stockholm . While the songs for Bag of Bones were written in the studio while the album was being recorded, the band had meticulously prepared for War of Kings and had a clear idea of how the album should sound in the end. It was recorded completely live in order to have to overdub as little as possible.
War of Kings was released on March 2, 2015, the title song was decoupled as a single . The album reached number 23 in the German music charts and number 50 in Great Britain .
Track list
| War of Kings | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | title | Songwriter | length |
| 1. | War of Kings | Dave Cobb / John Leven / Joey Tempest | 4:36 |
| 2. | Hole in My Pocket | Leven / Tempest | 3:42 |
| 3. | The Second Day | Mic Michaeli / Tempest | 5:23 |
| 4th | Praise you | Cobb / Michaelmas / Tempest | 4:34 |
| 5. | Nothin 'to Ya | Ian Haugland / Leven / Michaelmas / John Norum / Tempest | 3:54 |
| 6th | California 405 | Michaelmas / Tempest | 4:31 |
| 7th | Days of Rock 'N' Roll | Tempest | 3:05 |
| 8th. | Children of the Mind | Cobb / Michaelmas / Tempest | 4:30 |
| 9. | Rainbow Bridge | Michaelmas / Tempest | 3:16 |
| 10. | Angels (With Broken Hearts) | Cobb / Haugland / Leven / Michaelmas / Norum / Tempest | 5:19 |
| 11. | Light It Up | Leven / Norum / Tempest | 6:10 |
| Overall length: | 58:13 | ||
reception
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For Rocks , Thomas Zimmer summed up under the heading “The saviors of classic rock,” the commitment of the Rival Sons producer could be an indication of Europe's indomitable will to “transport traditional hard rock into modern times.” They succeeded “a bit more convincingly and more subtle ”than on any other work since its resurrection. Was of Kings being a “temple of sound, created for stadiums, full of catchy songs.” It was “hymnic and rooted in tradition, but also carefully enriched with modern sounds.” There are also “a few mediocre songs,” but “ whether their glamorous execution could hardly scratch the size of this best European album of the 21st century. The title song promises what the album as a whole will hold, and the “full fat ballad” Angels With Broken Hearts is “miles away from former sweetener overdoses of the Carrie variety . “Classic hard rock has seldom sounded so“ stunningly good and timeless in the last three decades ”. The author awarded five out of six possible points.
The magazine named War of Kings in its 2015 album list .
Holger Stratmann wrote for Rock Hard , the Swedes built on the influences of their early days, which was based on the predecessor & # 132; Bag Of Bones & # 147; Sounded “very sovereign”. On & # 132; War Of Kings & # 147; would “go one step further” and let Dave Cobb conjure up an “even more analogue, more authentic seventies sound”, which was “actually a big plus of the album”. When the band "plays out their musical class in small jam sessions or musical fade-outs", there is "plenty of atmosphere" for those who "wanted to hear a band play" and "would love to do without computer tricks". The first half of the record delivers “high-class hard rock for Purple / Whitesnake friends,” but “the lively Led Zeppelin-like stomper” Nothin 'To Ya already “the last real highlight.” After that, the record becomes noticeably “boring, uninspired and average, "without Europe completely losing the thread, but this is a" question of entitlement. "
literature
- Majestic metamorphoses in: Rocks - The magazine for Classic Rock. Issue 02.2015, pages 38 & 39.
Web links
- War of Kings on YouTube , accessed October 27, 2019.
- War of Kings at Discogs (English)
- War of Kings at Allmusic (English). Retrieved October 27, 2019.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rocks - The magazine for Classic Rock; Issue 03/2012, page 48
- ↑ Europe in the German single charts on OfficialCharts.de, Europe in the Official UK Charts
- ↑ Rocks - The magazine for Classic Rock, issue 02.2015, page 98
- ↑ Rocks - The magazine for Classic Rock, issue 01.2016
- ↑ Rock Hard, Issue 334, February 25, 2015 , accessed October 27, 2019