Mob Rules - Temple Of Two Suns (2000)

Mob Rules' second album continues their story of the end of the world, which started on SAVAGE LAND, and I think it's an improvement, with more consistent tunes, highlights including "Outer Space", "Unknownman" and "Evolution's Falling".  There's nothing ground breaking here, but what it does, it does well, helping make Temple Of Two Suns quite an enjoyable listen.

***

So here ends the twentieth century (no, it did not finish at the end of 1999), and I will be taking another break from these reviews for a bit while I 'prepare' for 2001 and beyond.  There has been some ordinary music, for sure, but also some greatness and, overall, I see no reason to change my view that power metal is the most enjoyable and exciting genre of rock music around today.
Long may it live, in all its glorious cheesiness.

Artension - Machine (2000)

I was having my doubts about continuing with Artension after their previous album FORCES OF NATURE, which I thought was totally forgettable. I hadn't been all that excited by their first two either, they didn't seem to have too much to do with power metal, and whatever metal they were associated with wasn't calling out to me. But this one's pretty good.  There's no denying Vitalij Kuprij's keyboard skills, whether it be piano or... keyboards (what used to be called organs), and they are very notable here, like with the concluding "I See Through Your Disguise", while other songs that caught my attention include "Madness Calling" and "Evolution In Reverse".
Machine is not an album I can see myself running back to, and I probably will put Artension aside once I have finished listening to their stuff (i.e. sell their CDs on Ebay), but at least it kept me pretty entertained.

***

Nocturnal Rites - Afterlife (2000)

Nocturnal Rites' fourth album, and their first with new vocalist Jonny Lindqvist (replacing Anders Zackrisson) is their grimmest, focusing, pretty much, on death, with such song titles as "Wake Up Dead", "Hell And Back", "Sacrifice", "Temple Of The Dead" and "Hellenium".  It's also their weakest, with not a lot of memorable material. This Swedish band has always been kind of rudimentary but, at the same time, fairly enjoyable. But here they have not been able to grab me, with just moments of interest with the likes of "Hell And Back" and "Temple Of The Dead."

**

Dark Moor - The Hall Of The Olden Dreams (2000)

Dark Moor's debut SHADOWLAND was a good and very promising release, let down, at least partly, by weak vocals.  Here, Elisa Martin comes through much stronger, again helped by the male backing voices, and there're some good moments here, but also weak stuff. Things start well with the graceful "Somewhere In Dreams", and finish grandly thanks to "Quest For The Eternal Flame" and "Hand In Hand.". However, it's a bit patchy in the middle, especially with the ordinary ballad "The Sound Of The Blade". There are still good moments dotted throughout; it's just that some of the songs overall aren't as good as they could have been.
But, again, this is good power metal overall, and one hopes they can continue to improve.

***1/2

Skylark - Divine Gates Part II: Gate Of Heaven (2000)

Well, here we are with Skylark again. I've not been very kind to this band in the past, and was not past mocking the GATE OF HELL album before this, and finished hoping Heaven was better.
And it is, to a degree.
The vocals are still autotuned, but not always. The singing in "Lady Of The Sky" is different, and the best I've heard from them, helping make that ten minute piece a highlight, while "The Guardian Angel" and the twelve minute "The Heaven Church" are also quite good, assisted by appealling keyboards (a strength they've had in the past).
Another strength (and the only time I'd praise them over Virgin Steele) is their use of different voices for the different characters, rather than just one. On the other hand, some of the material is still rather forgettable - they're yet to bring out anything that contains consistent and notable melodies.
I don't know if Skylark will ever win me over. But there's something about them that keeps me interested, and wanting to hear what they've got to offer next. Hence, I'm continuing to collect their releases. Who knows? Maybe Heaven is the start of divine progress.

***

Virgin Steele - The House Of Atreus: Act II (2000)

I've found Virgin Steele increasingly harder to get into, not because they're not good, but from the growing length of their albums. So for this second act of the greek mythology tragedies to reach an hour and a half, I balked a bit. But Mr DeFeis knows how to deliver.
The length is the main drawback, as I have not been able to give it all that many listens. Upon sitting down and listening to it just now, there's certainly good stuff here, like the opening "Wings Of Vengeance" and the rousing conclusion (about eighty minutes later) "Resurrection Day (The Finale)", while "Flames Of Thy Power (From Blood They Rise)" is fine too, but I found myself drifting through some of the smaller noodlings, and longer songs, at times. As with its predecessor, it would also have been better if there were different voices playing the different roles, rather than DeFeis snarl-singing through them all.
I expect this will grow on me with time. For now, I'll have to say that David DeFeis has brought out another album of quality, but pleeeassee cut down the excess a bit.

***1/2

Helloween - The Dark Ride (2000)

With the plethora of power metal bands emerging at the turn of the century, it's easy to forget about the 'original' one, Helloween.  And I'm in danger of doing that, since they've never been my favourites.  But this album has raised their bar for me.
Like the title suggests, it's a topically dark release, with names like "Mr Torture", "Escalation 666", and "I Live For Your Pain", but the band has never been more consistent with its anthemic song-writing and performing. Such songs as "Mr Torture", "If I Could Fly", "The Departed", "We Damn The Night" and "Immortal" are amongst their best of all, showing great melodious skill and arrangements.  And, typically for power metal, the overall experience is not all that dark anyway.
Guitarist Roland Grapow and drummer Uli Kusch were kicked out after this, and they went on to form Masterplan. I'll be getting to them soon, but they did finish the Helloween part of their careers with one hell of a record.

****1/2