SPV\/Playground<\/p>\n
Formed in 1998 by GAMMA RAY drummer Dan Zimmerman and vocalist\/guitarist Chris Bay, the band went on to stardom, healthy sales, extensive touring and unexpected member changes. Their debut \u201cStairway to Fairyland\u201d got them a good start in 1999 and all in all this is their seventh full-length release. Today\u00b4s lineup lacks Dan, who left in 2010, but Chris remains, while guitarist Lars Rettkowitz, bassist Sammy Saemann and drummer Klaus Sperling complete the ranks. 14 new tracks are on offer here, all fantasy and no doubt power metal with some imagination added.<\/p>\n
The bag-pipe sounding \u201cAge of the Phoenix\u201d does a respectable job as an opener, but the almost silly and somewhat ESC friendly \u201cRockstars\u201d does it even better. The over-adaptation of melody and power to the masses may be hard to muster for some, but the concept will work. \u201cCrimson Dawn\u201d is equally ridiculously well measured but the almost pop-like refrain will do the trick. The sing-along \u201c66 Warriors\u201d almost hits jackpot too, but misses by a millimeter. This is the most plusses I\u00b4ve jotted down this year. But some might say that \u201cHero on Video\u201d is closer to BUCKS FIZZ than heavy metal, or that the slick aimed and polished songs lack in spontaneity and true metal. Well, ther are two songs athat I think are way too average; \u201cRockin\u00b4 Radio\u201d is like a radio spot, and \u201cPower & Glory\u201d is simplicity in action and a blatant attempt at a simple live favorite. Apart from those two this is almost water-combed, but damned efficient at winning over fans!<\/p>\n
Track List
\nAge of the Phoenix
\nRockstar
\nCrimson Dawn
\n66 Warriors
\nBack into the Land of Light
\nSun in the Dark
\nHero on Video
\nValley of Kingdom
\nKiller Gear
\nRockin\u00b4 Radio
\nTerra Liberty
\nEternity
\nSpace Legends
\nPower & Glory<\/p>\n
www.spv.de www.myspace.com\/callforfreedom <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SPV\/Playground Formed in 1998 by GAMMA RAY drummer Dan Zimmerman and vocalist\/guitarist Chris Bay, the band went on to stardom, healthy sales, extensive touring and unexpected member changes. Their debut \u201cStairway to Fairyland\u201d got them a good start in 1999 and all in all this is their seventh full-length release. Today\u00b4s lineup lacks Dan, who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cd_reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1685\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.livestagemusic.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}