(Power/Neoclassical Metal) [CD] Concerto Moon - After the Double Cross - 2004, APE (image+.cue), lossless

Треклист:
1. 30 Min. in the Darkness 05:54
2. Waiting for a Miracle 04:20
3. Find the Key 06:01
4. Found in This City 04:44
5. The Gladiator 05:56
6. Fall Down 05:42
7. Where Are You? 06:06
8. Puppet in the Mirror 04:14
9. Tell Everything 03:51
10. Concerto Moon 05:14

Треклист:
1. Smooth Dancer (Deep Purple) 04:05
2. Point of Know Return (Kansas) 03:05
3. Hiroshima mon Amour (Alcatrazz) 03:53
4. Too Much Love Will Kill You (Brian May) 04:42
5. I Surrender (Rainbow) 05:46

Concerto Moon are arguably one of the metal worlds best-kept secrets. The late 1990's saw them gain some recognition outside their native Japan thanks to 4 albums being released via Limb Records. Sadly one presumes sales of these were not strong enough to see further albums licensed for release - a shame. However, the rest of the worlds loss is Japan's gain and Concerto Moon have seen their stature grow with each release since Takashi Inoue became the bands vocalist in 2002. 2003's Life On The Wire saw a somewhat more commercial sound enter the fray alongside the bands normal neo-classically tinged metallic delights - think of the band as a mix of Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen and Loudness. However, After The Double Cross sees a heavier return, yet the band still yield immense melodies throughout.

Band leader and guitarist Norifumi Shima (Japan's answer to Ritchie Blackmore and Yngwie Malmsteen) again shows impressive song crafting skills and his guitar work is as top notch as usual. The production on After The Double Cross is the best yet from Concerto Moon being full bodied and muscular. The performances from the other band members are also worthy of praise, and despite an at times incoherent nature of Inoue's vocals, for the majority of times he has a good style and very distinctive.

Coming with the new 10-track album is a limited edition 5 track bonus CD, home to covers of classics by Deep Purple, Rainbow, Kansas and Alcatrazz. This is a strong addition showing the bands influences (Shima nails Malmsteen's lead breaks in Hiroshima Mon Amour) with the rendition of I Surrender being particularly noteworthy thanks to Shima's extended guitar solo.

However, getting back to the real reason for this review, After The Double Cross opens with the barnstorming 30 Mins In The Darkness. Arguably Concerto Moon's finest opener to an album yet (quite a feat!). The song has all the trademarks Concerto Moon are known for - a blistering riff, great rhythm section and above all superb song writing.

The pace remains frantic for Waiting For A Miracle, which has a Dio era Rainbow vibe around it. The vocals on the verse suffer a little from being incomprehensible (even with the lyric sheet), but the good harmonised chorus makes up for this. The track is home to another blistering solo from Shima before Toshiyuki Koike follows up with a keyboard solo. Shima then comes blasting back in with a strong melodic classically influenced motif before the chorus returns.

Find The Key is another energy filled track, with an almost classic metal verse and main riff, however the pre chorus has some strong harmony counterpoint guitar harmonies. The chorus is great with a real sense of atmosphere before launching back into the blistering main riff again. Shima's solo is one of the best on the album being full of his trademark licks and perfect execution. Find The Key has all the ingredients of being a killer live track.

Found In This City harks back to the bands sound on Life On The Wire with its slightly more commercial tint. The chorus is particularly strong with a good vocal hook from Inoue and is home to a Deep Purple feel. Shima delivers a relatively restrain solo that reinforces the more melodic nature of the track before taking the sound into neo-classical waters before expertly leading it back to the more melodic sound.

The Gladiator is reminiscent of the bands earlier works (From Father To Son era) and as such is a nice contrast to the other material on offer. This pales into insignificance when the gothic Fall Down hits the speakers. A superb riff leads into a dark eerie verse that sees some atmospheric sitar for good measure before the riff satisfied you once again. The track takes an unexpected turn for a melodic bridge before going back to the darker tone.

Where Are You? is more keyboard heavy than many of the other tracks. Its pretty much Concerto Moon's take on a light and shade epic power ballad. Inoue's vocals do suffer a little on the first verse as they are quite naked, but work well again on the heavier sections. The second verse sees Inoue fair better and here the track takes on a very delightful quality as Shima injects some understated acoustic guitar work. The chorus has a classic Malmsteen feel (alá Dreaming) and again works extremely well. Shima's solo is something truly special, bending notes, making them hang before injecting vibrato given a great sense of tension and relief, its also a great example of how to build a solo. Overall a very good track that suffers slightly by the first verse vocals.

Puppet In The Mirror is another uptempo ripper that is home to a great pummelling riff that sees Shima, Takanobu Kimoto (bass) and Showichi Takeoka (drums) really locking into to a powerhouse delivery. Shima's solo has a Blackmore feel to it and is perfectly suited to the nature of the track.

Tell Everything has another very classy, melodic in nature later day Rainbow feel to it on the main riff. The verse is relatively laid back before the Hammond Organ work of Toshiyuki Koike drives the pre-chorus and chorus hard. Shima's simple riffing here pays dividends and allows the melodic maturity of the track to come through for maximum impact. The guitar solo starts out very restraint and picks up as the backing does, here Kimoto's bass work is very strong propelling the track on. A track destined to be a Concerto Moon classic.

Concerto Moon (the track) closes the album and its another up-tempo metallic affair. There is still a strong dose of melody within the riffery thanks to Koike's keyboard work. A strong chorus is guaranteed to make this an encore ending live favourite for years to come. However the classical melody from Shima to introduce his blistering guitar solo is also worthy of praise. Overall another strong track to the close the album.

After The Double Cross is probably Concerto Moon's most consistent album to date. The song writing is now at a standard where the quality is sustained for a whole album, and this shows where the band has really progressed. Earlier albums have always shown glimpses of what the band can achieve but the continuity was only there for 75% of an album. This new found focus and overall improvement in production and delivery means this album is of a very high standard indeed. As previously mentioned the vocal work of Inoue do get a little incomprehensible at times, yet this does not really detract as the melodies are strong. Norifumi Shima once again comes out as the overall star and deservedly so - he is an unsung guitar master.

After The Double Cross deserves a domestic release outside Japan, however, as this would seem unlikely do yourself a favour and stump up the import price - its worth it.

Norifumi Shima guitars
Toshiyuki Koike Keyboards
Takashi Inoue Vocals
Takanobu Kimoto Bass
Shoichi Takeoka Drums