{"id":22106,"date":"2012-09-14T07:48:10","date_gmt":"2012-09-14T12:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=22106"},"modified":"2013-02-05T16:26:30","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T21:26:30","slug":"gothic-knights-reflections-from-the-other-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/gothic-knights-reflections-from-the-other-side\/","title":{"rendered":"Gothic Knights | Reflections From The Other Side<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"GothicNo matter how many times it is pronounced dead, the American Power Metal scene continues to defy and occasionally puts out a strong contender. From out of the Big Apple comes the newest release from Gothic Knights \u2013 and their Reflections From The Other Side<\/em><\/strong> proves that they can stand toe to toe with the best of their European counterparts.<\/p>\n

Gothic Knights is not a worldwide name, but they’ve been playing epic power metal since 1990. Founded by guitarist John Tzantis \u2013 and anchored by bassist Mario Cosentino and singer Rick Sanchez, Gothic Knights went underground and survived the grunge era after releasing a demo (To Hell and Back<\/em> \u2013 1994) and two full length CDs (Gothic Knights<\/em> in 1996 and Kingdom of the Knights<\/em> in 1999). After a brief recording break, they put out their third CD Up From The Ashes<\/em> in 2003. The band then retooled themselves by adding drummer Kevin DeDario, guitarist David \u201cThe 3rd\u201d Seligman and keyboard man Jared Sloan. Finally after years of touring and festival gigs, Gothic Knights has just released its latest epic, Reflections From The Other Side<\/em>. Melding pure power metal with hints of Gothic and progressive metal, this album is a winner.<\/p>\n

The album immediately kicks off on a high with a very Judas Priest-Painkiller-inspired \u201cDeath From Above.\u201d Big guitars, Halford-esque vocals and an awesome rhythm line set the bar for the rest of the album very high. \u201cLord of the Underworld\u201d continues the power attack, again featuring blistering guitars, massive bass and rapid-fire drums. Rick Sanchez utilizes his full vocal range \u2013 from a deep growl to a piercing but pitch-perfect falsetto scream and doesn’t hit a sour note throughout. Well played keyboards and high range vocals make \u201cWelcome To My Horror\u201d a melodramatic and creepy nightmare, the one song that does truly display elements of the Gothic metal genre. The murky and moody tone continues through the rich Grim Reaper imagery of \u201cScythe Denied\u201d. This track features some of the strongest guitar work on the release \u2013 both lead and rhythm really rock! Interesting vocals and choppy hooks drive the Salem-inspired \u201c1689, Trial of the Witch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShadows of Time\u201d has a bit of a Dream Theater sound and presents an interesting take on immortality \u2013 great drum work on this one, and Sanchez does an amazing job with his vocals. A mid-tempo rocker, \u201cDevil’s Playground\u201d has a nice-old school feel to it, and the lyrics do a fine job describing the horrors of war. Great guitar hooks, squeals, and harmonics highlight Sanchez’s powerful and smooth vocals on \u201cZero Hour,\u201d while \u201cWriting on the Wall\u201d brings on an Anthrax-like brutality. The nightmarish instrumental \u201cAve Satani\u201d leads into the epic conclusion of \u201cThe Omen\u201d – inspired by the classic film of the same name. This track is an \u201ceverything but the kitchen sink\u201d piece, from odd tempo changes and double bass drumming to epic choral vocals and lyrics in Latin. If they every remake \u201cThe Omen\u201d, this will have to be on the soundtrack \u2013 Damien would be proud…<\/p>\n

Reflections<\/em> is well-performed and well-engineered, recording in their own studio so they could have full control of their sound. The instruments are nicely balanced and the vocals crisp and clear. Tzantis and Seligman make a fine guitar duo, playing off each other and delivering crushing riffs and solid solos. DeDario (drums) and Cosentino (bass) provide a driving bottom end and also make a great team. Sloan’s keyboards are always appropriate to the track and never dominate, yet they are an essential and vital part of the music. <\/p>\n

If you like your power metal dark, heavy, and intense then you won’t want to miss Gothic Knight’s Reflections From The Other Side<\/em>. Varied old school influences are obvious (and well done), but the album manages to keep a freshness about it and never becomes a clich\u00e9 or \u201csound-alike\u201d. Despite all the dark lyrics and images, the album is good fun and manages to steer away from being offensive in any way. Precise, pure, and very technical, the music of Gothic Knights will not disappoint even the most jaded power metal fans. American metal lives! Recommended!<\/p>\n

Genre: Power Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nJohn Tzantis (guitars)
\nRick \u201cWarlock\u201d Sanchez (vocals)
\nMario Cosentino (bass)
\nKevin DeDario (drums)
\nDavid \u201cThe 3rd\u201d Seligman (guitars)
\nJared Sloan (keyboards)
\nGuest Performer: Melissa Sanchez (backing vocals on \u201cThe Omen\u201d)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tDeath From Above
\n2.\tLord of the Underworld
\n3.\tWelcome To My Horror
\n4.\tScythe Denied
\n5.\t1689, Trial of the Witch
\n6.\tShadows of Time
\n7.\tDevil’s Playground
\n8.\tZero Hour
\n9.\tWriting on the Wall
\n10.\t Ave Satani
\n11.\t The Omen<\/p>\n

Label: InnerSphere Music<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/gothicknights.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis – Columnist — No matter how many times it is pronounced dead, the American Power Metal scene continues to defy and occasionally puts out a strong contender. From out of the Big […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6772],"tags":[336,6037,1097,334],"class_list":{"0":"post-22106","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-cd","8":"tag-hardrockhaven-net","9":"tag-power-metal","10":"tag-review"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22106\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}