{"id":28872,"date":"2013-04-14T06:44:40","date_gmt":"2013-04-14T11:44:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=28872"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:35:09","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:35:09","slug":"nick-hellfort-the-mask-within-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/nick-hellfort-the-mask-within-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Nick Hellfort | The Mask Within<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"NickThe Mask Within<\/em> is the much delayed but long anticipated release from Nick Hellfort \u2013 the solo project of Tokyo Blade\u2019s dynamic front man, Nicolaj Ruhnow. Part melodic metal, part progressive metal, part old school hard rock, performed with power and intensity \u2013 Nick Hellfort rocks in every way possible.<\/p>\n

Due to his obligations with Tokyo Blade, Ruhnow was forced to delay the Nick Hellfort project. Perhaps it was for the best, as Ruhnow decided to re-record many of the vocals and retool some of the tracks on The Mask Within<\/em> based on his experiences with Tokyo Blade both in the studio and on the road. The result is a finely polished, musically mature, and well performed release.<\/p>\n

Nick Hellfort extends it\u2019s (his?) roots back to at least 2007, when the band recorded it first demo tracks, \u201cThe Messenger\u201d and \u201cCrusader\u201d (included as bonus tracks on the CD). Over the years, the group went through a few lineup changes and now consists of vocalist Nicolaj Ruhnow (Tokyo Blade, Domain), guitarists Andreas Siefert (Nachtschatten) and Matthias Holzapfel (Evertale, ex-Necrophagist), bassist Steven Wussow (Domain, Xandria), and drummer Daiv Carpenter (Flashpoint Serenade). Despite being billed as a debut release, the members of Nick Hellfort are all seasoned veterans, and the experience shows. Solid performances by all, particularly the rhythm guitars and their tight integration with bass and drums, should make any metal fan feel at home. However, the vocals are the icing on the cake. Ruhnow\u2019s power, diction and enormous range blend together the best aspects of Tim \u201cRipper\u201d Owens, Rob Halford, and James LaBrie. He also does not live and die by the extremes of his range, delivering a controlled and mature performance.<\/p>\n

Musical highlights include the raw power and odd tempo changes (and Ruhnow\u2019s maniacal laughter) on \u201cTemple Of Kings;\u201d the full use of Ruhnow\u2019s massive rang on \u201cFame Is Just A Whore;\u201d the softer and reflective delivery \u2013 and thought provoking lyrics – of \u201cStepwise & Silently;\u201d the biting social commentary of \u201cPerception;\u201d the brilliant bluesy bass work on \u201cFor All Time;\u201d the entire upbeat \u201cLifeline;\u201d and the super proggy sounds of \u201cJourney Throu\u2019 A Cop Of Tea.\u201d The two bonus tracks provide and interesting look at how the band has modified its overall sound since 2007. There are a few minor flaws here \u2013 the rather pointless instrumental \u201cThe Arrival\u201d and a few interludes that seem to drag on a bit too long, but these are easily overshadowed by the fine performances elsewhere.<\/p>\n

The Mask Within<\/em> was produced by Arne Lakenmacher, who allowed Ruhnow to explore the limits of his musical world and fully express his creativity. Varied tones and tempos fill the album, and all of the songs are well written and solidly structured. The engineering is excellent all around, and it allows all of the musicians to be heard and appreciated.<\/p>\n

This is a blue collar album \u2013 a simple, straight forward and passionate release by one of the finest and most versatile metal vocalists active today.<\/p>\n

Genre: Progressive Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nNicolaj Ruhnow – vocals
\nDaiv Carpenter – drums
\nSteven Wussow – bass
\nAndreas Siefert – guitars
\nMatthias Holzapfel – guitars<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tTemple Of Kings
\n2.\tFame Is Just A Whore
\n3.\tStepwise & Silently
\n4.\tThe Arrival
\n5.\tPerception
\n6.\tFor All Time
\n7.\tLifeline
\n8.\tThe Antichrist Wore Black
\n9.\tJourney Throu’ A Cup Of Tea
\n10.\t Crusaders (2007 demo)
\n11.\t The Messenger (2007 demo)<\/p>\n

Label: Sonic Revolution\/Fastball Music <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis – Senior Columnist — The Mask Within is the much delayed but long anticipated release from Nick Hellfort \u2013 the solo project of Tokyo Blade\u2019s dynamic front man, Nicolaj Ruhnow. Part melodic […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":28874,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[336,3987,1098,334,7411],"class_list":{"0":"post-28872","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2013","8":"tag-cd","9":"tag-fastball-music","10":"tag-progressive-metal","11":"tag-review","12":"tag-sonic-revolution"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28872","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=28872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28872\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}