{"id":30226,"date":"2013-06-17T09:12:30","date_gmt":"2013-06-17T14:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=30226"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:36:17","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:36:17","slug":"magnus-karlsson-free-fall-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/magnus-karlsson-free-fall-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Magnus Karlsson | Free Fall<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"MAGNWow! Amazing! Awesome! There is not much more that can be said about Free Fall<\/em>, the solo debut of Primal Fear \/ Last Tribe guitarist Magnus Karlsson. The Swede proves himself to be a complete musician \u2013 playing everything but drums, and singing lead on three tracks. He is so much more than an ordinary guitarist. Magnus has gathered a vocal line up that is second to none, and the well written songs and strong performances on this release make Free Fall<\/em> a must have for any fan of modern metal.<\/p>\n

Karlsson\u2019s relationship with Frontiers Records goes back to 2000 when his band Last Tribe signed with the Italian label. In 2008 he joined Germany\u2019s Primal Fear and hasn\u2019t looked back. Magnus has also written for and produced a number of well-known artists and musicians, and his collaboration with these artists has led to Free Fall. Tailoring each song to the chosen singer, Magnus and drummer Daniel Flores have put out a refreshing album by a well-known guitarist that is NOT just about the guitars – although there are enough six-string fireworks to satisfy the most hard core guitar fan. This release is all about the music.<\/p>\n

Massive guitar and keyboard histrionics open \u201cFree Fall,\u201d but it becomes a powerful metal anthem filled with great guitar hooks and an insane lead break, and features Russell Allen\u2019s superb voice channeling a bit of Ronnie James Dio. Drummer Flores proves his mettle by keeping up with Karlsson\u2019s manic guitar and bass work. \u201cHigher\u201d is a pure power metal track with great guitars, but Ralf Scheepers gives perhaps the best vocal performance on the album \u2013 a fine example of the song written for the singer. Karlsson himself steps in front of the microphone for the uplifting modern rocker \u201cHeading Out,\u201d and he also demonstrates his keyboard prowess \u2013 once again performing as the \u201ctotal package\u201d with only Daniel Flores backing him on the drums. Tony Harnell\u2019s silky voice highlights the soaring power ballad \u201cStronger,\u201d and Magnus shows that he has a \u201csoft and sensitive\u201d side by conveying a good deal of emotion throughout the track.<\/p>\n

Intricate keyboard riffs quickly morph into a crunchy guitar-driven rhythm line on the slightly darker and very heavy \u201cNot My Saviour\u201d \u2013 a track that highlight\u2019s Karlsson\u2019s bass chops and the raw ability of Daniel Flores. Once again, Karlsson has written a track uncannily suited to Rick Altzi\u2019s gritty voice and gutsy delivery. David Readman\u2019s smooth vocals and Karlsson\u2019s slick guitars make \u201cUs Against The World\u201d a radio-friendly arena rock anthem with a great bridge, massive solo, and flowing undercurrent of keyboards. Mark Boals does a staggering job voicing the razor sharp \u201cOur Time Has Come,\u201d a track filled with stinging riffs, squealing harmonics, and massive drums. Karlsson once again sings on the dynamic and upbeat \u201cReady Or Not\u201d \u2013 easily his strongest vocal performance. Surprisingly, Magnus lets his vocals drive the song, with his superb guitar work only stepping to the fore during the bridge and solo.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast Tribe\u201d has a symphonic-power-metal feel to it, once again perfectly suited to the singer (Rickard Bengtsson in this case). The chorus is epic. \u201cFighting\u201d also has a somewhat symphonic opening, but is a real arena rocker through and through \u2013 an upbeat sing-along modern rock track with an infectious beat. \u201cDreamers & Hunters\u201d is a progressive metal-tinged song with more prominent keyboards. Mike Andersson does a great job with the lead, and his voice floats nicely over the keys during the verse and manages to punch solidly through the guitars in the chorus. No guitarist\u2019s album would be complete without some acoustic guitars, and the opening of \u201cOn Fire\u201d fills that niche. Magnus sings again with feeling and passion, a fitting finale to the CD.<\/p>\n

No matter how you slice it, Magnus Karlsson\u2019s Free Fall is one of the strongest albums of 2013 to date, and a superb solo effort in every sense. This is not a guitarist\u2019s vanity release, but a sincere effort by a multi-talented musician \/ songwriter to create something special. Thanks to the support of his friends to back up his own vast talents, Karlsson succeeds admirably. This is an amazing release filled with great songs, excellent performances, varied styles and tempos \u2013 and is totally free of clich\u00e9! In short, it ROCKS!<\/p>\n

Genre: Melodic Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nMagnus Karlsson \u2013 Lead Vocals \/ Guitars \/ Bass \/ Keyboards
\nDaniel Flores \u2013 Drums
\nGuest Vocalists: Russell Allen (Symphony X \/ Adrenaline Mob), Ralf Scheepers (Gamma Ray \/ Primal Fear), Tony Harnell (TNT \/ Westworld \/ Starbreaker), Rick Altzi (Masterplan \/ Thunderstone \/ Herman Frank), David Readman (Pink Cream 69 \/ Voodoo Circle \/ Missa Mercuria), Mark Boals (YJM\u2019s Rising Force \/ Uli Jon Roth \/ Royal Hunt), Rickard Bengtsson (Last Tribe \/ Armageddon), Herman Saming (A.C.T. \/ Locomotive Breath), Mike Andersson (Cloudscape \/ Silent Memorial)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tFree Fall (vocals by Russell Allen)
\n2.\tHigher (vocals by Ralf Scheepers)
\n3.\tHeading Out (vocals by Magnus Karlsson)
\n4.\tStronger (vocals by Tony Harnell)
\n5.\tNot My Saviour (vocals by Rick Altzi)
\n6.\tUs Against The World (vocals by David Readman)
\n7.\tOur Time Has Come (vocals by Mark Boals)
\n8.\tReady or Not (vocals by Magnus Karlsson)
\n9.\tLast Tribe (vocals by Rickard Bengtsson)
\n10.\tFighting (vocals by Herman Saming)
\n11.\tDreamers & Hunters (vocals by Mike Andersson)
\n12.\tOn Fire (vocals by Magnus Karlsson)<\/p>\n

Label: Frontiers Records<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MAGNUSKARLSSONSFREEFALL<\/a>, http:\/\/www.frontiers.it<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9.5 \/ 10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis – Senior Columnist — Wow! Amazing! Awesome! There is not much more that can be said about Free Fall, the solo debut of Primal Fear \/ Last Tribe guitarist Magnus Karlsson. The […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":30227,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[336,2336,374,4004,3061,3439,259,334,3231],"class_list":{"0":"post-30226","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2013","8":"tag-cd","9":"tag-david-readman","10":"tag-frontiers-records","11":"tag-magnus-karlsson","12":"tag-mark-boals","13":"tag-melodic-metal","14":"tag-primal-fear","15":"tag-review","16":"tag-russell-allen"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30226","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=30226"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30226\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}