Elegy - Principles Of Pain


Year of Release: 2002
Label: Locomotive Music
Catalog Number: FRCD523
Format: CD
Total Time: 57:53:00

Since their first album Labyrinth Of Dreams back in 1993, I have always been a fan of this great progressive metal band. The departure of singer Eduard Hovinga brought in to the line-up none other than Vengeance singer Ian Parry and the release of State Of Mind in 1997 marked a major change in Elegy's music.

Album after album, Parry and co have managed to release strong albums and with the more recent arrival of French guitar heroe Patrick Rondat, the new sound of Elegy was finally complete. Starting with Forbidden Fruit, Elegy, with a mix between Malmsteen influences [and] progressive and power metal tendencies, [find] their sound is polished on Principles Of Pain. In fact, the contribution of Rondat is massive on Principles Of Pain. And it shows. This album features the most heavy material since the album Lost, with Rondat showcasing some great soloing throughout the album which also some really fresh riffing and time changes - just listen to the first song of the album ("Under My Skin"), where the time changes are pure progressive candy for the ears.

Fans of the AOR sound of State Of Mind won't be disappointed either due mainly to the keyboard sound which is pretty similar to what could be found on that album. A major complaint for a lot of fans concerned Manifestion Of Fear where the vocal lines were too linear. This is not the case with Principles Of Pain. This must be the most diverse vocal melodies Parry has ever created which ranks him high in the top 10 of the best melodic metal singers out there. His voice is warm, strong, and really versatile. A surprise awaits the fans of Elegy's earliest work since Eduard Hovinga (Prime Time) sings some verses in the song "Missing Person" which represents a great opportunity for new fans discovering the band of hearing the first Elegy singer.

All in all, this new release from the band is nothing more, nothing less than you expect for this ever growing high class prog metal band.

Similar To: Royal Hunt, Ian Parry's Consortium Project I & II

[This review originally appeared November 2002 at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]
Tracklisting:
Under My Skin / The Inner Room / No Code No Honour / Walking Nightmare / Pilgrims Parade / Principles Of Pain / Creatures Of Habit / Silence In The Wind / Hypothesis / Missing Persons / A Child's Breath / Bonus Track: Silence In The Wind (acoustic)

Musicians:
Ian Parry - vocals
Dirk Bruinenberg - drums
Patrick Rondat - guitar
Martin Helmantel - bass

Discography:
Labyrinth of Dreams (1993)
Supremacy (1994)
Lost (1995)
Primal Instinct (1996)
State of Mind (1997)
Manifestation of Fear (1998)
Forbidden Fruit (2000)
Principles Of Pain (2002)

Genre: Progressive-Power Metal

Origin DE

Added: December 18th 2004
Reviewer: Mathieu Chamberland
Score:
Artist website: www.ianparry.com
Hits: 2229
Language: english

  

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