Twilight - Eye For An Eye

Year of Release: 1995
Label: Olafsongs
Catalog Number: OCD 029
Format: CD
Total Time: 48:07:00

This is interesting ... I have the chance to review 3 bands, 4 different discs, all at the same time. It won't be a full blown review like I normally do because I'd be here until tomorrow writing that one up, but I know lots of people have been asking about these 3 bands, and now is a good time. The reason I am doing a tri-review, and what draws me to these bands, is the common denominator to all 3 bands, the singer. Anders Engberg is one of the best singers I have heard in metal and that is saying something. Lots of people are surprised that I even like this guy, and I can't understand that because his voice is very pleasing and powerful at the same time. He is not a growler or a screamer, although he can do both. What he does is sing great, and it always sounds like he is pouring his heart out into what he is doing. This is not to say that I enjoy everything he sings, as we will see, but I respected his voice enough to grab all of these discs and have them taped for me previously. So, with that in mind, here are my thoughts on these bands. In the order of preference as well.

[For the database, I had to split out Larry's reviews... but the order to read them in is Sorcerer, Lion's Share and Twilight - ed. Aug 2005]

I have had this for so long, I can't believe that it is only now just hitting me where it counts. I saved the best for last, and I believe that Anders Engberg had found his shining star with this band. What I believe has happened is that this band played exactly the music his voice is geared for. Melodic, heavy, crunchy, power / prog metal, with an emphasis on MELODIC. Fans of Tad Morose's Sender Of Thoughts will love this disc hands down. It has that crunch we like about that band, the coldness, but it's a coldness injected with so much warmth you can't help wonder how they mix it up like this to keep both sides of the fan base happy. If you remember back to Sender Of Thoughts, it was that cold-yet-warm style and sound that made that disc so great. Its the same approach here, but Twilight is much more melodic yet able to maintain a nice balance of power to keep those fans happy.

The interesting thing about this disc is the atmosphere. It's a haunting disc, with backing synths at every turn, making this sound so eerie. It is one of the few discs that I can play over and over again withoug getting tired of it. The best part of this disc is the combination of great vocals and excellent melodies combined with some nice crunching power. The disc is filled with moving numbers, and then some slow, grinding tunes but backed by those eerie keyboards making them great fun. In addition, Anders gets to do his best "King Diamond" growl on a song, and his best Jon Oliva imitation on a song called "Imperfektion," a song that comes dangerously close to sounding exactly like "Of Rage And War" off Gutter Ballet, sound effects and all.

There are several songs on this disc that would make me buy this just for the songs, something I wouldn't do normally. "Trial By Fire," "The Meeting," the title track "Eye For An Eye," and "Sail Away" give me chills every time I hear them with the title track being the show stopper here for me. Utterly haunting. I haven't even mentioned what Anders Engberg sounds like, but if you can imagine what Kris Andersen (ex-Tad Morose) sounds like, crossed with a little bit of Joe Lynn Turner, but with much more emotion and warmth than those two, you get the idea of what he sounds like. Anders always sounds like he is singing his heart out, and Eye For An Eye is the disc that I believe captures his true essence and variety, although in Lion's Share he does a hell of a job as well. It's just that in Twilight, he seems to have found that perfect blend of music that suits his voice. All I can say is that I am glad for some reason I decided to go back and see what was really going on with this disc. It has become one of the most played discs of the last month or two. The only negative, if you can call this a negative, is the CD artwork. It is one of the most unoriginal and unappropriate covers I have ever seen, and really has nothing to do with anything about the music. Aside from having to look at fish flying in and out of someone's mouth and nose, what is on the inside of this disc is simply amazing.

[The album was also released by Seagull International, and includes 2 bonus tracks, a different running order and some variant titles. The cover is the one above, left; In 2000 it was re-released by Lucretia Records (LU20005-2); that cover is on the right -ed.]

Previous - Lion's Share | Next - Sorcerer

Tracklisting:
Come Night Come Evil (5:32) / Eye For An Eye (6:00) / Imperfection (3:54) / Flashbacks (4:47) / River Of Styx (5:07) / Sol Et Luna (1:23) / Trial By Fire (4:09) / The Meeting (5:53) / To The End (5:27) / Sail Away (5:55)



Musicians:
Finn Zierler - keyboards and backing vocals
Anders Engberg - vocals
Micke D?rth - guitar and backing vocals
Janne Strandh - lead guitar
Kim Mikkelsen- bass
Thomas Fred?n - drums

Discography:
The Edge (1992 / 1999)
An Eye For An Eye (1995 / 2000)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin SE

Added: July 25th 1999
Reviewer: Larry "LarryD" Daglieri

Artist website: www.intromental.com/twilight
Hits: 3011
Language: english