author: cesar romero
good to hear your voice again Harley
Read more...
ROCKERS
author: CINDY
HI HARLEY I DID\'T REVIEW THE ALBUM YET BUT I DON\'T HAVE TO I KNOW IT\'S GREAT I REMEMBER YOUR VOICE IN THE PARKING LOT OF ROCKERS NOT THAT YOU WOULD REMEMBER BUT I DO.
Read more...
Great heavy metal vocals on a dramatic Queensrÿche style bed of epic and atmosph
author: maddrakkett
After spinning this disc a few times, the songs have really grown on me a lot. The tunes are catchy, dramatic and atmospheric (think along the lines of the verses to "Jet City Woman" by Queensrÿche - in fact, Harley displays a strong Geoff Tate influence, moreso than a Halford one, though he had trained with Halford and the backing vocal screams are very Halford-like) and the production is interesting in that Harley does all the instrumentation on his computer, yet manages to get good authentic sounds and adds some very cool spacey effects!
One other thing that stands out on this release is the vocals are the main player here, as they should be, for this is Harley Van Kirk's forte! The music may be generated, but the vocals are purely human and incredible at that. The vocals are more than just the star player here - they are world-class in terms of heavy metal quality. They are not your run-of-the-mill, dime-a-dozen johnny-come-lately drivel. They didn't call Harley "Leather Neck" for nothing!
Are there any negatives? Sure, as with any new release from a rising artist. The drums could be more intricate and involved and there could be more up-tempo metal rockers, and a real metal guitar could take the place of several of the synth textures... but then it would not meet the purpose of displaying the vocals over an epic, spacey/spiritual tale! Perhaps with future projects, Harley will explore such things, but for now, this is a great start for an independent musician and the future looks quite bright for a rising voice in the arena of mainstream metal!
Long live the Harlinator!
Read more...