Independent review

In 2017 Tobias Sammet managed without full-length albums, but released a double the best with as many as five new songs and one unreleased one. I am always wary when half an album of new material suddenly appears on a greatest hits collection. It is one thing to add one or two potential new hits, but when there are five tracks, it seems that there was not enough material for an album, so they shoved everything they had onto the collection. Ravenblack has a decent riff, but it lacks completeness; Wrestle the Devil uses the wrong part as the chorus, the moment before the solo is good; Open sesame rocks until the chorus starts; Landmarks - typical Avantasia and the best of the new pieces, a high-speed power action track; The mountaineer is virtuoso, but completely banal, a typical late-period opus by Sammet; The old unreleased demo Reborn in the waste easily beats all the new creations with its originality and good chorus. A typical problem for Sammet lately - he does not always understand where to go next. He senses a theme and does not spin it to the maximum, as a result, it gets lost in melodiousness and banality. To paraphrase a famous action hero: He needs a vacation. Otherwise, even the ardent fans of his metal talent are starting to get tired of the same type of works, not to mention the average listener. Let him rest, gather his thoughts, and return to the level of at least 2014.

Likes: 0