Eternal Battle
Avenguard

Ok, ok, I understand that sometimes a good instrumental will be the pinnacle of a very good work. But there are times when vocals really can make a very good work go to another level. And on the case of the solo guitarist AVENGUARD's new album, "Eternal Battle", this is the first that your Old Big Daddy here had after hearing the album.
The main case can be described this way: this Greek guy shows a lot of talent on the six strings, showing a great worry in making music, not on showing an extreme technique on guitars. This is his great point, the best quality in his work. But at the very same time, when we hear his music, we can feel the need of a vocalist. It's not bad, please, but could be way better with some vocals. The atmospheric sound of keyboards along with guitars and drums show a great result, but there's the sensation of "something is missing" in greater part of the songs.
The sound production is clear, no doubt about this aspect, but it's not so good as it could be in terms of quality. Sometimes on distorted guitars, the sound seems like it was "compressed" or "narrowed".
Well, as your Big Daddy said, it's not bad, and have some great songs, the ones that can make hope breeds in our hearts and believe in his work, songs like "Sword and Spear" (very good riffs and the song's atmosphere is fine), "Wild Fire", the introspective and climatic "Never Again", the beautiful "Lady of the Lake" (the keyboards and pianos creates a very good and tender atmosphere to guitars), the grandiose "Rock in Style 2014 (Evaggelos Tozos)", and the heavy and thunderous "Truth Lies Bleeding". All of these songs are extremely fine, but claims for a great vocalist (not some baritone tunes, please).
Very good work, but it's time to go to a higher level.
8 / 10
Excellent
"Eternal Battle" Track-listing:
1. Sword and Spear
2. Tentalon
3. Wild Fire
4. Never Again
5. Marathon
6. One Way to Glory
7. Lady of the Lake
8. Rock in Style 2014 (Evaggelos Tozos)
9. And so it Begun
10. The Throne of Metal
11. Truth Lies Bleeding
Avenguard Lineup:
Avenguard - Guitars, keyboards, programming
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