Reviews of "Nostradamus"

NIKOLO KOTZEV’S NOSTRADAMUS
(Steamhammer/SPV)


For delight of followers of symphonic rock/AOR melodic music, this is one of the most interesting and solid recent samples. Strictly from the listener's point of view, one immediately glimpses that the creative effort behind "Nostradamus" has been impeccable and quite huge. The wise selection of vocalists is, without a doubt, the most appealing ingredient of this conceptual double disc (which could be labeled as a rock opera, yes). Musicwise, the songwriting is consistent, not boring at all, and I would say intelligent: melodies are kept simple enough and go straight to the point, orchestral arrangements are clean and succint, and the result is just a very well finished, carefully performed work. Creatively, this album brings in much more memorable moments than the last Transiberian Orchestra output, for instance (some passages may easily remind you of this project). But the main thing as I pointed out is, at several stages of the album, superb vocal melodies seem to flow in freely, like a real stream of ideas. In this regard, Glenn Hughes should be mentioned for such an awesome performance as King of France (proving that age or a past life of excesses are not a matter when it comes the vocal mastery). Göran Edman stands out as well, due to his immense versatility as singer (he could make to sound well even a list of chemical conservants found at any canned food - I don't know if I read that somewhere but it´s quite true...). Female vocals (Alannah Myles, Sass Jordan) do not shine at all though. All in all, the truth is that Nikolo has also accomplished the very difficult task of integrating all singers' own ways of interpreting the melodic passages very aptly, brightly selecting and intertwining the characters, and resulting in a very pleasant album. Many themes and duets of this album (Pieces of a Dream, Chosen Man, World War III...) make it all already worth. (GM)

4˝/5

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