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THE ARCHIVES
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Morrigan's Pit has closed down as of November 2006. The site and its articles will stay online as an archive until September at least, but probably longer.
The Archives
2002-2006
» CD REVIEWS
» INTERVIEWS
» LIVE REVIEWS
» SPECIALS
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BEHOLDER
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Lethal Injection
2004
Dragonheart Records
http://www.beholderofficial.com
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1. The Overlook Hotel
2. Mr. Grady
3. No Religion
4. Blackout Of Mind
5. Daydream
6. Everywhere I Go
7. Far Away
8. Stay
9. Lay Down The Law
10. Lethal Injection
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There is the unwritten law that the third album of a band tells the way the band will go in the future. So let's hope that this album number three from Italy's metal band Beholder is a good one. The band was formed in 1998 by male singer Patrick Wire together with Matt Treasure (guitar) and female vocalist Leanan Sidhe. In 2000, Markus Mayer joined the band as the new lead guitar player. The debut "The Legend Begins" was published in 2001, followed by "Wish For Destruction" one year later. But now let's see if Beholder is "just another italo power-metal band" or if they are really good...
After the weird intro (maybe inspired by Stephen King's "The Shining") just like the first song "Mr. Grady", the "Lethal Injection" begins with lots of speed. A good combination between male and female vocals is found and there occur even some modern elements through the keyboards. Towards the middle, the song develops into a kind of ballad, speeding up again at the very end. The promotional flyer says "No Religion" is a song that shows all the faces of Beholder. Well, they are right. A catchy chorus, changes in rhythm and of course lots of melodies. In the middle part, Markus Mayer is doing a great solo, at first with accoustic guitar, very impressive! "Blackout Of Mind" is another fast song, at first with much aggression, later on with more melody. Fast riffing is dominating the song, but also short parts of accoustic guitars. Some less spectacular songs follow; the mid tempo song "Daydream" and then again a fast one ("Everywhere I Go"). "Far Away" is a nice and cheesy ballad, which is sung by Patrick Wire together with Labyrinth's Robert Tiranti (Rob Tyrant), accomplished only by the piano. Beholder has always been good in writing ballads, "Until Darkness Falls" from the debut album for example is also a very nice one. The next song "Stay" is again a cool mid tempo song, but not too spectacular, just like the next fast song "Lay Down The Law". The last song on "Lethal Injection" is the titletrack which is devided into two parts. Part one, "The Executioner" is a fast part with both male and female vocals. The second part "Crying To God" is standing in contrary to the first. Crying/begging-like vocals from Patrick Wire which somehow reminds me of the above-mentioned ballad from the debut.
The production is good, just like the whole album, but some average songs are on it, too. But it is really fascinating, how Beholder create a nice atmosphere and combine the breakable but also powerful female voice of Leanan Sidhe and the (not always) raw voice of Patrick Wire without destroying the mood of a good metal record!
submitted by Paddy 26.09.2004
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rating 1 - 5 Morrigans
5 = awesome, 4 = good, 3 = average, 2 = keep practising, 1 = sell your gear!
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