Let the Awakening begin...

I'm gonna say two words and I want you to tell me what they mean to you-OK? Nuclear Blast Records. Yeah, I know. Some of you (probably most of you) are looking at the screen with a blank stare. But some of you know who I'm talking about. You remember how just a few short years ago, the only thing this German metal label would put out was death/thrash metal? You know, the stuff that makes your blood chill and causes your ears trmemdous amounts of pain (or pleasure, depending on your POV) Well, a band called HammerFall changed all that 1997 with an album called Glory To The Brave. Total change in direction for the Blast. Then along came others...Primal Fear...Sinner...Pegazus...and another band from Sweden (incidentally, the same country as the band that started this whole thing). They're called Narnia-based on the C.S. Lewis books (you remember those ones, dontcha??)

I'll give you a quick rundown. Narnia is pretty much two guys- Christian Lillegren does an extremely admirable job on the vocals, while C.J. Grimmark does all the rest. And they do what they do very well. The one thing that really surprised me about these guys is the fact that they got a contract on Nuclear Blast records (for ages the home of all that was evil), yet their lyrics have a definitive Christian edge to them. Imagine what would happen if Yngwie Malmsteen joined forces with Stryper. That should give you an idea of how Narnia sounds. My personal fave on the disc would have to be Time Of Changes..this one hooked me right from the get-go and never let up.

Bottom line, though...this is a solid debut for these two Swedes. It's nice to see bands like this and HammerFall starting to reclaim a scene that was underground for so long. Awakening is no Glory To The Brave, though- but it's still an impressive disc for those like me who are fed up with the modern rock scene and who yearn for music that favors talent over mainstream appeal.