Mad Hatter's Den
Excelsior

Tracks
1. Eye Of The Storm
2. Break The Chains (Into The Black)
3. Birds Of Prey
4. Masters Of Hate
5. Trail Of Fears
6. Through The Unknown
7. Guardian Angel
8. Hero’s End (At The Silver Gates)
9. Ascension
10. The Aftermath
11. Not Of This World


Band:
Jarno Vitri - Vocals and bass
Jaakko Hänninen - Guitar
Kari Korhonen - Guitar
Petja Puumalainen - Keyboards
Arto Pitkänen - Drums


Discography:
Dark Wheel (EP 2012)
Welcome To The Den (2013)


Guests:


Info:

Released 2016-04-08
Reviewed 2016-04-20

Links:
madhattersden.com
youtube
inverse

Now let us take a stroll to the Mad Hatter’s Den and see what he has in store for a hat bearing music reviewer like myself. The Hatter has a cap and a hat in the catalogue; this is the second hat from this Mad Hatter. The exterior is very appealing, great graphics, and an artwork that looks exciting. By the way, the Hatter is from Finland, a nation where hardrock and metal is very much liked and these guys are probably hoping to capitalise on that fact.

Melodic metal with progressive and symphonic elements - that is how we can describe this album to the uninitiated. Strong variation over eleven tracks and 54 minutes, strong vocalist is another point worth making when it comes to this album and the same can be said about the production. They sound familiar while having something of an own voice, I think this Hatter’s product can be described as a quality product and not one like made by Asian children who has no regard for quality. It is a hat that fits very well.

I think this Mad Hatter does really well with this album, it is a great album with only great songs and great music and I see no apparent weakness. As a reviewer I find the familiarity something of a reason not to give a higher rating but that is only down to a reviewer needing to analyse every aspect of an album, for music fans familiarity might be a positive. In the end though, no matter how much we analyse the hat we find that it fits brilliantly and is very enjoyable to play. I like it very much, and I recommend that you have a try yourself.

All the songs on the album are good, some are great and then there is one that I think is the best one I have heard this year – a brilliant song. That song is called Masters of Hate, it is a magical track, somewhat different from the rest of the album but a song that makes me want to play this album over and over again, maybe to repeat a few times as well. I find this album very appealing, and Masters of Hater even more appealing. In the end I think we can conclude that this Mad Hatter has made a wonderful hat, well worth trying out.

HHHHHHH

 

Label: Inverse Records
Three similar bands: Blind Guardian/Eldritch/Queensrÿche
Rating: HHHHHHH (5/7)
Reviewer: Daniel Källmalm


läs på svenska