REVIEWS
http://www.desertrockpromotions.com/cdreviewsdecember2002.htm
SILVER MOUNTAIN-BREAKIN CHAINS REALITY ENTERTAINMENT
TRACK LISTING
PROPHET OF DOOM BEFORE THE STORM FELO DE SE
MAN OF NO PRESENT EXISTENCE
SCARLET PIMPERNEL
MANIAC
AXEMAN AND THE VIRGIN
BREAKIN CHAINS
RIDER OF THE NIGHT
A.S.W.A.S.T.
THE BUTTERFLY
DANCE AROUND THE FIRE
MILLATTACK
SILVER MOUNTAIN, Sweden' 80's metal legends are back with a killer cd of re-recorded fan favorites and rarities featuring the original band line-up. The band consists of guitar virtuoso Jonas Hansson, bassist Per Stadin and the world renowned Johansson brothers, keyboardist Jens Johansson (STRATOVARIUS) and Anders Johansson (HAMMERFALL).
The cd features the band performing like they have never broken up. Jonas's Rick Medlocke (BLACKFOOT) sounding vocals, killer melody lines, rapid fire neo-classical guitar playing, solid bass guitar, inventive and shredding keyboards and pounding drums, make for an exciting musical adventure through the musical times. RAINBOW musical influences pop in and out throughout the cd and that is a good thing.
This cd is a great release for all fans of SILVER MOUNTAIN, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN / RAINBOW style music and the Johansson brothers.
Recommended Songs: All
Rating: (8.0/10)
Reviewed by Benjamin Niebla II
December 2002
Silver Mountain (Sweden)- "Breakin' Chains" (2003 Reality Entertainment) A late 70's Hard Rock band, Silver Mountain made alot of impact in their Scandinavian homeland all the way up to '85 before the Johansson brothers were snatched up by guitar god Yngwie J. Malmsteen and his Rising Force counterpart. Silver mountain was pretty much the staple that got these guys on the map as well as gitarist Jonas Hansson and bassist Per Stadin. "Breakin' Chains" is 13 new tracks technically. They were were recorded way back then but never released and stored in a vault. The guys took these songs and just basically did them live in the studio as a band; all original members and yaking advantage of the technological differences now a days and still capture that authentic old sound they had back then. I hear hints of Deep Purple, Rainbow and it has a NWOBHM vibe despite that era was just getting underway when the band was active. This should be an instant classic in my opinion. From what I hear, you'll be seeing more of this band in 2004 as far as a possibe tour and another album. So stay in touch for the latest news with these links. www.silvermountainrules.com www.reality-entertainment.com
:.: Reviews :.: back to reviews Silver Mountain - Breakin' Chains Now this is old school metal. The kind of stuff my former roommate would play and irritate the hell out of me. But if you’re like him and love old school heavy metal with the typical Yngwie solos and horrid high-pitched vocals like Mercyful Fate then you’ll love it. - J-Sin
http://www.tartareandesire.com/reviews/silvermountain_breakincha.html Silver Mountain - Breakin' Chains Reality Entertainment, 2002 8/10
Swedish Metal has produced its fair share of quality Power/Progressive Metal but one of the first was Silver Mountain. Silver Mountain’s early works were hotly traded about the underground and all expected grand things for the group’s future. At the same time Sweden’s favorite Metal son, Yngwie Malmsteen, was drilling his way into the very fabric of the world-wide Metal scene and he began to harvest the most skilled of his own country-men to compliment his Rising Force band and the Silver Mountain took the hit head on. Keyboardist Jens Johansson and Drummer Anders Johansson left Silver Mountain for Malmsteen’s pack and their former group never fully recovered. Many years and many miles later the original four musicians that comprised Silver Mountain took a break from their current projects, (Jens with Stratovarious, Anders with Hammerfall and bassist Per Stadin with Glenn Hughes), and took a look back. The band dug up some unreleased or unrecorded numbers and gave them a second chance in the studio and the results are now available as the current “Breakin’ Chains” masterpiece. Neo classical moments of electric extreme ala early Rainbow dominate the disc with each track a treasure but a few standouts do make themselves known. “Scarlet Pimpernel” and “Felo de se” are instant classics that by themselves justify the four musicians effort to produce the entire disc. It is not likely that this disc will cause a mass of commercial excitement but for those who own sizable collections dedicated to Blackmore, Schenker and Mamlsteen you will be needing to add the men on this Silver Mountain to your regular rotations.
David Lee Wilson
Song listing: 1. Prophet Of Doom 2. Before The Storm 3. Felo De Se 4. Man Of No Present Existence 5. Scarlet Pimpernel 6. Maniac 7. Axeman And The Virgin 8. Breakin' Chains 9. Rider Of The Night 10. A.S.W.A.S.T. 11. The Butterfly 12. Dance Around The Fire 13. Millattack Playing time: 50.31
BRAVE WORDS BLOODY KNUCKLES
Silver Mountain - Breakin’ Chains
(Reality Entertainment)
With two frosty Swedish classics from the mid-‘80s, Silver Mountain established, for the first but not the last time (forget the ‘70s, trust me), Sweden as a more than respected country for metal mining madness. Heavy Load and Torch perhaps broke the dry spell, but Silver Mountain were a thrilling Yngwie-esque maelstrom of old-definition gothic sounds, so much so, they soon fragmented, the parts becoming Yngwie’s band. Anyhow, in a sleight of time warp, the classic line-up has gotten together to re-record some classics and rarities, and the results sound inspiringly like the band’s romping NWOSwedishHM of old. Jonas Hansson still has his endearing cough syrup voice, and his axework merges purposefully with Jens Johansson’s (Yngwie, Dio, Stratovarius) old school keyboard wizardries. To boot, the sound quality is a little rough and highly strung, adding to the comfortable vintage feel of these songs and performances. One wonders if the band had decided that one can’t, or shouldn’t, go back, that is, write in an old style, which could be classed as parody. In any event, what they had decided to do works, adding weirdly to the old catalogue, like a lost, unreleased record of sorts.
Rating 8
Martin Popoff
SILVER MOUNTAIN “Breakin’ Chains” (13 tracks). REALITY ENTERTAINMENT.
Rating: 8.5.
This album is deliberately aimed, in my view, at the fan of 80’s Metal. It says at much in the tray insert. But of course, with a name like “Silver Mountain” and an album title like “Breakin’ Chains” how could you miss the point? It is commercial but edgy and totally lives up to the expectations. Listening to this album transports me to my adolescent years of hearing bands like Malmsteen, MSG, Deep Purple, the Scorpions, and the like on the radio and Night Flight videos. Guitarist-and vocalist, incidentally-Jonas Hansson more than once reminds me of one of my favorite guitarists, Uli Jon Roth, on this disc. If this is your thing you shouldn’t miss it.
IN DEPTH
A mystically majestic cover gives us a glimpse into Silver Mountain's "Breakin Chains" album as the power metal gets started with "Prophet Of Doom". This isn't exactly some "modern, new breakthrough" in the power metal scene. This is classic, NWOBHM mixed with some traditional power metal elements that just can't be denied. The label NWOBHM itself is kind of a play on words considering Silver Mountain hails from Sweden. So should this be NWOSHM? You decide. The wind howls and you are off on a ride with "Before The Storm" and a rather clean yet very effective sound. Jonas Hansson (guitars and vocals), Jens Johansson (keys), Per Stadin (bass), and Anders Johansson (drums) are the force behind Silver Mountain. Their talents are heard all over the album from Jonas's dual attack on guitar and vocals on "Felo De Se" to Anders Johansson and Per Stadin's foundation work on "Man Of No Present Existence" and "Scarlet Pimpernel". Maniac winds up the metal machine with a great structure and flow. "Axeman And The Virgin" sounds like a title from a Cannibal Corpse album but Silver Mountain spins a tale of denial surrounded, again by some excellent guitar work by Hansson. It's enough to make you go rip out you classic Priest and Maiden albums as the album's title track "Breakin Chains" just oozes with a classic metal foundation. Now what's a power metal album without a trademark "Metal in the Night" track? "Rider Of The Night" will fit that criteria quite nicely. "A.S.W.A.S.T." kicks off with a pretty positive sounding riff and Hansson almost hits falsetto in a couple of spots (a la the Darkness) but the song then swings to a more negative sounding vibe and the two sides go back and forth. A cool diversion from previous tracks. Mystery and majesty, warriors and gladiators, tribes and families, gods and demons, it's all part of a long gone era (though maybe not) but it's an era that lives on in this style of music. "Dance Around The Fire" just touches the tip of the iceberg in that regard. Jens Johansson really shows his stuff on the all instrumental "The Butterfly" and album closer "Millattack". Putting all the metal cliche's aside for a moment and you'll realize that Silver Mountain has put together one incredibly rock solid metal album in "Breakin Chains". The cd even boasts a QuickTime version of the video for "Prophet Of Doom". Rain, wind, fire, horse drawn carts, it's all there intermixed with live and studio footage of the guys in Silver Mountain. For all the latest news and info, check out the official Silver Mountain website at: http://www.silvermountainrules.com/
Rating 8 of 10
Silver Mountain - Breakin Chains
1. Prophet Of Doom
2. Before The Storm
3. Felo De Se
4. Man Of No Present Existence
5. Scarlet Pimpernel
6. Maniac
7. Axeman And The Virgin
8. Breakin' Chains
9. Rider Of The Night
10. A.S.W.A.S.T.
11. The Butterfly
12. Dance Around The Fire
13. Millattack
Review by:
Anthony Pagano
In Depth E-Zine
ROCKHARDPLACE
SILVER MOUNTAIN - "BREAKIN' CHAINS" - REALITY-ENTERTAINMENT
You almost need a degree in the History Of Swedish Heavy Metal to fully understand the importance of this band. Here's a short version, they were one of the very first true Metal bands to come out of Sweden. "Breakin' Chains" is only their fifth release and the first since 1988. Brothers Jens and Anders Johansson became in high demand and joined fellow Swede, and rising star Yngwie Malmsteen and became "Rising Force". Jens has now been with Stratovarius for quite some time and Anders is the drummer for Hammerfall. It's safe to say that both have been major players in Metal over the years. The guitarist and voice of Silver Mountain, Jonas Hansson has also stayed a strong player being involved with many projects over the years.
Now we get to "Breakin' Chains", a return to their classic from from over 20 years ago. The album sounds as if it was recorded in the early 80's or even the late 70's. The songs actually come from early demos done by the band. It has that "Classic Rock" sound to it, from the organ sound made famous by Deep Purple to the majestic classical guitar solos of Hansson that seem to be inspired by Ritchie Blackmore. The album sounds more like a jam session as each musician is allowed to show off their talents. Having said that, they are solid-tight, showing a form of musicianship long past.
For all fans of Heavy Metal, especially those of the new generation of Scandanavian Metal like Hammerfall, you need to get this CD and listen to the roots of where todays metal came from. Silver Mountain was born from the orinal masters of Metal and they have returned with "Breakin' The Chains" to remind us that Heavy Metal will never die!
STRUTTERZINE
SILVER MOUNTAIN ‘BREAKIN’ CHAINS’ (REALITY ENTERTAINMENT)
The legendary Swedish band SILVER MOUNTAIN was one of the very first Hardrock/Metalbands from Sweden some 25 years ago, and through the years their line-up changed a lot, but last year the band released a new CD in a line-up that featured some of it’s original members. SILVER MOUNTAIN 2004 consists of the brother Johansson (Jens on keys and Anders on drums, both known for being members of STRATOVARIUS and HAMMERFALL), lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Jonas Hansson (solo artist) and bassist Per Stadin (SNAKE CHARMER), so I guess you can say this is sort of a supergroup. Musically they grab back to the band’s earlier albums, so this is classic 70s/80s Melodic Hardrock/Metal in a IRON MAIDEN meets RAINBOW/DEEP PURPLE style. The included 13 songs (and videoclip for “Prophet of doom”) are good strong songs with memorable choruses. Jonas is not such a good singer, but instrumental everything sounds perfect. Most of the songs are also very nice to listen to, such as the great uptempo Melodic Rock/Metal pieces “Prophet of doom”, “Scarlet pimpernel”, “Maniac”, “Axeman and the virgin” and “Dance around the fire”. The fact that it sounds so 80s is due to that these are all old songs from the 1980s, but the bandmembers all took time off their current bands/projects to re-record these old SILVER MOUNTAIN songs and the result is a recommended CD to fans of classic 80s Melodic Hardrock/Metal! See for yourself at: http://www.reality-entertainment.com or http://www.silvermountainrules.com
Maximum metal
Maximum Metal Review
Silver Mountain: Breakin’ Chains (Arctic/Avalon, 2001) reviewed by: Vinaya Saksena Track Listing 1. Prophet Of Doom 2. Before The Storm 3. Felo De Se 4. Man Of No Present Existence 5. Scarlet Pimpernel 6. Maniac 7. Axeman And The Virgin 8. Breakin' Chains 9. Rider Of The Night 10. A.S.W.A.S.T 11. The Butterfly 12. Dance Around The Fire 13. Millattack 14. Resurrection Although they aren’t exactly a household name here in the States, this long-forgotten bunch of Swedish metal alchemists has really piqued my interest recently, and judging by the recent re-release of this not-very-old album, maybe I’m not the only one. Breakin’ Chains is actually a “reunion” album of sorts (although the band members were apparently on separate continents during much of the album’s production process), with the former band mates collaborating to rerecord these fourteen selections from their late-’70’s and early-’80’e heyday. As far as I can ascertain, Silver Mountain formed some time in the late 1970’s, taking their name from Rainbow’s “Man On The Silver Mountain”, a favorite of guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Jonas Hansson. The band underwent several lineup changes before their 1984 Roadrunner Records debut “Shakin’ Brains,” with more occurring before the subsequent Universe and Roses and Champaign releases (only Hansson and bassist Per Stadin seem to have remained in the band for a substantial amount of time). Apparently Yngwie Malmsteen was involved sometime before Hansson entered the picture, eventually taking brothers Jens (keyboards) and Anders Johansson (drums) with him for his Rising Force project. The band’s sound was, and still is, ambitious, vaguely Baroque-tinged melodic metal, with deft guitar and keyboard interplay much like that of Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, and of course the aforementioned Rainbow. As musicians, the band were ambition and perfectionism personified, yet their albums (particularly the cult classic Shakin’ Brains) exhibited a certain sonic rawness that, while perhaps unintentional, also kept their glory-bound music from coming off as cliched or overwrought. This is where Breakin’ Chains comes in. Originally appearing on various self-produced demos from the early days, these tunes, in the band’s view, never got their full due in terms of both recording and distribution. So what this album does is present spiffy new recordings of the songs, taking advantage of modern recording technology, but leaving a certain amount of raw edge for that distinct Silver Mountain vibe. And despite being recorded in different hemispheres, the various instrumental and vocal parts gel quite nicely into a cohesive whole. Musically, Breakin’ Chains is a classy and effortlessly enjoyable affair, sticking true to the band’s unique form of Scandinavian melodic metal while managing to avoid most of the cliche-infested pitfalls that others attempting this sort of sound often encounter. Though the songs exhibit considerable sonic and stylistic consistency, there is enough variety to keep it from getting boring, due in no small part to the band’s impressive musicianship. Right off the bat, “Prophet Of Doom” sets things off a frantic, exhilarating pace, before giving way to the mysterious melodic shuffle of “Before The Storm” (my favorite track on the album). From here on in, it’s a glorious collection of classically-inspired riffs, chord progressions, vocal melodies, guitar solos, organ solos, clever harmonies, Hendrixian wah-wah licks and who knows what else, over intricate but steady drum and bass accompaniment. In other words, if heroic but disciplined Euro Metal is your cup of lager, consider this a generous helping with a twist (I know, I know: twists and lager generally don’t go together, but you get the point!). And for Neoclassical guitar geeks, Hansson’s intricate but tasteful soloing in songs like “A.s.w.a.s.t,” “Axeman And The Virgin” and the beautiful closing instrumental “Resurrection” are a lesson in class musicianship worth the price of the CD and then some. In short, Breakin’ Chains is a very worthwhile listen, the only drawback being Hansson’s somewhat strained vocals. But then again, you might not care all that much, given the uncommon class with which all other musical duties are handled on this album. Note: The edition I own contains the Hansson-directed music video for “Prophet Of Doom” as a bonus feature. Rating: 8.5
METAL DREAMS
SILVER MOUNTAIN - Breakin' Chains (Reality Entertainment)
Score: 2.5 out of 5 Battle-Axes
Posted: 2/8/04 @ www.metaldreams.go.to
Category: Heavy Metal
Label URL: www.reality-entertainment.com
Band URL: www.silvermountainrules.com
LEGACY REVIEWS:
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