ivory tower

IVORY TOWER

Beyond the Stars

( ©LIMB Music Products 2000 )

Released on: 17/07/2000

Silence 6:52 Secret in Me 6:03 Foreboding 11:50 Game of Life 3:52 Peeping Tom 5:03

Beyond the Stars 7:26 When Thoughts Are Running Wild 5:53 Flight Into the Self 6:03

Treehouse Theme 1:21 Treehouse 8:28

Germany's most promising heavy progressive metal band is back with a new album. This one follows in the footsteps of their debut album ( see below ) bringing more heavy chops and licks, even more explicit musical bravado. IVORY TOWER may very well be the best that is currently available on the European market and can easily compete in the over-crowded US progressive market. Luckily, long gone are the days when German bands have been handicapped because of their annoying vocals. This has been mainly due to their weak knowledge of English language ( total neglect of proper accentuation and phonetics ) which resulted in hopeless vocal delivery that could only persuade Japanese. But now, things have changed dramatically and obvious results can be witnessed right here, right now as IVORY TOWER's producer and main vocalist André Fischer is an exemplary case.

Beyond the Stars is a nod to the old-school favourites like HELLOWEEN and at the same time walks hand in hand with such mighty bands as FATES WARNING. The music is still very complex, abundant with classic prog-metal arrangements, and songs that run more than ten minutes in timing. The entire album is very heavy and with occasional melodic background, sometimes very fast like in When Thoughts Are Running Wild, Beyond the Stars or more mid-tempo like Treehouse, Peeping Tom. All in all, a decent follow-up to the band's debut album that brings all the usual necessities with a bunch of novel ideas and impressive performance.

The review of the first album:

A really serious progressive metal band from Germany who takes it after DREAM THEATER. The band retains the complexity of songs while showcasing a splendid display of craftsmanship. The music is often very complex with odd rhythms, filled with beautiful solo guitar passages and backed by a surprisingly good vocalist, André Fischer. There really isn't many flaws in the music of IVORY TOWER and criticism must be put aside. Anyhow, the band offers a lot and once you start listening to the album, you better take some real time and enjoy the full scope of the band's music.

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