Stormwind – Resurrection (Re-Master)

Stormwind
Resurrection (Re-Master)
Black Lodge Records
November 27, 2020 (Original Release:July 17, 2000 – Massacre Records)
01:07:49

You could almost call Stormwind a super group. The list of bands in which the musicians play or have played is so illustrious. From the founding in 1995 to 2004 albums were released regularly. The live album “Legacy” formed the end. Nothing new has been heard from the band since then. Stormwind are obviously not officially dissolved. Now for the twentieth anniversary of “Resurrection” this album has been remastered and will be released again in November. Now of course the question arises, will mastermind Thomas Wolf also manage to revive the band?

The absolute highlight of the album was and still is the almost nine-minute epic “Synphonia Millennialis”. On the first release it was marked with the addition “Instrumental Guitar Symphony”. And that describes this song precisely. Memories of Yngwie Malmsteen come up here. But with less tinking than with the guitar god. Violin virtuoso Michelle Wilcox can be heard here as a guest. What an outstanding, varied rock song, with a strong progressive edge. In contrast, the rest of the album pales a bit. Although these songs are also milestones in rock / metal. Oh, even twenty years ago intros were very popular. So here too, with “Phoenix Rising”. And this is also refined by Michelle Wilcox on violin sounds. It almost looks like the actual overture to the aforementioned epic. But of course, there is also flawless Power Metal. You can already hear that with the first regular song “Ship Of Salvation”. Further tips to play are the ballad “Seven Seas” and the anthemic “Holy Land”. This is followed by five bonus tracks. Three of them are from the album “Haven Can Wait” (1999), while I could only discover “Spellbound” on the live album “Legacy” (2004). The radio edition of “Seven Seas” is a 1¾ minute shorter version of the original. And therefore suitable for Airplay.

With “Resurrection (Re-Master)” a unique testimony of Metal comes back to the record shops. You can hear a band here that is probably at the peak of their work. And by the digital remastering the sound is quite modern. However, without having lost the spirit of the millennia. This is an album that bands still have to measure themselves against today. I come back to the question I asked at the beginning, will there be a reunion of the band? That would certainly be good for the current music scene.

Lineup:

Thomas Wolf – Guitarist (`Brainchild of Stormwind´)
Thomas Vikström – Vocal (ex. Candlemass, Therion)
Patrick Johansson – Drums (ex. Yngwie Malmsteen, WASP)
Kaspar Dahlqvist – Keyboard (ex. Dionysus)
Andreas Olsson – Bass (ex. Royal Hunt)

Track list:

• Phoenix Rising
• Ship Of Salvation
• Souldance
• Seven Seas
• Passion
• Blinded Eyes
• Synphonia Millennialis
• Samuraj
• Holy Land
• Spellbound (BONUS)
• Seven Seas (Radio Edition) (BONUS)
• Mountain Of Zion (BONUS)
• Forever Free (BONUS)
• Marco Polo (BONUS)