Artist: Apollo Ra
Release Title: Ra Pariah
Release Type: Full Length Album
Release Year: 2000
Artist Genre: Power Metal
Artist Origin: USA
Track Listing:
1. Crimson Streets 2. Out Of The Night 3. Heaven's Just Another Way 4. Obsession 5. The Challenge 6. Creating Zero 7. Ra Pariah 8. Bane Of The Black Sword 9. March Of Fire 10. To Be A Hero
1. Crimson Streets 2. Out Of The Night 3. Heaven's Just Another Way 4. Obsession 5. The Challenge 6. Creating Zero 7. Ra Pariah 8. Bane Of The Black Sword 9. March Of Fire 10. To Be A Hero
Total playing time 41:39
When I first heard this material I literally couldn't believe my eyes that it was released in 2000. It sounded like the lost Crimson Glory album from the 80's!!! Lo and Behold, it WAS initally conceived in the 80's as a demo and only able to get released on vinyl and CD at the start of this century. This is like honey nectar for the ears of fans of early Savatage/Crimson Glory. The vocals are fairly comparable to Midnight's and are almost as good as his, the songwriting is solid and the riffs and solos are very satisfying slabs of 80's heaven.
The cream of the crop would probably be opener "Crimson Streets" which echoes Savatage "Gutter Ballet" in it's piano intro which then explodes into life shortly afterwards and the song closes with an epic solo. Also "Heaven's Just Another Way" has a winning chorus and riff, the speedy and epic "Bane Of The Black Sword" is very cool and last track "To Be A Hero" which yeah unabashedly steals the "2 Minutes To Midnight" riff but puts it to great use and makes this the catchiest number on here. All of the other tracks are above average and deliver but "Creating Zero" really disturbs the flow as it was recorded at a louder volume than the previous tracks and is more up tempo and simple than the rest. Apart from that the album is a real USPM treat.
