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ght to be in their setlist i also got to tell russ how much i love tanith steve and graeme were super nice and friendly and we talked a bit about skyclad too in the end brian was outside the venue talking to fans and i got to spend some time with him talking about blitzkrieg and playing in a band with his son favourite songs from blitzkrieg and satan and about his alice cooper persona he was very gracious and gave me a big hug before he left i ended up getting brian graeme steve and russ to sign my poster of cruel magic their best cover art which now decorates my office wall recently i ve been reflecting on this gig and the fact that i enjoyed the privilege of seeing this absolutely breath taking and inspirational band in a small venue as part of a small audience with no idiotic circle pits with the band performing right in front of me and meeting the band members afterwards i believe that in all other parallel universes this band headlines massive arenas and meeting them in person only happens in dreams my poster signed by the band leave a comment into the void with scanner july 11 2024 6 38 pm filed under heavy metal tags axel julius ball of the damned efthimios ioannidis hypertrace leo szpigiel lisa croft mental reservation michael knoblich scanner scantropolis terminal earth the cosmic race the judgement one of the power metal bands i got into relatively late in my teenage years was scanner the first album by them to which i listened was the newly released at the time ball of the damned and it was love at first listen for several decades the sole original member and main composer of the band axel julius has kept the band going with the occasion of the release of their new album titled the cosmic race i decided to write up a tribute to this fantastic yet overlooked especially by the newer generations of metalheads band let us retrace scanner s journey in their pursuit to conquer our hearts with their fantastic brand of metal 1 hypertrace 1988 scanner s debut album was a very ambitious endeavour not many bands in the world of metal have started their careers by releasing a flawlessly sounding and executed concept album but scanner did just that with hypertrace in 1988 scanner was only second to helloween in german power metal in my opinion in terms of how advanced their sound and song writing approach was this album is full of fast power speed metal songs telling the story of the scanner a genetically modified soldier on a mission to save humanity from itself the inventiveness of the band and axel especially can be heard in songs like locked out with its rich narrative catchy choir led middle section and fantastic guitar leads choirs appear in other songs like the epic across the universe grapes of fear is one of my personal favourites as it is one of classiest songs i ve heard when the band goes back into the main guitar harmony after the guitar solo around the 2 50 mark i get chills down my spine i bought the recent re issue of the album by roar in which the songs have been re ordered to tell the story in a linear fashion and the album opens with grapes of fear and i m loving it the album also includes wizard force and the fantastic galactos not that the original opener i e warp 7 is bad in fact it s an absolutely powerful masterpiece with a majestic intro and a brilliant coda terrion kicks off with a riff storm that is impossible to listen without wanting to bang your head what can be said about the fantastic coda of killing fields they even did the hill time is standing still rhyme before blind guardian this is the only album with michael knoblich as the singer and i am totally fine with that as he is by far my least favourite singer in scanner s history i would go as far as to say that knoblich s singing which consists primarily in a pompous high pitched delivery is the only thing that feels dated about this album 2 terminal earth 1989 the band s second album marks the addition of s l coe on vocals a singer with more distinctive tone and range in his delivery than knoblich terminal earth continues the creative trajectory of this band with all members contributing music and lyrics and the result is a bit more varied and at times happier album than the full on speed metal of the debut once again the album exhibits amazing performances by all band members extremely catchy tunes and a thought provoking critique of social issues that are still relevant to this day the lyrics tackle topics like consumerism media power war and the vanity and struggle of pursuing a career in the music business it s difficult for me to single out highlights as all songs are excellent maybe with the exception of touch the light the chorus pisses me off and l a d y a bonus track with heavy accept vibes both musically and lyrically not alone has one of the most infectious main riffs ever terminal earth and the law are speed metal classics and the challenge gives me goosebumps with its fantastic chorus and drum break near the end what a fun artwork too the copy i own is the 2016 vinyl version by massacre records which also includes the amazing telemania not included in the original vinyl editions 3 mental reservation 1995 after many years and drastic member changes axel returns with a completely new entourage to create the stellar masterpiece that is mental reservation comparing this album to the previous two would be like comparing somewhere far beyond 1992 or imaginations 1995 by blind guardian to battalions of fear 1988 and follow the blind 1989 in many ways the band preserves its trademarks it s still fast power metal with big choruses e g upright liar but at the same time the band cranks it up a notch in terms of rich narratives both musically and lyrically here the songs are more complex and the mood more sombre than the previous two albums this is the first album with leo szpigiel on vocals my personal favourite singer in the band s history his tone is unique extremely expressive and the melody lines he comes up with are complex and inventive mental reservation is another concept album and the figure on the cover is the protagonist of this dystopian fantasy about abuse of power authoritarianism and extinction your infallible smile is the best ballad scanner ever wrote and one of the best ballads ever written what a stunning composition on the acoustic guitar what a chorus words fail to convey the magnificence of after the storm a slow song with an astounding chorus the epic middle section of out of nowhere the attack of the verse riff on rubberman or the exhilarating speed up on the choruses of 20th century crusade and conception of a cure this is the first album where lyrics become less direct and more poetic sometimes i find myself just reading the lyrics without listening to it so amazing i finally bought this album in 2015 when eat metal records released it on vinyl 4 ball of the damned 1996 this masterpiece is the second album with leo szpigiel on vocals a new guitarist and new bassist axel s creativity knows no bounds and runs rampant on this album once more the moment i listened to the opener puppet on a string i was hooked what an inventive and catchy main riff what a crazy orchestration during the chorus in this one ralf scheepers another fantastic singer from the old german scene makes a guest appearance frozen under the sun is easily one of my top 10 songs by scanner musically it s so involved with many different sections harmonies many different styles of riffing that even without singing in it would be a majestic piece of music add to that the vocal melodies and the result is an unparalleled masterpiece that riff and lyrics during the first bridge sends chills down my spine every time and when i ask him hey man what s wrong he smiles and answers i think this way s too long with true stories teller scanner came up with a stunning folky ballad this is how folk metal should sound the eponymous song also has a folky vibe in the beginning but it develops more down the neo classical direction with a richer narrative lots of tempo changes a very theatrical chorus and some of the heaviest riffs in the band s history the verse melody of tollshocked constitutes one of the band s greatest hooks in other words ball of the damned is another album that achieves what very few artists have achieved which is perfection from beginning to end there s not a single mediocre moment in this album and there s enough ideas to always inspire and entertain listeners i ve been listening to this album for almost three decades and with every new listen i discover things i hadn t noticed 5 scantropolis 2002 axel continues once again with a new set of band members only the bassist stays the same and the result is the most controversial and unique sounding album in scanner s history when it was released one of my local record stores i e rock city in piraeus greece put it up for customers to listen to in the shop s portable cd player i remember being a bit confused listening to it being taken aback by the drum sound and the lack of fast tempos here the keyboards are prominent songs are slower the riffs are a bit scarcer and the new singer is a woman lisa croft is probably my second favourite singer in the band s history after leo szpigiel very powerful and emotive voice and great range there are a couple of fast songs but mostly the mood is more electronic and doomier the fact that most of the drums are most likely programmed also add to the electronic and futuristic vibe despite the stylistic changes most of the compositions are on a par with the band s glorious past turn of the tide is one of axel s most beautiful compositions with a fantastic musical narrative i love the way the music builds up throughout the three verses to find release in the beautiful chorus sister mary is a powerful faster tune with one of the best choruses ever and some of the most remarkable guitar work in the album e g the fast tremolo picking in the bridge and that furious riff in the end the other fast song in the album is hallowed be my name and here axel takes a verbal swing at old band members always alien continues the band s tradition of writing astounding ballads overall scantropolis is an awesome album that requires and deserves attention it took me a few years to appreciate but when i did i was glad i did not dismiss this album and gave it another chance 6 the judgement 2015 my hopes for new music from scanner were quite low for many years but i think the judgement was worth the wait this album was among my first three favourite albums of that year and i still think that is is a stunning addition to the band s discography this is the debut of efthimios ioannidis on vocals it took a while to get used to his voice but i eventually fell in love with it i would say that he has knoblich s pomp and bruce dickinson s power the different sounds he can produce are quite impressive it almost feels like he s playing a different character in each song and the high notes he hits are insane with the exception of the mediocre f t b every song in this album is a small masterpiece i honestly think that any song in the judgement could have been released in the late 1980s and would have been considered a classic today nevermore is hands down the best e a poe inspired song i have ever heard another pretty awesome one is the bells by black trip it is also another great example of how unique and masterful a composer axel is note the main razor sharp riff the rich musical narrative intro verse 2nd verse bridge1 bridge2 chorus etc the mysterious melody on top of the aggressive triplet riff during the verses so many dimensions in a single musical piece there are also some connections with some of the classic albums for example i get vibes of retaliation positive from hypertrace in pirates especially during the chorus scanner has a history of big choruses with choirs and all that and one of the faster songs on the album the race adds to this legacy with one of the most epic choruses ever known better is another highlight one of the heaviest scanner songs with a bad ass main riff which could have been found in an old unleashed album and a mysterious chorus which wouldn t be out of place in a mercyful fate album of the 1990s and what an epic way to close the album with the astounding the legionary for the first time in the band s history the album cover kinda sucks sadly 7 the cosmic race 2024 the history of heavy metal is laden with anxiety over the future of our planet one of black sabbath s most iconic songs from 1971 into the void was about venturing into space to find a place to live after the human race has destroyed earth scanner explore this theme in hypertrace and in even more detail in their most recent album which is a sequel to their debut it is impossible to talk about this album without addressing the situation with the drumming so i ll get it out of the way i cannot be sure but if i had to guess the drums are either badly programmed and a real drummer added some fills here and there or a very amateur drummer performed and a drum machine was used from time to time to replace mistakes i don t mind bad drumming it just seems incongruous to have it in a cult band which always had flawless performances in any case the compositions are so powerful that i can overlook this issue indeed axel performed another miracle with the cosmic race it is not common at all for bands with a huge legacy to manage to create songs that match the perfection of their classic material anyone regardless of how big a fan they are would admit that any iron maiden or metallica or helloween album of the last 30 years regardless of how good they are pale in comparison to their classics but in the case of scanner they don t axel still writes music characterised by the creativity passion and sense of discovery that characterised their classic works the cosmic race is another varied album but also occupies a unique position in scanner s discography as a particularly dark and sinister album the cover art and other visuals in the lyric sheet nicely capture this vibe the album opens with a powerful song that ticks all the boxes when it comes to classic power metal i just wish the bass drums were buried in the mix the follow up titled face the fight is a favourite of mine a slow song with a catchy main riff with a nice trill touches of axel s trademark subtle use of dissonant intervals a diminished fifth in this case an epic chorus and a great middle section farewell to the sun has already taken its place in my heart as an all time favourite scanner song that chorus is something else a new horizon is the most recent in scanner s list of stunning ballads amazing performance by ioannidis on warriors of the light i m telling you this guy is a vocal chameleon dance of the dead has a super heavy main riff a bit atypical for scanner but it contributes to the sinister vibe of the song which is consistent with the lyrica...
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