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Tony
O’Hora was the singer that surprised the most of us when he
appeared on Praying Mantis’ “Forever In Time” and “Nowhere
To Hide”. Afterwards when he left from the band, he started
teaching in a
Music
College
in
Birmingham
. Thank God he met Magnus Karlsson (Last Tribe, Strabreaker, Allen/Lande)
and after some time they decided to release an album. Having by your
side a “never-rest” guy like Magnus is a blessing and that can
“make” you work with all your heart and your talent. That’s
exactly what happened here.
Magnus
once again is responsible for the music, the lyrics, the instruments
arrangements and for the awesome production… so Tony had a lot
time to work on his vocals and finally he delivered some excellent
performances!! I can definitely say that those guys have a great
chemistry and that is more than obvious by the album’s quality.
Yes, this release is close to what Magnus has done with Starbreaker
and Allen/Lande if you want to have an idea about the album’s
music… but in my opinion “Escape Into The Sun” beats those two
albums! Yes, I know that many will disagree with that but that was
my conclusion after I listened to the album for more than 5 times in
a row. None of the aforementioned albums kept my interest at the
same levels after several listens and especially “Strabreaker”
is the weakest album among those three. Yes, I like very much Tony
Harnell but the songs weren’t that strong. On the other hand, I
believe that Magnus has kept his best songs for Tony O’Hora…
after all when Tony reaches some high notes… brings on my mind the
other Tony.
“Escape
Into The Sun” is the album that will surprise nicely all those who
loved the Allen/Lande release but… be prepared not to listen to a
clone of that album… but a better, more melodious and darker album.
The album has a moody atmosphere and “plays dangerous games”
with our deepest feelings… Tony’s fantastic vocals will
“bleed” your soul sometimes… what an excellent album by all
means. Listen to any song that you like… you will love every
little note of this album… Surely one of the best albums of 2006.
by Thanos Aggelakis 9/10
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