Dangerdog Music Reviews :: © 1999 - 2025 Craig S Hartranft :: All Rights Reserved
No part of this this website, including design and music reviews,
may be reproduced in any form or by any means without
the prior written permission of the publisher.
CELEBRATING 18 YEARS!
- New Music Reviews
- |
- Archives
- |
- News
- |
- Submissions
- |
- About
- |
- |
New Music Reviews, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, AOR, Alternative Rock, Alternative Metal
Recent Reviews
March 2025
- W.E.T.: Apex
- Alliance: Before Our Eyes
- Ginevra: Beyond Tomorrow
- Phil X & The Drills:
Pow! Right In The Kisser - IQ: Dominion
- Heart Line: Falling Heaven
- Gotthard: Stereo Crush
- Defender: Dying To Live
- Streetlight: Night Vision
February 2025
- Robin McAuley: Soulbound
- Perfect Plan: Heart Of A Lion
- Craig Brooks: Desolation Freeway
- Mantric Momentum: Alienized
- Pattern-Seeking Animals: Friend Of All Creatures
- Crazy Lixx: Thrill Of The Bite
- Ginger Evil: The Way It Burns
- Dream Theater: Parasomnia
- Tyran: Tyran's Oath
- Saber: Lost In Flames
January 2025
- Wildness: Avenger
- The Ferrymen: Iron Will
- Labyrinth: In The Vanishing Echoes Of Goodbye
- Bonfire: Higher Ground
- The Big Deal: Electrified
- Landfall: Wide Open Sky
December 2024
- After Lapse: Pathways
- Illusion Force: Halfana
- Powell-Payne: Voilá
November 2024
- Sunstorm: Restless Fight
- Storace: Crossfire
- Voodoo Circle: Hail To The King
- Lionville: Supernatural
- Starchaser: Into The Great Unkown
- Empires Of Eden: Guardians Of Time
- Lonerider: Down In The Dust
- Seventh Crystal: Entity
- Neal Morse & The Resonance: No Hill For A Climber
- Beardfish: Songs For Beating Hearts
- Impellitteri: War Machine
- Brothers Of Metal: Fimbulvinter
Stargazery: Stars Aligned
Stargazery: Stars Aligned
Melodic Metal/Hard Rock
4.0/5.0
Website
Facebook
Pure Legend Records
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 14.01.2015
It appears, for their sophomore effort Stars Aligned, Finland's Stargazery fell back on the old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Then added another American word of wisdom: "Go big or go home."
Stargazery
In this sense, first, Stargazery has stuck to their formula of classic mid-Eighties melodic hard rock with a metal edge. As I said about their debut album, they sound a bit like latter period Rainbow, only with the keyboards at the forefront more often. To the latter adage, these keyboards seem even more grand and encompassing. The riffs as well, and when put together, Stars Aligned has monsterous bombastic sound. Yet, groove, melody, and vocal harmony are never lost. Everything's just larger. Good examples of the more ambitious keys and guitar come with Bring Me The Night, Missed the Train to Paradise, and Painted Into A Corner, where the keyboards have an old school flair at the conclusion. While this motif abounds throughout, perhaps the best example comes with Stargazery covers Cher's Dark Lady. They easily trump the pomp of the original, and for their homeland fans they offer a Finnish version as a bonus track. Fundamentally, Stargazery's Stars Aligned is all very engaging, entertaining and, often, seriously over the top, metal-edged melodic hard rock. Recommended.
STARGAZERY - "Dim The Halo" (PURE LEGEND RECORDS)
Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.
In Short
Fundamentally, Stargazery's Stars Aligned is all very engaging, entertaining and, often, seriously over the top, metal-edged melodic hard rock. Recommended.
Find A Review
Alphabetical Index
New & Notable
Here's a fun fact about Swiss legends, Gotthard: their last 16 releases, excepting their debut album, went to number one in their home country, making them one of Switzerland's most successful acts and ... [ Read More ]