New Music Review : Trick Or Treat - Rabbits' Hill Part 2 : CD Album Music Review by Craig S Hartranft : Dangerdog Music Reviews

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Trick Or Treat: Rabbits' Hill Part 2

Melodic/Heavy/Power Metal

5.0/5.0

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Frontiers Music
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 01.07.2016

Italy's Trick Or Treat has been on some journey. Emerging as a Helloween cover band in 2002 they have successfully transformed into a true European melodic power metal band with their own ideas and original music. Four years ago, with Rabbits' Hill they began developing a power metal opera based on Watership Down, the acclaimed novel of Richards Adams. The tale of the rabbit's travels and travails to establish a new warren come to a conclusion with this year's Rabbits' Hill Part 2.

Trick Or Treat

To be honest, this is my experience with Trick Or Treat. Why? I'm not sure. But they are an exceptional and entertaining metal band. In the best way they blend melody and harmony, speed and heaviness for their power metal. These things are reinforced and propelled by twin guitar harmony and soaring leads, catchy even memorable refrains, and strong harmonic vocal arrangements. Being from Italy, the de facto home of epic power metal, ToT adds significant orchestration and choral vocals.

Trick Or Treat - The Great Escape

Additionally, the band is adept at translating the story to music. For instance, at the start you have Inle, who is basically the Rabbit Grim Reaper. His gets his voice from a small touch of death vocals. Later, Tim "Ripper" Owens of Judas Priest fame gets cast for the evil General Woundwort, who runs a rabbit police state, takes offense at Hazel rescuing some does, and plans to kill the Watership Down rabbits. Owens easily gives Woundwort a threatening and evil timbre within the song They Must Die. The song itself has a dark and brooding, yet urgent, tone, suitable to the theme.

But then there's simply some darn catchy stuff here. One is the metal ballad Never Say Goodbye which features Sara Squadrani from Ancient Bards, giving it a sweet tone. Yet the hands down killer song here is Cloudrider which reigns from its melody and groove, and that damn catchy chorus: perfect vocal harmony. You could buy the album for this song and be happy. (Listen below.)

There's little doubt. Rabbits' Hill Part 2 is a significant accomplishment for Trick Or Treat, definitely exciting and entertaining melodic power metal. Get it.

Trick Or Treat - Cloudrider

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