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Tower Of Babel: Lake Of Fire
Tower Of Babel - Lake Of Fire CD Album Review

Tower Of Babel: Lake Of Fire

Neoclassical Melodic/Heavy/Power Metal
4.0/5.0

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Lion Music
Review: Craig Hartranft
Added: 12.07.2017

Stepping away, perhaps briefly, from his solo instrumental albums, guitar wizard Joe Stump has found time to form a new band, Tower Of Babel. The band is another collaboration with fellow Raven Lord member and vocalist Csaba Zvekan. (Which, of course, makes you wonder what the status of that band is now.) Tower Babel also features keyboard virtuoso Giuseppe Iampieri aka Mistheria.

Tower Of Babel Band Photo

Tower Of Babel

It's probably cynical to say, but with a Joe Stump album, vocal songs or not, you pretty much know what you're going to get. Tower Of Babel and Lake Of Fire is guitar forward melodic heavy metal powered by his neoclassical style shredding. Without apology, Stump admits his admiration of and inspiration from neoclassical guitar icon Yngie Malmsteem and also Ritchie Blackmore, in the early Ronnie James Dio era Rainbow. He also adds kudos to Schenker and Uli Jon Roth. Suffice to say then, the songs within this album sound much like a combination of Dio/Blackmore Rainbow, and early to mid-period DIO. While not sounding like that vocal metal god, Csaba Zvekan's timbre definitely adds some Ronnie James vibe to the sound. Actually, and honestly, Zvekan's vocal performance on this album is likely the best, most consistent, I've heard from him, meaning less wacko screamo(and way better than that horrid self-produced Metal Machine album).

The song set up is much the same throughout the album, something like intro, verse, verse, chorus, shred, verse and/or chorus, and then a shitload of more shredding. With that said, it nearly implies that Lake Of Fire could be monotonous or redundant, but it's not. The simple reason why it's not is that Joe Stump knows how to craft a good song around his guitar magic. Of the songs, I liked the one's that had a bit more rock groove underneath, such as Midnight Sun, Addicted, and the very Rainbow-esque It's Only Rock N Roll. Another song of note is the opener Dragon Slayer, where Mistheria's synth participation is bit more self-evident and colorful. Perhaps because he can't help himself, Lake Of Fire concludes with a Stump instrumental shred fest, All Out Warfare.

All in all, as said earlier, Tower Of Babel and Lake Of Fire is simply guitarist Joe Stump doing what he does best: guitar forward melodic heavy metal powered by his neoclassical style shredding. If you like that, than get this album. Recommended.



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The Bottom Line

Tower Of Babel and Lake Of Fire is simply guitarist Joe Stump doing what he does best: guitar forward melodic heavy metal powered by his neoclassical style shredding. If you like that, than get this album. Recommended.

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