Amarte [Digipak] - Manuel D'Oliveira & Mediterraneo

Advantages: Not overlong at 10 tracks, gets better with each listen.
Disadvantages: Opening track not the strongest.

...All the best records take a few listens (at least) to reveal their true nature. On first play this sounded like a typical 2nd album - longer tracks, less up-tempo. A month on this has to be my favourite CD of 2007. Nearly all the 10 tracks have resolved into fantastic, atmospheric (and not always gloomy!) tales of urban life and escape. Great tunes underpin the songs, with the now-trademark steepling guitar riffs standing out most in the choruses. Some not unwelcome echos of The Smiths are to be found in the lyrics, most obviously in the title track, but tracks like Weight of the World and Escape The Nest are really uplifting, the latter also containing the finest moments on the album with its soaring, thrilling chorus. What a live track that promises to be... Recommended! Ok then, what about the digipak? Well if you like a glossy... Read review

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Advantages: Classic track 'Bulldozer' & 4 bonus tracks, good production job
Disadvantages: By far the worst Machine Head Album let down by weak lyrical content

...to the point. The middle eight is almost a Slayer riff, but exactly what you want to hear and a welcome break from the monotony that has gone in the majority of tracks before. Ends with the sound of rain that leads into the next track... ...'Deafening Silence' is another leftfield track that is actually quite good. It has some good lyrics and guitar riffs, but best of all the clean parts sound right alongside Robb's singing. One thing though, I'm glad Machine Head never decided to retain this sound on their following releases. 'Supercharger' rounds out the album as the last track (The rest are bonus tracks limited to the Digipak Version). It's a welcome ending and a very punchy one with a similar opening as in the intro 'Declaration'. The riffs are aggressive and the title seems perfectly justified. A good ending to an album which is a slight... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: One of the best Nu Metal albums that has ever been released.
Disadvantages: It is imperfect, there was definitely room for improvement.

...of the Nu Metal rubbish that was extremely popular back in the early 2000s. I would definitely recommend this, it's not the best album in the world but it's certainly not one of the worst. The digipak edition of this album comes complete with a cardboard case rather than a standard plastic CD casing. I personally am a huge fan of digipak editions of albums and therefore tend to buy them whenever possible. There's something greatly appealing to me about the cardboard digipak casing of this 'Slipknot' album, for most however it's probably just as good to own a copy in the standard case. It really makes little difference, the tracks are all the same so the difference here is purely aesthetic. Whether buying the digipak edition or standard plastic cased 'Slipknot' album though, this is without doubt an album that I personally would strongly... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful