Dungeon are a 4 piece Australian Power Metal group who hail from Sydney, Australia. The group formed in August 1989, and after 16 years, a huge number of line up changes and 3 albums (plus a number of other releases), the band has recently annouced they are parting ways. Resurrection is considered to be Dungeon's first album, and was released in October 1999. It should be noted that it was re-released in May 2005, which is what this review is based upon. The song 'Let It Go' from the original has been replaced by a new song called 'Severed Ties'.
The Band:
Lord Tim - Lead & Backing Vocals, Guitars and additional Keyboards
Dale Corney - Guitars and Backing Vocals
Juz - Bass and Backing & Lead Vocals
Stevo - Drums and Backing Vocals
Gustav Hoffmann - guest Keyboards
Death From Above - Opening/Filler track. Not particularly needed.
Resurrection - Excellent opening song. It's opens hard and fast, quickly sets the mood of the rest of the album. I love the chorus to this song, particularly the backing vocals. Drums are pretty kickass as well.
Paradise - Pretty Maiden sounding intro, which is nice. Actually, the whole song reminds me of Maiden. It features some rather melodic sounding riff played over some of the chunkier stuff, giving a great combination. The vocal melodies are also great. This is one of those songs makes you feel like singing at the top of your lungs. Cool outro solo.
No Way Out - A pretty fast sounding riff opens the song, and it's decent. It does however become a little tedious after a while. The song structure is prett basic, with a solo/bridge changing things up towards the end. Not my favourite piece.
Wake Up - The opening guitar lick, is pretty darn cool. I can't figure out who it reminds me of, but it has a Bluesy sound to me. Anyway, the procedes well, with a rocking verse and chorus. Highlighting the song is the bridge at halfway. It slows to a soft, clean guitar piece, with my second favourite Dungeon solo, and some nice calming vocals. The chorus rounds out the song well.
Fight - This song keeps you on your toes. It's pretty much the opposite of No Way Out, and is consequently one of my fav's from the album. Instrumentally it stays fairly heavy the entire time, but what is being played changes a couple of times a minute. The point where the solo kicks in/finishes are some of the best moments. I also like the 'Fight, Fight, Fight' chant. m/
Severed Ties - Another awesome track. Bass is simple in the intro, but remains fairly prominent. Everything else is sweet as well, creating a great slower paced track with those sing along kind of vocals (the good kind of course). It's a Power Ballad that I best described as awesome.
Time To Die - Things become darker here, with an intro that reminds of the sound of an Exorcism video I saw the other day. The song itself is rather of a rather fast pace. It's pretty straight foward power metal track really.
I Am Death - Being based more on the low end of the guitar is where Dungeon rock the most, and it's particularly noticeable after the previous song. This song rocks, and there's a high note in the intro that has a Dimebag written all over it. I love it. Song is pretty darn good throughout, with a riff after solo that I'm compelled to bang my head to every time. See for yourself.
Judgement Day - Another song beginning with a soft intro and a great little solo that showcases Tim's amazing tone. The song picks up after a minute or so to a tempo and style consistent with the rest of the album. The ending solo is pretty darn cool, and I imagine this is a fun song to play.
The Legend Of Huma - An epic sounging sample sees the songs beginning, before opening up to a sweet ass riff. The vocals are pretty cool, changing sound now and again giving a nice variety. Just when that opening riff starts to get tiresome, things change into another very Maiden-esque piece. The final vocal harmony finishes the albums longest song well.
Playing To Win - Wow, and electronica sounding intro opens the song for a few seconds. Things are soon back to normal, with more of what we've seen throughout the album already. Not a bad song, but by now things are seeming a little repetative to me.
Waiting For An Alabi - I'm kind of glad this is the last song. Things are seeming a bit repetative now (and I have to get off my train in a minute :lol: ). Anyway, the songs not bad. It's different to the rest of the album anyway. I'm not even sure if it's Tim doing vocals. Seems a lot more umm, dare I say commercial, but yeah, you can make your own decision. Not a great song.
Overall - The influence Iron Maiden has had on Dungeon can be seen greatly on this album. It's a fine Aussie Power Metal album, but it won't be known for breaking any musical boundaries. Because I'm a n00b when it comes to Power Metal, my rating my be a little off, but I'll try to be fair and give it 3.5. Give it a listen if your a fan of Maiden or Power Metal in general.
