Mollo/Martin
The Third Cage

This is the third cage for this band, sorry I meant to say that it was the third album for this collaboration, an easy mistake to make as the words are so similar. Tony Martin and Dario Mollo known for collaborations and appearances in Black Sabbath, with Graham Bonnet of Rainbow fame, Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple fame and so on and so forth. Tony Martin is also one of those guys I think has that kind of solid and spectacular rock/metel voice that only very few singers are gifted with. As I said it is the third album by this collaboration and all of them has gotten the clever name The Cage, something which must be said to be very imaginative and exciting. They also seem to have been well received so it would seem as though the metal press are expecting something exciting again.

Did someone mention Headless Cross? No? Strange, think that album by Black Sabbath and then think away the production that is in place on that album and replace it with a much more modern one, this is about how The Third Cage sound. If you have not heard that album think a classical heavy metal album, no compromises and straight ahead, then add some modern touches in the production and a little clever guitar stuff to make a bit more sophisticated and then once more you know how this album sounds. It is straightforward, no complicated song structures or guitar solos that require eight fingers, no it is straightforward classical heavy metal. On top of that we have a classical voice, the one from the fantasy that rarely ever is heard on albums of this kind but still fits so very well into the music. A bit catchy I would say and then if you start dissecting (not the band members but the music) you will notice that it is quite layered which makes the album last longer than one might think just by listening to the style of the opening song. It is a cage that attempts to imprison you for about fifty minutes and ten tracks.

It all starts just brilliantly with the track Wicked World which is a tune that just makes you want to sing along and it sticks to your mind and does not want to leave but who cares when it is such a great song? Another great song on this album is the fourth one which is another energetic and enthusiastic song that is just great as well and while we’re at it I want to say that the eight track is quite brilliant as well. But besides these tracks, what is there? I would say a lot. It is minutes of great music, energy, heaviness, catchiness, power and melodies along with of course really good songs so I would say that it is a very good album with some really brilliant music a general quality feel to it.

WIth a singer like Tony Martin and such metal hits as the ones on this album it feels sort of impossible to go wrong as it is so good. It is easy to take in but still it also lasts for a long time thanks to the subliminal layering that makes you keep discovering things in the music that you haven’t noticed before. I reminds a lot about the Headless Cross album but of course with a lot more modern touch than that album but with the same magnificent singer that can carry songs alone on his voice and that my friends is something not many can.

I would say that it seems like january is not only a metal month on Frontiers, it also appears to be a month where all the album hold a very high standard. Three good album with two of them being really good, I think this album is really good and hopefully it can get a good reach and sell a lot because good music like this deserves to be getting out there. I would in the end before I loose myself in a world of feverish delusions just like to say that this is the album that you have been waiting for since Martin left Black Sabbath, if you are a fan of the Headless Cross era.

In one word: great!