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I still remember the shock I got
when, a few years ago, I listened
to Cornerstone for the first time.
You see, the album that found its
way to my stereo was "Human
Stain" which I think is one
of the finest samples of melodic
hard rock of the new millennium.
I still consider this to be one of
the best hard rock albums I have
in my possession. I know it sounds
as a blasphemy since many people
ignore the band's existence
but believe me when I tell you this
album is great. Their other works
("Arrival", "Once
Upon Our Yesterdays") are fine
examples of well played melodic hard
rock too. So, you can understand
that a new Cornerstone studio release,
after so many years, couldn't
leave me uninterested.
"Two Tales
of One Tomorrow" is the title of
Cornerstone's
new work that finally came after
four years of waiting. You see, its
predecessor, "Once Upon Our
Yesterdays" was released in
2003 and the band gave us a live
recording in 2005 also by the simple
title "In Concert". In
this new album Cornerstone remain
on the same path they have followed
before so don't expect for
crucial changes or evolution here.
The overall production work is one
step higher compared to their previous
efforts and their sound heavier and
more bombastic than ever before.
The characteristic keyboards' sound
is here again but this time the keys
play a more distinctive role and
not the primary one they had before.
Most of the compositions follow a
mid-tempo rhythm with a few bursts.
Dougie White's performance
is excellent as always. As it concerns
musicianship Cornerstone are still
capable of offering catchy melodies
and memorable songs such as "Misery",
"Two Tales of One Tomorrow" (Cornerstone's
"Gates of Babylon") or the powerful
emotional ballad "Blinded" (my
personal favorite of the album).
On the other hand, the band shows
stability and sometimes is recycling
older and already used ideas, something
that hurts the overall good picture
of the album. Why "Starlight
and Mystery" should remind
of "Midnight in Tokyo" so
plainly? And that's not the
only case...
All in all, "Two
Tales of One Tomorrow" is a
good album with its ups and downs.
Next to some excellent compositions
there are mediocre tracks or indifferent
moments. Truth is that it disappointed
me a little, not because it's
bad or anything but cause my expectations
were maybe too high about this one.
If you never had the chance to come
in touch with Cornerstone's
music before this could be the perfect
chance to do so. Nevertheless, an
album that every fan of classic melodic
hard rock or melodic metal should
find very interesting.
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