Metal Reviews

I'd like to know what you think about this singer and his last album "EmOcean" ?!
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If you like Hubi check out his other releases:

He sang on Dreamscape's "Very" album as well as his Cut EP and did vocals on several tracks on the Book of Reflections album / project.

not bad, but not great.

I've been meaning to buy EmOcean for years now.

@Ben: Yes, I have CUT, too...Never listened to "Very", but I heard many times about this album and many people advised me to buy it. Seems to be a good prog. album. For what concerns "Book of Reflections", I'm ordering it this week, I've wanted this album for some time now...(Mistheria as well...) This singer is really original, I think ! We can't compare his voice to no other one.

@ Eyesore: Well, I strongly suggest this album - Emocean - to you. It's quite complex and the concept story is very great !!!! I didn't regret it, for sure !!!

Ok. I don’t know if I can do that here…maybe some of you won’t like it at all (I still don’t know most of the bands from these forums…so the ones I talk about are always the same ones). But well, I take a chance.

First, I must say that I'm not very good to review CD's. I never really did that before but I'll try to do my best, here, and describe an album simply as I FEEL it (I cannot explain all the technical/musical sides and parts, as professional reviewers do - I’m not an expert and I just don’t know HOW to talk about it…) but still, I really think Hubi Meisel’s "EmOcean" deserves to be discovered and appreciated by as many people as possible. It's one of the most wonderful progressive CD's I have in my collection and I sincerely hope that my comments will be useful to you...

For those who aren’t interested, well, sorry…don’t read it !

I heard about this singer and album for the first time (and bought the CD) about two months ago and what I can say about it is that I really got impressed by the amount of work that was invested in this album ! About 15 months, I think ! There was a lot of research and time invested, as lots of feelings. It’s definitely not the kind of project you write in 2 months. It's a FANTASTIC album !!!!!! My favourite one, in fact ! I would qualify it in one word: magical.
The concept idea is very deep, complex, meaningful, beautiful and interesting. It's related to "water worlds", “the sunken continent”, “Greek mythologies”, "the above" and much more ! I let you discover it by yourselves - this huge and marvellous story - as it really worth !!! (All that was inspired by the singer’s dreams). It's like a whole big story that continues itself through the songs...This is like a dream...and you'd only wish to be there...If you close your eyes, you really can "feel" and "see" everything that happens in the album. You "fly" in that world...like in a fantastic movie...That's M-A-G-I-C !!!

This piece of work is very special, original (never seen that kind of work before, I must say, you can’t compare it to something that already exists), mystical, spiritual even relaxing, in some way ! It’s a very positive album, too !!! Makes me happy, relaxed and good every time I listen to it. This is the kind of album that makes your skin shivers to every note, every line, every sound. Also, the lyrics are so well written, the words so well chosen, this only adds more strength to the album because you can "see" clear images of every song in your mind. Hubi Meisel has such a way to describe things ! It's very easy to picture everything here...

Of course, I like Hubi Meisel's voice very very much too !!! This depends on people: or you love it, or you hate it. It sounds so sweet and he's able to make all the "changes" he wants with it. He plays with his voice very well, which I especially love. Some people complains that his voice is not aggressive enough, too girlish and boring, but personally, I don’t agree AT ALL and I don’t feel it that way. (I guess it depends tastes…) But I don’t think that it would fit, as the album is not aggressive at all. The vocals doesn’t NEED to be more aggressive or different. This album is musically and vocally incredible (for me !) and left me wordless. There are a lot of interesting variations through every song, for any aspect. More you listen to it, more you discover new sounds, new things that you didn’t get at the first hearing because it’s well hidden. I like the piano and keyboards very much, as there is a lot !!! The music is just amazing anyway !!! The album is simply "Emotional", haha.

But honestly, it's very difficult to say which song is the best !!! ALL OF THEM (12 songs) are great equally - but for different reasons !! (There are 2 bonus tracks too = 14 songs in total). Personally, if I had to tell you which are my 4 favourite songs, I'd choose:

1- "EmOcean" (so sweet, so beautiful, my favourite vocals, just made me cry...nice ballad I’d say and that’s the end of the story, perfect to close an album.)
2- "The Souls of Atlantis" (long and complex song, great beat, musical, vocal changes and much more !)
3- "Sapientia Vitae" (great music, meaning and more too !)
4- “FantaSea” (hear it by yourselves, you’ll understand !!)

But REALLY, all of them are AS GOOD AS each other and deserve to be listened to !!! I recommend it to everyone !!! Or at least, try it, then you can have a better idea…
That's gonna make you see things in a way you never saw them before...It may sounds stupid to you, but this album REALLY changed my way of seeing some things and opened me to different “horizons”, “new worlds”. It’s very attractive to me. It CHANGED me. Which never happened to me before with any other album, not even Edguy’s (haha !).
Basically, "EmOcean" touched my heart and soul in a way I can't describe and that's now my favourite album. Maybe it’s not the kind of music or vocals everybody likes, but it’s not only that. Everything goes together. The meaning and the message of the album, the lyrics are something impressive in itself !!! Me, I liked everything !!!!! The whole work. Oh ! And the sound quality is VERY good too. That’s something I always appreciate.
In my opinion, Hubi Meisel and his musicians have done a "meticulous" job, here !!!! I just can't wait for the next album. I'm really trustful that it's gonna be quite "delightful" !

In case you’d like to know more about the artist and hear some MP3’s, or read the whole concept story (it’s really worth and interesting !!!), you can go to this link:

http://www.hubimeisel.com/index.php?m=g ... =gallery01

Thanks for reading me !

Nice review Vikie!,I like this album myself very much.

Hola mae !!! (Costarican expression only, I guess...)

I was going to say "Hola cabrón"...but then I just remembered that this Spanish word is not very nice. Once I said that to a friend "thinking" I was saying "Hola amigo"... :? :oops: You probably guessed what happened. I was feeling SOOO BAD.
Anyway.

Thanks for your reply and also, glad that you liked the album ! It's a very special one !

Hahahaha! dont worry its not a very BAD Word,if you say it to a friend it would be like saying hey dude(like saying Whats up Bitch? to a friend),but i guess i can understand how someone can get mad with that.

I've worked in enough restaurants, I know what that shit means, too! Hahaha...

Anyway, EmOcean, from what I have heard did sound damn good! I do plan on buying it, but like I said, I buy so much music it slips my mind. For instance, here's what I've gotten in the mail and at used shops this week alone:

Emilie Autumn - Chambermaid (EP)
Emilie Autumn - On A Day... (EP)
Emilie Autumn - By The Sword (EP)
Charlotte Martin - Test-Drive Songs
Dreamaker - Enclosed
Brainstorm - Metus Mortis
Event - Human Condition
Gardenian - Sindustries
Metalium - Mellennium Metal: Chapter One
The End - Within Dividia
The Shroud - In The Garden
Jag Panzer - Casting The Stones
Vio-Lence - Opressing The Masses/Torture Tactics
Beseech - Black Emotions
Beseech - ...From A Bleeding Heart

I'm expecting these in the mail:

Nightingale - Nightfall Overture
Unicorn - Complete Discography (Courtesy of Dan Swano)
Roland Grapow - Four Seasons
Removal feat. Devin Townsend - 7"
Snapcase - Bright Flashes
Engine - Superholic
Curse Of The Demon: Mercyful Fate Tribute
Circle II Circle - Middle Of Nowhere
Dismal Euphony - Python Zero
Obsidian Halo - Demo
Trixie - Lift You Up

I'm a music addict! Someday I'll get it though! =)

Hey Eyesore,isnt that nightingale album called 'the breating shadow'? anyway Nightingale is a great band,wow you sure purchase a lot.

No, Dan and Tom just re-recorded a bunch of Nightingale tunes for their 10th Anniversary. They re-did an Edge Of Sanity song, and recorded a new Nightingale song for the CD, as well.



01. Nightfall Overture
02. Dreamreader
03. Revival
04. Steal The Moon
05. I Return
06. Alonely
07. Shadowland Serenade
08. Glory Days
09. Losing Myself (Edge Of Sanity song from Infernal)
10. Better Safe Than Sorry (New Song)

I've already had it downloaded. The new songs sound killer, especially the tracks from The Breathing Shadow. Hearing them this way makes me just want to hear them all that way!! You can only order the CD from Dan, $17 through Paypal. Ask about the Unicorn CDR, too, he's putting all the Unicorn tracks on MP3 for me on one CD. He said he may start offering that to fans (thank me for that because I suggested he do it).

And yes, I buy tons and tons of music. All relatively cheap though. I probably spent $50 for all those CDs listed above. I've learned how to get shit cheap over the years.

Yish !!!! :shock:
This is the kind of list I'd have TO purchase...(for the "quantity" at least, as I know nothing of what you have there...hehe...) but me too, I'm a music addict and I love to buy CD's. (Just don't like burnt stuff...) REALLY, add "Emocean" to your list !!!

I absolutely HATE burnt music! The only way I'll tolerate it is if it's the only way I can get it. I need the actual CD in order to be happy!

The same for me !!!!!

Yeah,i dont like burnt cds either(i just burn my originals to listen in my car),i have a friend who owns a metal shop,and i help him sell when we go to the local gigs,what pisses me off is that a lot of people that comes to the stand sees something they like and they still preffer to pay 5 bucks for a burnt cd than 15 for an original.i would never understand how can people BUY copies,i mean if youre not gonna buy it at least download it yourself,dont make some parasite rich at the expense of good musicians,i guess im lucky for having this friend who owns a metal shop,when new cds come to his store i just grab whatever i like and pay him later.

Indeed, you are (lucky) !!!! Me, I always have to wait quite a long time before to buy what I want...I have a HUUUGE list that has been waiting for years, here...Someday, hopefully...this is without forgetting all the DVD's and great shows coming !!! (sighs)

PM me you want list if you want. I go into Boston all the time and find used stuff really, really cheap. I've said a million times here (or maybe like three times, but who's counting?), Nuggest in Kenmore Square has a huge $2 section. Hundreds of CDs. Some days they have shit, some days I walk out of there with 30 CDs!

Anyway, I can't promise anything, but I'd take a look at your list and if I can find anything I'd pick it up (as long as you pay me, of course).

Well at least you got great shows coming(so jelaous),me i got to travel really far to get to a big concert and thats really expensive.
I get what you said about the list,and the problem is that you re not finish buying all of the stuff on the list and then you got like 20 new stuff that you would like to buy,so you gotta make priorities and that becomes quite a task as you discover more bands.

Yes, I'll tell you if there's something...In Quebec, we USUALLY don't have much problems finding what we want...our HMV's have huuuge metal sections, hehe...but sometimes, there is stuff they just can't order, for many reasons. I have about 3 albums in mind (that I never found here, yet...), but maybe I'll tell you later...And OF COURSE, you could trust me for the money !!! I'm really honest...