Saturday, November 26, 2011

Egypt ... Unveiled ... Unfettered

The cover seems almost mystical. Symbols, slightly forboding, floating in the night sky above the pyramids. An end of the world scenario? Perhaps. Only the musicians behind this, Hossam Ramzy and Phil Thornton, know for sure.

Egypt Unveiled follows the duo's other Egypt-centered releases, Eternal Egypt, Immortal Egypt and Enchanted Egypt. (Typing "Egypt" that many times makes the word seem almost unreal by this point.) It is kind of a love letter to Egypt and all that it encompasses, and if you don't read the song titles, it's actually not too bad. The music is modern Egyptian utilized through various Egyptian musicians going to town with traditional instruments. These aren't old folk songs, but new compositions meant to inspire awe and wonder. If you read the song titles, though, it sounds like you may have stumbled onto a metal band from the '80s.

"Cleopatra's Secret," "Sett in Stone," "Egypt Unveiled (Part 1)," "The Sword of Orion," and "Storm Over Giza" are just a sampling of the 13 songs to be found here. Seriously, if you picked this up and knew nothing about it, could you not picture a wonderland of guitar solos and at least one ominous spoken word intro? "The beasts of Stygianhall came forth from the skies upon steeds of fire to take home in the mighty pyramids. That night it was said a warrior was born. That warrior, bonded by the blood of pharaohs, carried forth a magical weapon ... the only weapon that could kill the Stygianhall beasts. That weapon ... The Sword of Orion!" Cue the manic guitars and thudding double-bass.

All kidding aside, this is fairly interesting release. I run hot and cold on Ramzy, but this release is not about merit. Those song titles, though, have got to go.


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