| 
| Artist: Amethystium
Label: Neurodisc
List Price: $18.98
Buy New: $12.84
You Save: $6.14 (32%)
New (32) Used (9) from $9.92
Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 6115
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 32088
UPC: 754863208829
EAN: 0754863208829
ASIN: B000RW6WPS
Release Date: June 17, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW, Factory Sealed items direct from the Studios. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Quick International Airmail!
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 17
 Avid listener August 8, 2008
Terry Groff (Corpus Christi, TX USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Very nice instrumental, increased use of melodic vocals, not as good as previous relesaes. Worth the cost. Hope the next is better.
 maybe 80's bliss? September 26, 2008
Delia
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
To me it sounded a little like background movie for a late 80's or 90's movie. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but just giving an idea out there of what to expect.
 Still the best "New Age" out there--a little brighter this time around October 22, 2008
Andrew J. Klimek (South Plainfield, NJ)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Amethystium has been very high on my list of favorites since the first album, and this one is no disappointment! For the fourth time now, Oystein Ramfjord somehow pulls out of the trite "New Age" genre with something new and truly inspiring. As new age-flavored electronica, his compositions are richly textured with synths, percussion, flutes, strings, guitars, and female vocalise.
The last album from Amethystium was a retrospective of the so-called "Dragonfly Trilogy." Now with
Isabliss, Oystein sought to paint some different realms for us. The over-all tone of the album sounds brighter, following a trend within the trilogy as well. Specifically, the "eastern" vocal techniques and instruments have been exchanged for brighter, more western-sounding vocals and numerous violin passages. Both sound fantastic, and I tend to prefer this brighter vibe. However, compared to the eastern elements, their performance could stand some more emotion. Another shift is the percussion. There is both more acoustic drumming and more glitchy-ness in the electronic percussion. Isabliss contains one track that was initially released on the retrospective "Emblem." Happily, it is not the best track on Isabliss, so the thrill isn't spoiled. It is a fair representation of the new sound, but the tracks "Treasure" (which has full english lyric) and "Frosty Morning Bliss" really showcase it the best.
I must say that the last three tracks were a let down compared to the excellent first eight. `Silken Twine" starts out pretty cool, with perhaps the most compelling vocal on the disc, but it goes nowhere and has some weird whisper chanting at the end. "Dreamlike Insomnia" has all the classic Amethystium leads, but they all sound like a cheap imitation, playing over some monster-in-the-closet sounding of percussion. I guess the name is accurate anyhow! The last track is a typical Amethystium closer. It starts sort of dark and off-kilter, but kicks in after two minutes. But,
With killer tracks like "La Pluie" (containing the most crushing variation to date of his signature synth!), "Treasure" (english lyric, yet classic Amethystium), "Anthemoessa" (great acoustic Drumming), and "Strangely Beautiful" (soaring vocals and violin)--this album has been in my player a lot!
(Just one note for the folks who say it sounds 80s... You're likely not listening on a Marantz receiver and a Boston A100 loudspeakers ; )
Amazing album June 19, 2008
Kamil Staszewski
For me Isabliss is a perfect continuation of the previous 3 albums. It's one of these few compilation that you can listen over and over and never get bored :]
 Pretty Good July 25, 2008
hiromastuo
I have all of the previous Amethystium albums. Unfortunately New Age/Electronica music (at least the stuff I like) has been on the decline for the past several years. I will say that Isabliss ranks probably the third best Amethystium album IMHO. I like it more than Evermind which I thought was a bit of a departure.
Highlights of this album are definitely Treasure and Silken Twine. The others are good too and definitely true to form. It's hard to believe that it's been 4 years since the last album. This one contains more ethereal vocals than the others, but they don't really detract from the music.
|
|
|
