Review: Airs – A Rock Opera, By Steve Brockmann and George Andrade

Saying awesome was my first reaction after first listening, it sounds like a mixture of legendary Eloy, Camel and Savatage, plus classic Rock and some pieces of our beloved Heavy Metal at first listening. But I feel it will be even more interesting after more listening. We are still in the beginning of 2012, but AIRS-A ROCK OPERA is going to be one my favourites this year.

The album is as long as it can be,it includes 18 tracks and honestly it was hard for me to pick one as my number one, as there are several masterpieces that shine so bright or Rock so heavy. From classic rock to heavy metal and even a piece in the neo-classical style, a widespread view of good sounding music, it shows the great talent of the composer, Steve Brockmann in writing music. Another thing that I should mention here, is the great flair and creativity of George Andrade in writing the lyrics, I’m really impressed and believe me or not, I could see all the stories in my eyes.

It’s like reading a book or watching a drama which starts in a dock, so make sure that you are ready for a trip to a fantastic symbolic world, just let that kite go and fly, then you’ll find yourself floating in the ‘AIRS’, it feels light like a feather, you may even feel sad, not painful but a joyful sadness, I want to call this ETERNITY and that’s truth. Piano, Keyboard and Guitar joined forces to play such ideal songs like “Fateful Days”, “Kite” , and “Floating” which sounds like a mixture of Pink Floyd and Camel to me and also I want to mention some Heavy songs like “Heritage”, “Flight II” and “Grounded II” in this album which remind me of pure German Heavy Rock Metal. Several singers appeared in this album and I can tell you that they are all great and it seems everybody and everything in this album are in right place, and that’s one of the reasons that I called this album awesome.

Maybe one of my favourite moments in this album is when Harpsichord enters into the instrumental song “History” and play with an overdriven guitar. The joining of a keyboard in the background mission is completed to enjoy the song, but I really wish it was a little longer. “History” is a great intro for the next song, “Heritage” which brings with it the Rock and Rolling of distorted guitars, a bass guitar that play wonderful rhythms and riffs and also a piano which appears with a great riff, the sound of which invokes the feeling of dancing in a dream.

Check out the musicians and artists have appeared on this album below:

The Vocal Cast

Paul Adrian Villarreal (Sun Caged) as Owen
Gordon Tittsworth (Images of Eden, Dread The Forsaken) as Derrick, Owen & The Narrator
Tilman Eckelt (Grailknights) as Owen
Cornelius Kappabani as Owen, Derrick & The Islanders
Jan Hoving (Stonefly, A. Vandenberg) as Owen
Floor Kraaijvanger (Superfloor, Floored) as Annabelle & The Narrator
Antila Thomsen as Hannah

The Musicians

Steve Brockmann plays guitars, bass and all keyboards
Jochen Ohl plays drums on all tracks but “Grounded II”
Phil Robertson plays drums on “Grounded II”
Dave Meros (Spock’s Beard) plays bass on “Annabelle” and “Flight II”
Christoph Brockmann plays bass on “The Great Salt Pond”
Alan Morse (Spock’s Beard) provides guitar effects and solos to “Flight II”

With

George Andrade provides spoken words for Owen
Seann Jackson provides spoken words for Craig
Leigh Andrade provides spoken words for Rachel
Nicolette Collard-Andrade provides spoken words for Annabelle
Tony Kost provides spoken words for Coleman Burke

The artwork of this album is the best choice and I cannot imagine something better than this, it really fits those dream maker masterpieces and I seriously suggest you get a hard copy of this album, if you don’t want to miss the very impressive stories and that fantastic artwork. As my final word, if you are always looking for good music or if you are one of those people who like Camel, Eloy, Savatage or Pink Floyd, this album is for you, but if you are looking for growling stuff, luckily or unfortunately this is not yours. My rate for AIRS – A ROCK OPERA is 9/10.