Logar’s Diary-Book 1: Iostros A long narrative at the outset of this cd sets the tone for the story line of a return to normalcy to a land under the domination of the forces of darkness.

From this point you can see the direction of the central theme that the songs are to follow. Logar’s Diary 1st release provides little deviation in style from so many bands that exist among the fantasy power metal genre. Their signature comes from the moodiness of the tone of the song structures. From the opening track the band demonstrates that these boys can play with the speed of Secret Sphere and Labyrinth.

Vocally there appears to be a similarity to Vace of Highlord which means a generally mid-range performance. Even though the effort by Hagen Hieachmann on throat is presented in a personal style that make the singing fit the music well, there is just something missing. After several listens, it seems that vocals are just too dry in the mix yet one should hope the singer can improve just a bit more the next time around. Additionally, Hagen has not yet mastered his voice in its entirely but he is way ahead of other vocalists that started out weakly and improved over the years, for example Skylark’s Fabio Dosso.

The mix seems to be reasonably competent especially for a self-financed production but given the music played, there was a screaming need to have a more dynamic or sonic quality to emphasis the dramatic nature of the song writing and performances. A perfect example of this is the acoustic ballad that could benefit from an increased instrumentation to accent its mood. For my money if this band had some one like Sasha Perth doing the production, this could have been a monster release (then again every metal band would want a top producer).

Clearly LD makes a strong effort to create songs that are individualist in their sound but unfortunately the band’s effort in this area would seem to be still in development. LD’s approach to its music seems fall somewhere between Blind Guardian and Elvenking. Influences from Gamma Ray and Running Wild show themselves at various times.

Overall the songwriting and the performances are a bit uneven but the average age of the players works out to be 24. Needless to say this band definitely is in its infancy as it pertains to its musically maturity. The most exciting part of this release still remains that LD does get off to a solid start but it begs the question “is it enough?”

Bands like Logar’s Diary worry me in the sense that bands do develop at different paces like children do. Will the generally public be patient enough for outfits like this to mature or take to new bands that come out of the gate from the start of their carriers like gangbusters? In the latter case, bands like Sonata Arctica, Red Wind and Falconer with their 1st cds took the musically world by storm and showed their maturity right away.

For the sake of metal one prays that underground bands like LG continue to exist and someday prosper since for us dedicated metal heads they are the meat and potatoes that allow us enjoy the diversity they provide. Three cheers to Logar’s Diary and their future, they have the right idea!

- Review by Ernie

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