Cellador - Honor Forth (EP)

Looks like these guys quietly resurfaced with a new demo EP called Honor Forth. Right now, it appears to be a download-only release. Luckily, however, it's free.

Chris Petersen is the only original member of the band, but that doesn't seem to have changed much. The vocalist sings in a lower range than Gremio did, but he's solid.

After one listen, this is a really good EP. So here it is. I added the Leaving All Behind EP, plus two rare early tracks, a cover of X-Japan's "Silent Jealousy" and a live rehearsal cut called "I Ain't Even ('Til I'm One Ahead)."

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KT9PNOKT

Snag it!

I was a huge fan of this band (and any and all things power metal back in high school) when they first surfaced. I was so sure they were going to be the next Stratovarius, but I guess something didn't translate to the next level and they faded into obscurity, even after I dropped like $16 for Leaving All Behind.

Interested to give this a spin. Thanks for the contribution.

Liked their first one a lot. Hope this comes out on CD some time.

Andy wrote:

I was a huge fan of this band (and any and all things power metal back in high school) when they first surfaced. I was so sure they were going to be the next Stratovarius, but I guess something didn't translate to the next level and they faded into obscurity, even after I dropped like $16 for Leaving All Behind.

Interested to give this a spin. Thanks for the contribution.

They just imploded with the success, I think. I know Bill had some serious drinking problems (which might be why he's been in like ten bands since leaving Cellador), but I don't know what other kinds of issues they had.

The guitarist, though, was one of two founding members, so it sounds like he's still doing the past justice. I dig it.

And I agree, I hope they get a real CD out soon.

They never got any success in my opinion. Metal Blade's attempt to sign the next Dragonofrce was extremelly short-lived, and resulted in punching Cellador's ticket way too early. I remember seeing their CD in the cut-out bins mere weeks after the release date.

Not that I'm huge fan of theirs to be honest. They are okay, but that genre is so saturated nowadays I totally get drowned and lost...

stormspell wrote:

They never got any success in my opinion. Metal Blade's attempt to sign the next Dragonofrce was extremelly short-lived, and resulted in punching Cellador's ticket way too early. I remember seeing their CD in the cut-out bins mere weeks after the release date.

Not that I'm huge fan of theirs to be honest. They are okay, but that genre is so saturated nowadays I totally get drowned and lost...

They also weren't ready for the Big Time. They were like the metal version of Dane Cook.

I saw Dane in Boston a few years before he hit the mainstream, and the dude was absolutely hilarious. He had the entire place in tears. But then he got popular too fast, had an HBO special, all that. But he clearly did not have the material to handle such a long set, so it was lackluster at best.

Cellador put out a fantastic EP (Leaving All Behind) and the Metal Blade signed them. But guess what? They didn't have any more songs! So they had to bang out new songs in just a few weeks. Sadly, those four songs are not as strong as the four from the EP—which are actually the same versions on Enter Deception.

(I know all this because I know someone who is actually friends with the band; his brother was the original singer.)

So while there was a lot of hype behind these guys, the album wasn't strong enough, and the band, especially Bill, just wasn't ready. Metal Blade, it seemed, was attempting to do the mainstream shove-it-down-your-throat-to-make-a-quick-buck thing.

Eyesore wrote:

stormspell wrote:

They never got any success in my opinion. Metal Blade's attempt to sign the next Dragonofrce was extremelly short-lived, and resulted in punching Cellador's ticket way too early. I remember seeing their CD in the cut-out bins mere weeks after the release date.

Not that I'm huge fan of theirs to be honest. They are okay, but that genre is so saturated nowadays I totally get drowned and lost...

They also weren't ready for the Big Time...

Cellador put out a fantastic EP (Leaving All Behind) and the Metal Blade signed them. But guess what? They didn't have any more songs! So they had to bang out new songs in just a few weeks. Sadly, those four songs are not as strong as the four from the EP—which are actually the same versions on Enter Deception.

(I know all this because I know someone who is actually friends with the band; his brother was the original singer.)

So while there was a lot of hype behind these guys, the album wasn't strong enough, and the band, especially Bill, just wasn't ready. Metal Blade, it seemed, was attempting to do the mainstream shove-it-down-your-throat-to-make-a-quick-buck thing.

This kind of explains a lot. Thanks for the download.

Guess the new singer is actually the guitarist, Chris.

CELLADOR also didn't seem ready to tour, which is what "making it" is all about.

The Honor Forth EP is now available in CD format. It's been "remixed and remastered."

http://cellador.bigcartel.com/product/honor-forth-ep

I just ordered it. Hopefully it's not a CDR, but these days I'm more surprised when an unsigned band releases a real CD.

Got the EP in the mail today. It comes in a jewelcase with full artwork, multi-page booklet, lyrics, etc. I can't tell if it's a CDR. I think it is, because I can see the burn line, but it's as professional as you can get.

It's a really great EP. I hope they get a new record deal and full-length together at some point.

Unfortunatly, that new tune reminds me why I ditched their album in the first place. It just sounds like speed for speeds sake. Someone mentioned the Drangonforce connection. I can see that. From what I remember, all the tunes sounded the same. Just full-throttle, double-bass, shred fest. Talented players, but soul-less.

I saw Cellador open for Gamma Ray/Avian and yes the reason why they never had success was because Bill was a drunk he has since sobered up!

Metalwargod

I don't mind the speed and the double bass and all that. In the wrong mood it can definitely be a little too much (just like with death metal and whatnot), but they write catchy tunes for the most part, which is most important for me.

I was a big fan of Enter Deception.One of my favorite releases that year.I can understand what MG is saying about the Dragonforce thing but I just like these guys better.Dont know how to describe it really.I guess they just write better melodies or something.

Thrasher73 wrote:

I was a big fan of Enter Deception.One of my favorite releases that year.I can understand what MG is saying about the Dragonforce thing but I just like these guys better.Dont know how to describe it really.I guess they just write better melodies or something.

Definitely. Their songs are just catchier.

There's nothing wrong with this EP, I guess. I just listened on Spotify. There is nothing, though, that makes it worth listening to over the 15,003 other bands like this that popped up after Hammerfall and Stratovarius got so big at the turn of the millenium.

When I first heard Hammerall in the late 90s, it was such a fresh sound, after being immersed in decidedly 90s metal for so long. At the Gates and Soilwork were cool, but I really wanted something else. After hearing Glory to the Brave, I would dig for power metal whenever and wherever I could. At first, it was not that easy. But at some point, in like 2002 or something, I can't remember for sure, all of a sudden these bands were just all over the place, to varying degrees of success.

I peaced out of the power metal world and only took a peak back in every rare once in a while when an old fave put out a new album or I saw an album cover that was too nice not too look into. Though by 2005 or so it seemed more effort was going into the album covers than the music.

Well, the Internet expanded the music scene for all of us in the late 90s, early 2000s, but it's not like there were thousands upon thousands of power metal bands out there before that.

Either way, sounds like you just burnt yourself out. This is why these days I like to listen to all my music on shuffle. I have playlists created for styles, like hardcore, power metal, prog, etc., and some for specific bands with large catalogs, but shuffle keeps it all fresh for me, doesn't give me genre burnout.

Cellador is surely nothing special in the power metal realm, but good is good, you know. And they're quite good, even great at times. That's perfectly fine for me.

Shuffle is an amazing thing.

MetalRob331 wrote:

Shuffle is an amazing thing.

I am definitely a big fan of shuffle. Sometimes I, of course, want full albums, but, especially while driving, I often just want to get a good mix of all the stuff I love.

Sometimes shuffle can be annoying, if I keep having to skip because certain tracks (say, for example, a track from a Cradle of Filth album that is just a woman screaming over an organ and then some wind sound effects) only work when in the context of an album.

I'm most definitely an album kind of guy, I generally don't like shuffle. I'll start on shuffle but then I'll hear a particular song that makes me want to hear the rest of the album and I'll switch it off.

I do that all the time. Shuffle lands on a band I'm just in the mood to hear and I go on a listening spree. Then I get sick of them and move back to shuffle. Rinse, repeat.

And let's be honest, there's really no other way to listen to a collection like mine. In addition to all the albums I own, I've also downloaded hundreds if not a thousand or more albums over the years. Mostly those old, rare albums, stuff released in a band's early days, demos, obscure stuff, etc., but it adds up. So shuffle is the only way I can really listen to the breadth of my collection, even if just songs here and there and not always full albums.

MetalRob331 wrote:

Shuffle is an amazing thing.

Yes. I almost exclusively listen to shuffle. I like the variety,it never gets old. But I do like to do complete albums from time to time also,just to switch things up and keep it fresh.

http://cellador.bigcartel.com/product/honor-forth-ep

Latest EP is on sale for just $3.98!

for $4.00 bucks crap i ordered it just to help out, and to give it a spin.