Metal Caravans

Dionysus is a band made up of former members of some pretty well known bands (well known to Metalheads in any case..heh). You have members from Sinergy, Nation and vocals provided by the vocalist from Luca Turilli’s side project.

Line Up:

Olaf Hayer-Vocals
Ronny Milianowicz-Drums
Johnny Ohlin-Guitars
Nobby-Bass
Kaspar Dahlqvist-Keyboards

Genre: Heavy Metal

Dionysus (Sweden) Sign Of Truth (2002)  

TRACKLIST:

   1. Time Will Tell
   2. Sign Of Truth
   3. Bringer Of Salvation
   4. Pouring Rain
   5. Anthem (For The Children)
   6. Holy War
   7. Don't Forget
   8. Walk On Fire
   9. Never Wait
  10. Loaded Gun

Now this isn’t the greatest assortment of talent I have ever seen but it sure isn’t bad and for this album it is pretty damn good. Add to all of this with production from Tommy Newton (Helloween’s classic’s Keeper I and II) and co-produced with the help of Tobias Sammet (The person I have decided to name Golden Boy since everything he is involved in has been excellent) I knew before I even listened to this it would probably be pretty damn good. Well I certainly wasn’t disappointed with the outcome. You can tell from the pedigree of the band that this is power metal and although it is strongly influenced by Helloween (hell what power metal isn’t influenced by Helloween…heh) it isn’t what you could even remotely consider a rip-off. The music is very well written and gives a nod to traditional pure metal as well the obvious power metal influence. The vocals are excellent but I have heard this guy sing before and already knew he was talented. He does seem to sing with a bit more energy or passion on this album compared to his work with Luca. The highlight of the album for me though was the excellent guitar work provided by Johnny Ohlin. The riffs are very good but his solo work is simply incredible. He not only simply shreds but it is done with a lot of feeling as well. There is definitely a neo-classical feel to his playing style which boosts the songs to that extra level and makes them that much more memorable.
Overall an album that I actually had some pretty high expectations for and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Fans of the genre will certainly want to pick this one up. Recommended.
Favorite Tracks – Sign of Truth, Pouring Rain, Holy War

 
Dionysus (Sweden) Anima Mundi (2004)    

 http://rapidshare.com/files/182332449/Dionysus_-_Anima_Mundi_-_2004.rar

TRACKLIST:

        1.    Divine
    2.    Bringer Of War
    3.    Anima Mundi
    4.    My Heart Is Crying
    5.    March For Freedom
    6.    What
    7.    Eyes Of The World
    8.    Forever More
    9.    Paradise Land
    10.    Closer To The Sun (Bonus Track)
    11.    Holy War (Pre-Production 2001 Bonus Track)

ANIMA MUNDI, the 2004 release from Euro-metal band Dionysus, includes "Bringer of War" and "Paradise Land."

 Arriving exactly a year after their perfectly average debut, Dionysus' second album, Anima Mundi, pushes the limits of surefire lawsuit to the breaking point by slapping the semblance of Viggo Mortensen (in full Lord of the Rings Aragorn regalia) on the statue gracing its cover. It also opens with a song -- the speedy "Divine" -- that heavy metal fans will instantly recognize as a blatant karaoke job on power metal masters Helloween -- only with more synthesizers. But that's OK, after all, the power metal subgenre is hardly given to great variety, and one need only sample astoundingly similar follow-up songs like "Heart Is Crying," "Closer to the Sun," and the title track to realize as much. Then again, it's not entirely fair to accuse Dionysus of playing it safe for that same reason, so it's best to highlight their stellar musicianship, crisp melodies, dazzling solos, and vocalist Olaf Hayer's powerful pipes instead. All of these coalesce quite nicely on the convincingly dramatic "What" and the surprisingly accessible (if terribly corny) "March for Freedom," and there's certainly no denying guitarist Luca Turilli's position as one of the most impressive six-string technicians out there -- the guy's fingers just smoke! In summary, if you love power metal, then you'll think Dionysus are the dog's bollocks.  

Dionysus (Sweden) Fairytales And Reality (2006)

TRACKLIST:

01. Illusion Of Life
02. The Orb
03. Blinded
04. The World
05. Spirit
06. Queen Of Madness
07. The Game
08. True At Heart
09. Tides Will Turn
10. Dreamchaser
11. The End
12. Time Will Tell [demo version]
13. Bringer Of Salvation [demo version]

The principal argument of the two precedent albums of Dionysus was the presence of Olaf Hayer that you probably know for his work with Luca Turilli. Their first album was not good at all and extremely boring, when their second one, "Anima Mundi" was a lot better and gave some good hopes for the future. Unfortunately, their new album "Fairytales And Reality" is a come back to the quality of the first album and I really doubt that a lot of people will ever find a real interest in this release.

Dionysus - Keep The Spirit (2008) [Best Of Compilation]

TRACKLIST:

01. March Of Freedom 06:06
02. My Heart Is Crying 05:03
03. Spirit 05:33
04. Illusion Of Life 05:01
05. Time Will Tell 05:06
06. Anima Mundi 03:34
07. Divine 04:12
08. The World 03:20
09. Eyes Of The World 05:39
10. True At Heart 04:47
11. Forever More 04:55
12. Bringer Of War 05:08
13. Don't Forget 06:05
14. Key Into The Past (Bonus Track) 05:26
15. Bringer Of Salvation (Bonus Track) 04:23

As a special “thank you” for their fans, the band releases “Keep The Spirit – The Best Of Dionysus”, their farewell album. Besides 13 Dionysus tunes it also has “Key Into The Past” (bonus track from Japanese “Sign Of Truth”), “Bringer Of Salvation” (limited edition bonus from “Fairytales And Reality”) and the video clip for “Time Will Tell”. Keep The Spirit – The Best Of Dionysus is a nice way to say goodbye to their true fans and a great opportunity for everybody else to discover the legacy of one of Europe´s best Power Metal bands.