Tags
Language
Tags
March 2024
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
25 26 27 28 29 1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 1 2 3 4 5 6

Wolf Hoffmann - Headbangers Symphony (2016)

Posted By: v3122
Wolf Hoffmann - Headbangers Symphony (2016)

Wolf Hoffmann - Headbangers Symphony (2016)
EAC | Flac(Image) + Cue + Log & MP3 CBR 320Kbps
Nuclear Blast, 27361 36980 | ~ 351 or 136 Mb | Scans Included
Progressive Rock / Instrumental Rock

Wolf Hoffmann is back with his second solo offering many years after his first solo record ‘Classical’. And much like the first, he tries to explore the idea of classical arrangements interpreted as metal. It is hard to comprehend such an idea. Not too long ago, Florian Magnus Maier (Non Euclid, Alkaloid, and the Hungry Gods) pointed out that metal and classical have a lot in common in regard to poly-rhythms, poly-tonality and virtuosity. He added that the difference between genres is a matter of instrumentation and that metal is a lot more flexible than say, pop music for example. It sounds great on paper. Nobody also mentioned that it takes a genius like Maier to pull this off with his music. Then what about Hoffmann’s newest endeavor into a world where metal and classical sound great as a marriage between the two. Enter ‘Headbangers Symphony’– a brave album by Hoffmann that is a result of his passion for metal and classical music. Wolf Hoffmann is best known for his lifelong work with Accept.

There was a lot to be excited about this album. The guitar goodness of Hoffmann combined with classical sounded like a great deal. Well, it is a great deal! Yet, stepping into the realm of classical with metal is still a scary idea. This meant that I could not review this record as I would normally do so with others. There really isn’t a case of what might make a better song in a record than the others where anything to do with classical in involved. In this case, it is a hit or a miss. Personally, that finally depends on the listener. Let me present my case from different perspectives in order to present a broad understanding of this fine record. Even if you really aren’t deep into classical and you are more of a casual listener, there are some arrangements that you would have heard somewhere. Some of these include “Night on Bald Mountain” by Mussorgsky, “Symphony No. 40” by Mozart and masterpieces like Tchaikovsky’s ”Swan Lake” and Beethoven’s “Meditation” from the opera ‘Thais’ by composer Jules Massenet and “Madame Butterfly”. The record opens up with Beethoven’s 9th symphony “Scherzo”. This one resembles the opening riff from Accept’s track “Teutonic Terror”. As a casual listener, you will definitely feel like you’ve heard all of this somewhere and it all comes back to you. You would love this record. You would enjoy the textures in the music. It is definitely a headbanger’s delight all the way.

But would this album qualify as a classical narrative? Not quite. Hoffmann’s love for classical is well reflected but really it doesn’t have the strongest vibe of classical. I wasn’t entirely sure if this record is meant to be looked at from a metal perspective or a classical one. It isn’t a narrow perspective. It is merely what the album wants to be- classical as metal. There is a ton of difficulties that one would have to overcome in order to interpret metal as classical but to reduce classical to the limitations of heavy metal is something else. You have to point out that Hoffmann has worked extremely hard over the years for this but the essence of classical for the sake of classical is lost. The album seems to be classical for the sake of metal. Perhaps instead the likes of metal and classical could have explored each other in their high points and not be caught it their limitations. The scope was massive, but the cause for heavy metal has taken a lot away from the classical side of things.

‘Headbangers Symphony’ is a stellar effort that showcases the best in Wolf Hoffmann. Love it or hate it, this album will still give you a kick. Hoffmann’s mastery, passion and prowess are beautifully articulated in this album. Brilliant production does justice to everything that Hoffmann strives to do. It really does pay to work with a live orchestra for an album of such diverse proportion. One might have issues on the classical side of things but you can never hate this album on the metal side of things. What makes this album essential is that it works as a great introduction into classical music for the ones who found classical boring. When do listen to what the album has to offer, you would certainly feel like you’ve heard the music somewhere without finding yourself in uncomfortable territory. Even as a person who’s passionate and conservative about classical music, you ought to give this record a chance and recommend it. Music is meant to give you an open mind. Maybe then, this is a great way to start off!

by Roshan Machayya, metalwani.com

Wolf Hoffmann - Headbangers Symphony (2016):

Wolf Hoffmann - Headbangers Symphony (2016)

Tracklist:

01. Scherzo
02. Night On Bald Mountain
03. Je Crois Entendre Encore
04. Double Cello Concerto In G Minor
05. Adagio
06. Symphony No. 40
07. Swan Lake
08. Madame Butterfly
09. Pathetique
10. Meditation
11. Air On The G String

Exact Audio Copy V1.1 from 23. June 2015

EAC extraction logfile from 14. July 2016, 21:25

Wolf Hoffmann / Headbangers Symphony

Used drive : PLEXTOR DVDR PX-891SA Adapter: 1 ID: 0

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 6
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Gap handling : Appended to previous track

Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 1024 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : No
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files (x86)\Exact Audio Copy\Flac\flac.exe
Additional command line options : -0 -V -T "ARTIST=%artist%" -T "TITLE=%title%" -T "ALBUM=%albumtitle%" -T "DATE=%year%" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%tracknr%" -T "TOTALTRACKS=%numtracks%" -T "GENRE=%genre%" -T "COMMENT=Naftamusic Release!" %source%


TOC of the extracted CD

Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
1 | 0:00.00 | 5:22.41 | 0 | 24190
2 | 5:22.41 | 4:22.03 | 24191 | 43843
3 | 9:44.44 | 4:17.03 | 43844 | 63121
4 | 14:01.47 | 3:31.45 | 63122 | 78991
5 | 17:33.17 | 5:45.72 | 78992 | 104938
6 | 23:19.14 | 4:10.59 | 104939 | 123747
7 | 27:29.73 | 4:45.60 | 123748 | 145182
8 | 32:15.58 | 3:57.27 | 145183 | 162984
9 | 36:13.10 | 5:14.31 | 162985 | 186565
10 | 41:27.41 | 4:04.73 | 186566 | 204938
11 | 45:32.39 | 2:50.08 | 204939 | 217696


Track 1

Filename E:\Wolf Hoffmann - Headbangers Symphony (2016)[FLAC] - Naftamusic\01 - Scherzo.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:02.00

Peak level 92.2 %
Extraction speed 2.0 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 20C2258B
Copy CRC 20C2258B
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 2

Filename E:\Wolf Hoffmann - Headbangers Symphony (2016)[FLAC] - Naftamusic\02 - Night on Bald Mountain.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:01.37

Peak level 92.9 %
Extraction speed 2.2 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC C12A212B
Copy CRC C12A212B
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 3

Filename E:\Wolf Hoffmann - Headbangers Symphony (2016)[FLAC] - Naftamusic\03 - Je Crois Entendre Encore.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:02.00

Peak level 92.2 %
Extraction speed 2.4 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC A20093EF
Copy CRC A20093EF
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 4

Filename E:\Wolf Hoffmann - Headbangers Symphony (2016)[FLAC] - Naftamusic\04 - Double Cello Concerto in G Minor.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:02.00

Peak level 92.2 %
Extraction speed 2.5 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC CB90221D
Copy CRC CB90221D
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 5

Filename E:\Wolf Hoffmann - Headbangers Symphony (2016)[FLAC] - Naftamusic\05 - Adagio.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:01.56

Peak level 92.2 %
Extraction speed 2.8 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC E780A8AA
Copy CRC E780A8AA
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 6

Filename E:\Wolf Hoffmann - Headbangers Symphony (2016)[FLAC] - Naftamusic\06 - Symphony No. 40.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:02.37

Peak level 92.2 %
Extraction speed 2.9 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC AEF3F207
Copy CRC AEF3F207
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 7

Filename E:\Wolf Hoffmann - Headbangers Symphony (2016)[FLAC] - Naftamusic\07 - Swan Lake.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:02.30

Peak level 92.2 %
Extraction speed 3.1 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 62EE8E95
Copy CRC 62EE8E95
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 8

Filename E:\Wolf Hoffmann - Headbangers Symphony (2016)[FLAC] - Naftamusic\08 - Madame Butterfly.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:02.00

Peak level 92.2 %
Extraction speed 2.3 X
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC F89212BA
Copy CRC F89212BA
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 9

Filename E:\Wolf Hoffmann - Headbangers Symphony (2016)[FLAC] - Naftamusic\09 - Pathétique.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:01.18

Peak level 92.2 %
Extraction speed 2.7 X
Track quality 99.9 %
Test CRC 372DC752
Copy CRC 372DC752
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 10

Filename E:\Wolf Hoffmann - Headbangers Symphony (2016)[FLAC] - Naftamusic\10 - Meditation.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:03.00

Peak level 92.2 %
Extraction speed 3.5 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC A8DB90E9
Copy CRC A8DB90E9
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK

Track 11

Filename E:\Wolf Hoffmann - Headbangers Symphony (2016)[FLAC] - Naftamusic\11 - Air on the G String.wav

Pre-gap length 0:00:01.30

Peak level 92.2 %
Extraction speed 3.4 X
Track quality 100.0 %
Test CRC 5F9FA0B8
Copy CRC 5F9FA0B8
Track not present in AccurateRip database
Copy OK


None of the tracks are present in the AccurateRip database

No errors occurred

End of status report

==== Log checksum 30AEE2DFE56E8C7C1D74780A2D24DE01C022FD7A461FC21955B373877B923BC7 ====

foobar2000 1.2.9 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2016-07-16 21:51:02

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Wolf Hoffmann / Headbangers Symphony
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR7 -0.70 dB -9.20 dB 5:23 01-Scherzo
DR6 -0.63 dB -8.74 dB 4:22 02-Night on Bald Mountain
DR8 -0.70 dB -10.82 dB 4:17 03-Je Crois Entendre Encore
DR6 -0.70 dB -8.23 dB 3:32 04-Double Cello Concerto in G Minor
DR9 -0.70 dB -11.53 dB 5:46 05-Adagio
DR6 -0.70 dB -7.65 dB 4:11 06-Symphony No. 40
DR7 -0.70 dB -9.12 dB 4:46 07-Swan Lake
DR7 -0.70 dB -10.24 dB 3:57 08-Madame Butterfly
DR8 -0.70 dB -10.31 dB 5:14 09-PathР№tique
DR8 -0.70 dB -10.66 dB 4:05 10-Meditation
DR7 -0.70 dB -9.79 dB 2:50 11-Air on the G String
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Number of tracks: 11
Official DR value: DR7

Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 924 kbps
Codec: FLAC

[CUETools log; Date: 16.07.2016 21:50:51; Version: 2.1.4]
[CTDB TOCID: OFP2a_Q_._cOAX94.wUL0K4Xg1c-] found.
Track | CTDB Status
1 | (6/6) Accurately ripped
2 | (6/6) Accurately ripped
3 | (6/6) Accurately ripped
4 | (6/6) Accurately ripped
5 | (6/6) Accurately ripped
6 | (6/6) Accurately ripped
7 | (6/6) Accurately ripped
8 | (6/6) Accurately ripped
9 | (6/6) Accurately ripped
10 | (6/6) Accurately ripped
11 | (6/6) Accurately ripped
[AccurateRip ID: 0014b1ae-00b2484b-950b560b] disk not present in database.

Track Peak [ CRC32 ] [W/O NULL] [ LOG ]
– 92,9 [87684483] [D43E50EB]
01 92,2 [20C2258B] [E8FD0F26] CRC32
02 92,9 [C12A212B] [F601E07A] CRC32
03 92,2 [A20093EF] [587F0C83] CRC32
04 92,2 [CB90221D] [D9D56F10] CRC32
05 92,2 [E780A8AA] [8D749328] CRC32
06 92,2 [AEF3F207] [67B7DE85] CRC32
07 92,2 [62EE8E95] [37A4880E] CRC32
08 92,2 [F89212BA] [27CDDCEE] CRC32
09 92,2 [372DC752] [A3738F2E] CRC32
10 92,2 [A8DB90E9] [ACC4713E] CRC32
11 92,2 [5F9FA0B8] [98E6108E] CRC32

Wolf Hoffmann - Headbangers Symphony (2016)

All thanks go to the original releaser

Download Wolf Hoffmann - Headbangers Symphony (2016):