MISTER KITE Box Of Fear
To many, music is like love. Once upon a time, you have an album that you just fall in love with. But when the infatuation dies out, in many cases that what stays is true love, a lasting emotion. When I first heard All in Time, the debut album of Mister Kite, I really loved it. But with the second album, the infatuation is gone. However, the love stays. Also the music of Mister Kite has changed, grown to maturity, showing they are not here for a short time, but they are here to last.
The enthusiasm I picked up on the first album is slightly gone on Box of Fear, but that is no disadvantage, as the sound on the second album is very conistend and balanced and breathes a dark mood. Again the modern sound of the album is definitely one of their strong points, that might help them get a bigger audience, as the kids these days seem to like a certain type of metal. The sound of Mister kite comes close, but still has many progressive elements in their sound. The vocals are once more excellent, lead vocalist Alf Wemmenlind is supported by the backing vocals of all other members of the band, thus giving it a full, warm sound.
Opening track ’From this Day on’ starts with electronic drums and spacey sounds, evolving into tight heavy guitars and a fantasticly solid rhythm section, by Mats Bergentz (drums) and Anton Johansson (bass) that is the rock-hard foundation on which the 10 songs are built. Although rhythm guitarist Tomas Djurfeldt also plays keyboards, I still do miss them, just as on their first album. I really would like to see him get more room for his keys, it would add even more depth to the music. The guitars on ’Evil Bob’, give it a sound close to Pain of Salvation, with a bit of darkness and mystery to it. More laid-back, with less heavy riffs and great vocals. ’Do Your Worst’ features the bass more up-front and is a fantastic song, my fav of the album. And they saved the best for last: title track ’Box of Fear’. Again, a slow, dark song, with a leading role for the bass and vocalist Wemmenlind. Lead guitarist Magnus Kristensson shows overall good play, but does not treat us on many solos, unfortunately. And keyboard player Tomas Djurfeldt, adds his ethreal play to this last track, adding to the brooding atmosphere.
As I said, Box of Fear is a more matured, balanced album, with very solid compositions a a great production. Unfortunately no surprises. On the other hand, the band show they can write excellent and balanced songs, so they are here to stay! The album needs some time, but the more you listen, the more you will enjoy this album. Artwork is fabulous and perfectly depicts the mood and setting of the album. A class band with a modern sound, so i truly recommend this one.
Tracklisting:
From this Day on / How Long / Evil Bob / I know you Know / Into Nothing / In This Room / State / Do Your Worst / The Hunger / Box of Fear
Added: April 30th 2004
Reviewer: MarcelH www.progpower.de
Score: 4/5
Related Link: http://www.misterkite.net
MISTER KITE Box Of Fear (Lion)
Breaking many of the prog metal rules and coming up a winner is Sweden's Mister Kite. I dunno, this record pulls you in, whether it's because of the molten guitar sound and many slow and low-down chordings, the forceful hair band vocals of Alf Wemmenling, the stunning drum production, or the anthemic melodies. All of this vista-wide excellence can be heard on 'How Long', a track with a gorgeous chorus counterpointed by judicious pummeling, plus the Soundgarden-meets-Vanden Plas of 'I Know You Know'. And the band never stop creating new arranged possibilities, adding guitar tones, adding vocal inflections from the world of post-grunge alternative metal, wrapping all this stomping abundance, like I say, in crushing production values of the utmost fidelity. The Quill, Jorn Lande, Further Lo... there are many ways to look at this, many bands that come to mind, although the sound is indeed all their own very rhythmic celebration.
8.5 Martin Popoff www.bravewords.com
| Mister Kite - Box Of Fear (8/10) - Sweden - 2004 |
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Genre: Progressive Metal
Label: Lion Music
Playing time: 53:52
Band homepage: Mister Kite
Tracklist:
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From This Day
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How Long
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Evil Bob
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I Know You Know
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Into Nothing
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In This Room
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State
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Do Your Worst
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The Hunger
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Box Of Fear
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Just how many more quality Metal bands can come out of Sweden? The rate is never ending and if only a small percentage live up to the likes of MISTER KITE then let’s hope that Sweden and Scandinavia continue to fly the flag for Heavy music for years to come.
“Box Of Fear’’ is MISTER KITE’s second offering following on from the acclaimed debut “All In Time’’ and fans of Heavy Progressive Metal are going to jump up and down with great delight over this. MISTER KITE weave the technical guitar heaviness of bands like THRESHOLD and the mighty TOOL, the hooks of CREED and INCUBUS with a nod to old fashion Heavy Metal along the way. They’ve also got one hell of a singer in Alf Wemmenlind. His angst ridden voice adds real bite to the guitar attack of Magnus Kristensson and Tomas Djurfeldt and what a guitar attack! The guitars are monstrously heavy, the riff playing sure and true.
However that’s not all “Box Of Fear’’ has a distinctly American feel to it with driving Metal songs dripping with melody and oozing class songs. It’s obvious what market these Swedes are trying to aim for and why not? With classy ballads such as “Do Your Worst’’ matched up with the brooding guitar riffs of “From This Day On’’, “State’’ and “I Know You Know’’ the future looks bright for this lot.
With a potential star in singer Wemmenlind and the songs to match their ambition we can only sit and wait before MISTER KITE get the world wide acclaim that they deserve for this excellent piece of work. (Online March 19, 2004) www.metal-observer.com
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Mister Kite: Box of Fear
 While spinning each of the 10 tracks on Box of Fear, the second album from Mister Kite, I had to keep reminding myself that these five guys are Swedish. Box of Fear contains 10 dark and modern tracks that would sound right at home on practically any rock station in America. Singer Alf Wemmenlind’s angst-ridden voice reveals nary a hint of an accent, and the backing vocals of guitarist Magnus Kristensson, bassist Anton Johansson, drummer Mats Bergentz and Tomas Djurfeldt add plenty of punch and depth.
It’s hard to believe that these five players gigged with the likes of Bruce Dickinson, Helloween and the Johansson Brothers before teaming up in 2000 to form Mister Kite (named after a Beatles reference, perchance?). Finland’s Lion Music – a label best known for releasing instrumental-guitar and progressive-metal music – continues its recent efforts to break from its niche by giving Mister Kite a major push in the overseas market and (in a perfect world) in North America. Staccato rhythms, emotional vocals, moody melodies, smart lyrics and an overall edge give Mister Kite a distinctly American-rock sound – not necessarily a bad thing. The formula works best on tracks like the rousing opener "From This Day On,” the heavy “In This Room” and the album’s first single “The Hunger.”
Box of Fear is not as diverse as Mister Kite’s 2002 debut All in Time, a disc that still managed to remain rooted in the progressive realm with the Rush-like title track and a three-part epic. Now it’s as if Mister Kite is intentionally casting its sound into the world and letting the wind take it where it may. The best way to describe Mister Kite is to compare these five Swedes to four guys from Wisconsin and Minnesota who formed a band called Seventeen Rhinos and came within inches of a major-label deal and a national gig in the late-Nineties. The Rhinos had it all – the voice, the chops, the personality and the songs. Mister Kite right now is a lot like Seventeen Rhinos back then. Here’s to a high-flying future, boys.
Track Listing
1) From This Day On (5:17)
2) How Long (5:08)
3) Evil Bob (5:11)
4) I Know You Know (5:16)
5) Into Nothing (5:06)
6) In This Room (5:29)
7) State (4:14)
8) Do Your Worst (6:17)
9) The Hunger (5:28)
10) Box of Fear (5:59)
Running Time (53:29)
Added: February 8th 2004
Reviewer: Michael Popke www.seaoftranquility.org
Score:  
Related Link: Official Mister Kite Web Site
Released through Lion Music records.
Mister Kite originate from Sweden and this is their follow up to their debut, "All In Time". In 2002 they got a prestigious support gig with Dio on their Scandinavian tour which was a great boost to their confidence and from there onwards they started making plans for this new album although prior to it being released they released a limited 3 track promo.
Mister Kite play a blend of music that encompasses hard rock and progressive metal which is similar to Queensryche, Creed and Nirvana.
When the tempo drops a touch on this new offering, i.e. on "Evil Bob", Into Nothing", "Do Your Worst", "The Hunter" and "Box Of Fear", the band let the emotion filter through and the music becomes deeper and more thoughtful. It's on these songs where they strongly remind me of Nirvana, Creed and the new arrivals into the hard rock/metal arena, Revelation Theory.
The talent of this band is unquestionable; if you listen to "The Hunter", this song surely captures the essence that Mister Kite need to explore on future releases; this is a classic song in every sense. This and the other tracks mentioned earlier are the standout songs that show passion and, yes, even demonstrate more aggression than the heavier numbers of this album.
As for the rest of this release, the high energy displayed on track 7, "State", and the opener, "From This Day", is slightly predictable although I have to admit "In This Room" is a grower and turned out to be another superb example of this band's capability. An album that needs time to grow and by the fourth and fifth play you will be getting hooked, especially with the keys adding delicate touches and extra dimensions to some of these tracks. 80%.
Click here
for the Lion music website
European Progressive Rock Reviews
http://www.tandet.freeserve.couk
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Band Members
Alf Wemmenlind: Lead vocals
Mats Bergentz: Drum & vocals
Anton Johansson: Bass & vocals
Magnus Kristensson: Guitars & vocals
Tomas Djurfeldt: Keyboards, rhythm guitar & vocals
The Album
Box Of Fear
Tracks
From This Day On
How Long
Evil Bob
I know You Know
Into Nothing
In This Room
State
Do Your Worst
The Hunter
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Artist: Mister Kite
Title: All in Time
Label: Lion Music
Length: 53'09"
Tracks: 13
Style: Progressive Metal
Similar bands: Vanden Plas, Pain of Salvation, Dream Theater
Origin: Sweden
URL: www.misterkite.com
They have supported Bruce Dickinson, Helloween and Aces High, they come from
Sweden and have just released their first full length album: Mister Kite, a
five piece progressive metal band formed in 1999. The line up shows a
variety of talents: vocalist Alf Wemmenling has sung everything from Church
duets with his father to heavy metal stuff and has an open mind about music.
Mats Bergentz (ex-Silver Mountain) on drums is one of the founding members
of Mister Kite and is influenced by Frank Zappa, Ian Paice (Deep Purple) and
Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy). Bass player Anton Johansson started out playing
the piano, then changed to guitar and finally ended up with the bass guitar.
Guitarist Magnus Kristensson (ex-S.P.O.C.K.) started out playing drums, but
quickly changed to guitars and the root of his playing style is blues, which
is heard in the songs of Mister Kite. Last but not least, keyboard player
Tomas Djurfeldt also plays the guitar whilst his main instrument is the bass
guitar! One interesting fact: Tomas and Alf once performed in a play
directed by Anton.
After the first quick spin of All in Time, I thought it was another average
metal album, but after listing to it more, I found it is definitely not
average, but a first class metal album with a very modern sound. The opening
and title track 'All in Time' captured me with its full sound and great
vocals as well as the pounding rhythm and an excellent guitar solo. Most of
the songs have heavy guitar riffs and a good bass sound, but there is also
room for keyboards and on 'Seventeen Years' the brilliant guitar solo is
played by Mattias IA Eklundh (Freak Kitchen). The vocals of Alf Wemmenling
are powerful, but clean, and he does not have any accent that would distract
from his singing. Mister Kite has included a small concept piece in the
album, called 'The Diary of a Stranger' and on 'Part I - Stranger' and 'Part
II - God Knows I Know' a female voice is brought in, in the person of Sara
Erlandsson, and this makes these songs stand out as very beautiful, with a
well written melody that gives the song variety, some ballad parts taking
turns with metal parts. Definitely two of the best songs on the album!
After having listened to 'All in Time' for a whole week I can say it is a
fantastic album, well produced as it has a very good sound, and nice
artwork. I did miss the keyboard solos a bit, only 'God Knows I know' has a
great keyboard solo in it. But, at least the album is laced with some solid
guitar solos and excellent vocals, that at times remind me of James LaBrie
(Dream Theater). The song 'God Knows I know' gave me goosebumps and is my
highlight of the album. But the album has strong compositions, never gets
boring and is heavy, but not over the top, so it is a pleasure to listen to
this album. All I can say more is: play this one loud!!
Added: May 15th 2003
Reviewer: Marcel, www.progpower.com
Mister Kite - All In Time
Mister Kite is a new metal act rising fast as a shooting star! The audio vision of this album is heavy and with hardrock AND metal influences for sure. Some riffs can be compared to old Black Sabbath, refined though, and some with maybe a heavy version of Mr Big or something like that. The vocals from Alf W are really supreme. Rough, but still clean (huh?) and very melodic. I'd like to mention Andy Engberg (Lion's Share) as a comparing factor even though Alf is not quite that Dio-Martin in his voice, but mix the Engberg sounds with Sammy Hagar and you've got a rough idea.
The music IS a lot towards the typical Freak Kitchen alike kind of metal, but not quite as hard and heavy. And it's a bit more melodic guitars and more melodies in general. But the influence is there and I guess that's why they've invited IA Eklundh to make an "incredible guitar solo" (as written in the booklet) on "Seventeen Years".
Don't leave this band out in the cold!
1. All In Time
2. I Want More
3. Here We Are
4. Seventeen Years
The Diary Of A Stranger:
5. Part I : Strangers
6. Part II : God Knows I Know
7. Part III : Another Me
8. Rain
9. It´s Too Late
10. Inside
11. Soulsaving Sister
12. The End Is Near
The Diary Of A Stranger:
13. Part IV : Reflections
Marnus Florin www.mtm.musicpage.com
MISTER KITE - All in Time
Format: CD
Country of Origin: Sweden
Record Label: Lion Music
Catalogue #: LMC 2201 2
Release Date: March 1, 2002
Rating: 8/10
Drummer Mars Bergenz was a founding member of the legendary Swedish band
Silver Mountain. Silver Mountain's album "Shakin' Brains" from 1983 are one
of my favorite metal albums ever from Sweden. The line-up on that album
also contained Jens and Anders Johansson, known from Yngwie Malmsteen's
Rising Force.
Silver Mountain's music were classic 80's heavy metal with neo-classical
influences, but Mister Kite's music is melodic, powerful progressive metal
with good melodies and skilled musicians. "All in Time" is their very
promising debut album. There are some reminiscences to Creed, Freak
Kitchen, Queensryche, Rush and Threshold. The talented guitarist Mattias IA
Eklund (Freak Kitchen) is doing a great guest guitar solo on one of the
song.
This is a really good album from a band that we probably will here a lot more about in the future. Check it out!
Date: 2002-06-03
Reviewer: Greger Rönnqvist
All In Time--Mister Kite, 2002, Lion Music www.lionmusic.com
Truly good songs are as hard to come by as boundless energy and enthusiasm. Curiously enough Mister Kite have plenty of the former and, so it seems, a lifetime supply of the latter. The members of this Swedish quintet obviously listened to the right records in their formative years and probably emulated only the top players while learning their respective instruments. It shows. All In Time is loaded with powerful compositions: sounds gleaned from the likes of Tool and Alice In Chains are merged with the idealistic spunk and heavenly harmonies of Van Halen and Mr. Big. Still, there’s enough originalityhere to build a career on and as one listens to the title track, “Seventeen Years” (featuring guitar ace Mattias IA Eklundh) and “The Diary of a Stranger,” it quickly becomes clear that this is band in it for the long haul. Dripping with gripping melodies and unrelenting
passion.
Jedd Beaudoin
Mister Kite "All In Time" (2002/Lion Music)
The debut full length album from Swedish progressive metal band Mister Kite is awesome! Mixing modern progressive metal with a little 80's hard rock has produced this awesome 13 track masterpiece. A high level of musicianship is demonstrated through out this cd. Heavy yet easy listening and full of kick ass solos. The cd features different chapters. After the first 4 songs we have "The Diary Of Strangers" which has 3 songs (Part 1 - Stranger - Part 2 - God Knows I Know - Part 3 - Another Me) and all very good . After that there are 5 songs then part 4 in "The Diary Of A Stranger" series "Reflections". Its hard to write down how good this is! Stand out tracks include the title track "All In Time", "Seventeen Years", "Stranger", "God Knows I Know" .. well its hard to narrow down favourite songs! they are all so good! For more info check out the bands website at www.misterkite.net or the labels site at www.lionmusic.com . It is available from March 01 2002.
100
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Mister Kite "All In Time" (2002/Lion Music)
Mister Kite - All in time (Lion Music 2002)
When I first take a look at the amazing artwork of this CD I was expecting a lot for the music and
god, I'm not dissapointed at all!!!! It sounds so amazing....cristal clear sound and so powerfull! Right
in your face! This band got their own sound and it's tight and well written. I love the arrangement of
the songs, I have to say it again, it's well written!!! They are kind of mixing Metal with hard rock &
progressive. The vocals, what can I say about the vocal...it fits perfectly with the music. This guy
know how to sings for sure! Really energic, really melodic. Catchy groove, awesome hooks!
This CD is gonna stay in my CD player for a while!!!
Note: 90%
www.thedarkesthours.com /Patrick
Mister Kite "All In Time" (2002/Lion Music)
Sweden appears to be a very fruitful country for progressive rock and metal
the last couple of years. Mr. Kite is another band that stems from Sweden,
and this is their full length debut album (they have already released a
couple of demo's).
For a debut album, the quality is outstanding. I liked the mixing and
production, no complaints there. Also, the vocalist is excellent. He can do
a lot with his voice and has the perfect metal intonation in places where
this is effective, yet he manages not to overdo it. The music, prog metal as
you might have guessed by now, is difficult to describe in terms of other
bands. Its sounds all very familiar but without a very clear reference. I
think that the music is closest to Threshold. Also, hints of Queensryche can
be heard.
The strongest track on the album is God Knows I Know, part of a four-piece
composition called The Diary Of A Stranger. With the female oooohhh-aaaahhhh
background choir it sounds like a metal version of a Floyd track ;-). It
also contains an excellent keyboard solo and combined with the pounding
rhythm guitar, the link to Threshold is quickly made! The same can be said
about Another Me, a very good metal track. As a matter of fact, The Diary Of
A Stranger tracks are all very strong and present the best compositions on
the album. Take the next track Rain for instance. This goes back to more
"normal" metal in the style of the Empire album of Queensryche, in my
opinion a very good album, but not due to its overly complex compositions.
One of the most progressive tracks on the album is probably the opening
track All In Time, which has some nice rhythmic tricks up its metal sleeve.
The tracks not mentioned so far are mostly more regular melodic metal
tracks, quite nice but they, to me, have no special twist. It is a pity that
the band does not experiment a little bit more with keyboards, because
everywhere they do use keyboards, it really adds something extra to the
tracks. The closing section of the album Reflections is a very strong
keyboard part, where the melodies of the previous parts are reoccurring in
indeed a very reflective way.
If you like Threshold, I think you should definitely check these
Scandinavians out. The album has enough speed to keep interesting and enough
resting points not to be overwhelmed. A very nice debut, with a good
production and a very stylish booklet. Well done!
Conclusion: 7.5 out of 10.
Remco Schoenmakers
Dutch Progressive Rock Page: http://www.dprp.vuurwerk.nl
Mister Kite "All In Time" (2002/Lion Music)
Mister Kite is another new band on the still improving Lion Music record label. Most of the bands signed by Lion Music play tradtitional melodic/progressive rock/metal, but Mister Kite sounds a little bit different.Mister Kite is a young Swedish band and was formed in 1999.It’s difficult to describe their style because they mix many different music styles and give it a new twist. Maybe I can call it modern progressive metal with a nineties touch.I personally prefer that there are not too many modern influences to be heard.But maybe this genre of music needs bands like Mister Kite to slip into the main stream genre.The album was produced by Bjorn Dahlberg (Bad Habit, Pete Sandberg and others) so everything sounds perfect and crystal clear.Although I like some of their songs, they are too modern in general for me.So this is more a cd for more open minded prog metal fans, which like a band as Pain of Salvation.
Rating : 7.5 points
Review by Ronny Elst (March 2002)
Mister Kite "All In Time" (2002/Lion Music)
This starts off like a killer album. It makes me curious directly, and hold my curiosity
up most of the time. Maybe it's not as good all the way, but some parts are brilliant. The
music is heavy progressive metal. The ingredient making the sound of this album a bit
rare are the influences from bands like Soundgarden and other american soundalikes. It
is somehow refreshing to hear a progressive band not sounding like a Dream Theater...
8/10 Teddy Jonasson, Level 11
MISTER KITE - ALL IN TIME
LION MUSIC
It's sometimes strange how things go around in the music business. I remember reviewing the debut "For Your Eyes Only" from Sweden's Mister Kite several years ago,which saw the band out on the road with the likes of Helloween, Bruce Dickinson and Aces High, and now here we go with the bands debut label release produced by famed producer Bjorn Dahlberg (Bad Habit//Pete Sandberg) and it's wicked, combining the best of power rock and hard rock with aggressive progressive structures which makes for an exciting release with superb songs such as 'I Want More', 'Seventeen Years', whilst songs like 'Rain' offer diverse and interesting ideas straight from the Freak Kitchen rule book, which is probably a good comparison as FK guitarist IA guests on some of the songs.
Take 'Inside' for example with it's hefty guitar runs and modern style vocals which makes me think of bands like Creed and Freak Kitchen, whilst the pumping energy filled 'The End Of Near' bounces along in a similar vein to Extreme circa "Waiting For The Punchline" and on Part IV of the epic "The Diary Of A Stranger" we hear some rather interesting ideas including violin structures etc.. "Diary" is one of the albums main songs which is split into four segments and takes on all areas of progressive and hard rock, I particularly liked the guitars on 'Part II 'God Knows I Know' which are chunky a'la Zakk Wylde. Overall this is a good solid rock album which explores many areas of progression, check it out.
Nicky Baldrian
MISTER KITE
All in Time
Lion Music
This Swedish band was founded in 1999. Alf Wemmenling (lead vocals), Mats Bergentz (druls / vocals), Anton Johansson (bass/vocals) Magnus Kristensson (guitars/vocals) and Tomas Djurfeldt (keybaords/rhythm guitar & vocals) debut here with a very tasty album filled with progressive hard rock / metal. Mister Kite is not a band that puts a million breaks or tempo changes in one song but they bring high energy and catchy tunes. All songs have strong choruses and the songs are well arranged. The vocals are not done by a guy who sings constantly in the higher regions of the stratosphere but sings in the mid range and does a convincing job. The thirteen songs on this album are all from a high level and listening to the album is a real pleasant experience. Mister Kite is another highly talented band from Scandinavia.
(8) Bruno Van De Velde, Spincity
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