THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(16-TRACKS)
1-UNLIMITED LOVE
2-WASTING NO COMPASSION
3-FEELS LIKE HEAVEN
4-SLAMDANCER
5-MORE THAN I'LL EVER KNOW
6-I'M ON MY WAY
7-HOLY SPIRIT
8-BY HIS GRACE
9-EVIDENCE
10-LIVING GOD
11-OH LORD
12-BE THERE FOREVER
13-READY OR NOT
14-HE WILL BE THERE
15-HEALED BY GOD
16-IN CHRIST WE ARE STRONG
LAUDAMUS-UNLIMITED LOVE-1999
THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(10-TRACKS)
1-UNLIMITED LOVE
2-WASTING NO COMPASSION
3-FEELS LIKE HEAVEN
4-EVIDENCE
5-I'M ON MY WAY
6-MORE THAN I'LL EVER KNOW
7-SLAMDANCER
8-BY HIS GRACE
9-HOLY SPIRIT
10-LIVING GOD
CREDIT:And Line Up
Peter Stenlund – Vocals, Guitars & Keyboards
Jonas Stenlund – Bass
Jonas Cederteg – Drums
Lars Nilsson –As A Guest- Keyboards.
LAUDAMUS-LOST IN VAIN-2003
THIS ALBUM CONTAIN(10-TRACKS)
1-LOST IN VAIN
2-MOTHER EVOLUTION
3-MY HEART'S ON FIRE
4-IN THE FINAL HOURS
5-DIE
6-FREE
7-I'AM
8-LAY YOUR BURDENS
9-SALVATION
10-HEAR MY PRAYER
CREDIT:line up
Peter Stenlund – Vocals & Guitars
Jonas Stenlund – Bass
Jonas Cederteg – Drums
Features guest appearances from:
Marty Friedman -Guitar (ex-Megadeth)Guitar solo on 1
Jeff Scott Soto -Vocals(ex-Yngwie Malmsteen) on 4
Mattias IA Eklundh -Guitar Solos on 2(Freak Kitchen)
Howie Simon - Guitar solo on 4, 9
Ken Tamplin - Guitar solo & Vocals on 5, Spanish guitar on 10
Rob Rock - Vocals on 5(Ex-Impillitteri)
Kee Marcello - Guitar solo on 6.
Additional musicians:
Ed Roth - Keyboards
Philip Bardowell -Backup Vocals
Ken Tamplin - Backup Vocals.
LAUDAMUS-READY OR NOT-1993
THIS DEMO CONTAIN(4-TRACKS)
1-READY OR NOT
2-HE WILL BE THERE
3-HEALED BY GOD
4-IN CHRIST WE ARE STRONG
LAUDAMUS-BE THERE FOREVER-1992
THIS DEMO CONTAIN(2-TRACKS)
1-BE THERE FOREVER
2-OVERLORD
(Laudamus )I Gave My Admiration To This Band Not Just By The Profecionalism and Heart,Love And GOD To Share Their Christian Metal Message Through The Metalmusic, But because it exceeded my expectations by a lot. With the appearances of Rob Rock, Friedman and others I knew it would be a decent power metal album. But I have not loved everything Ken Tamplin has done in the past and as he produced and played on it I was a little skeptical. Hey, this rocks. It reminds me quite a bit of Rob Rocks solo stuff. And though Tamplins fingerprints are all over this it is all good. My complaint of his stuff in the past is sometimes it feels too bombastic. Yeah, power metal is over the top but their are points to reign it in just a little and with this album it does. Great riffing and drumming here and the vocalists do a superb job. It feels a little late 80's at times but I highly recommend it for fans of well done power metal. Find this and buy it!(http://www.laudamus.se/index.html)
The Swedish power trio Laudamus returns with a very fine sophomore effort entitled Lost In Vain in which the band showcases its brand of catchy and well-crafted eighties influenced melodic metal.Frontman Peter Stenlund contributes a solid mid-octave ranged vocal style to the project, displaying significant improvement in his performance over the bands inconsistent and rough sounding 1999 debut Unlimited Love.Stenlund fills in on rhythm guitar in addition to handling much of the albums lead guitar work,while bassist Jonas Stenlund and drummer Jonas Cederteg round out the rhythm section. Please note that what helps Lost In Vain to stand out as a project are its numerous guest appearances: Marty Friedman, Mattias Eklundh, Ken Marcello, Howie Simon and Ken Tamplin contribute their talents on lead guitar, while Jeff Scott Soto, Rob Rock and Tamplin help out on lead vocals.
A production job on the thin and muddy side detracts from Lost In Vain. A muffled sounding low end prevents the bass and drums from standing out in the mix as they should.The rhythm guitar tones sound weak and transparent. Only the lead guitar rises above the instrumentation as it should.After the albums title track gradually fades in, a hard rocking combination of driving rhythm guitar and heavy duty bass lines urges it to a catchy chorus carried at an upbeat tempo. Marty Friedman steps forward with several seconds of blazing lead guitar
work.Driven by vocal harmonies during its first and second verse, “Mother Evolution” culminates as a trade off between Stenlund's mid-octave ranged voice and the vocal harmonies in question carry its chorus. Mattias Eklundh contributes a flashy fast fingered guitar solo to a song taking a tongue in cheek
approach to the theory of evolution:
Initiated by a drum solo, "My Hearts On Fire" moves forward in a strong and steady fashion until it gains momentum for a chorus accentuated by huge Stryper-like vocal harmonies. Stenlund tops things off with an aggressively delivered guitar solo.The hard hitting riff introducing "In The Final Hour" gives way to a lead vocal trade off between Stenlund and Jeff Scott Soto, Stenlund taking the first and third verse with Soto's gritty voice handling the second and fourth. The same riff opening the song returns to fortify an immaculate chorus underlined by keyboards. Stenlund combines with Howie Simon for just under a minute of dual lead guitar work.Ken Tamplin and Rob Rock join Stenlund on lead vocals on the straightforward hard rocker "Die". Highlighted by a just the right amount of keyboards as it moves through its first verse, “Die” culminates as it attains a strong chorus with a heavy groove feel. Pounding drums open an instrumental passage featuring a lead guitar trade off between Stenlund and Tamplin. The vocal harmonies at the start of "Free" give way to a driving guitar riff that fortifies its first verse at a hard and heavy mid-tempo pace, the vocal harmonies returning to reinforce the chorus that follows in a smooth sounding manner. Ken Marcello tops things off with his fast fingered lead guitar work. "Free" deals with the issue of legalism:
The bluesy mid-tempo paced hard rocker "Lay Your Burdens Down" opens to a drum solo before an upfront mix of rhythm guitar takes it to a chorus buttressed by deep sounding vocal harmonies. Stenlund steps forward with twenty seconds of razor sharp lead guitar workSubsequent to a crunchy rhythm guitar pushing "Salvation" through its first verse, the song gains impetus for a chorus ending with the word "salvation" emphasized in heavy handed fashion. Howie Simon and Stenlund furnish a minute of electrifying dual lead guitar work. "Salvation" is about exactly that:
"Hear My Prayer", a classy acoustic based ballad coming in at just under six minutes, showcases Ken Tamplin's tasteful work on Spanish guitar. An acoustic guitar slowly propels the song through its first verse until the rhythm guitar steps forward just before it builds in momentum for a strong commercial flavored chorus. "Hear My Prayer" closes as an acoustic guitar solo transitions to over a minute of lead guitar work.Lost In Vain proves a solid effort from front to back musically in that all ten of its tracks hold up under repeated play. While the album is held back by a thin sounding production job, its numerous guest appearances and the band energetic performance help to put it over the top.
“Wasting No Compassion” begins to several seconds of open air rhythm guitar before slowly crawling its way forward in gritty fashion, the hard rocking environment maintained as it reaches a good aggressively delivered chorus. Peter again cuts loose, his ardent work on lead guitar carried over a resounding bass line. “Wasting No Compassion” presents a no-nonsense message:
“Feels Like Heaven” takes off at an upbeat tempo before a wall of rhythm guitar moves to the front of the mix prior to reaching its first verse. Driven ahead hard and heavy, the song culminates for a chorus shored up by just the right amount of catchy vocal harmonies. A high octane guitar solo helps put things over the top
After a crunchy rhythm guitar carries the aptly named “Slamdancer” through its verse portions, it makes a transition to a raucous chorus giving rise to a cool-groove-laden vibe. I like how the song slows for an instrumental passage eaturing a lengthy stretch of bluesy lead guitar work.Very well done.The six minute ballad “More Than I’ll Ever Know” proves a refreshing change of pace in following four straight hard rockers. A piano slowly leads the way through its first verse before it obtains an emotionally charged chorus underscored by a prominently placed bass line. Once the rhythm guitar steps forward to drive the songs second chorus,Peter follows with a very well done fluid guitar solo. “More Than I’ll Never Know” is a song of faith:
“I’m On My Way” opens quietly before taking off in a guitar driven manner, a plethora of upbeat momentum hurling the song forward until it achieves a high energy chorus talking about the believer’s promise of eternal life:Peter complements the rollicking atmosphere with an aggressively delivered guitar solo.“Holy Spirit” has a good message but it is the only track from Unlimited Live I tend to pass on. Beginning to several seconds of choppy open air rhythm guitar, the song slowly moves forward to a commanding riff prior to reaching a chorus advancing at a quickly moving upbeat tempo. While certainly not bad, I find the songs melody structure to be a bit too simplistic for my taste. I can see how others might like “Holy Spirit”, though. As previously stated, the songs message is quite good:
“Living God” gets underway in a hard hitting manner before taking off to a catchy riff that cannot help but bring to mind Eternal Ryte. Proceeding through its first verse at a fast paced tempo, “Living God” peaks for a hook-driven chorus with a simple but straightforward message:Peter adorns the scene with more of his lively work on lead guitar.Once again, the material on Unlimited Love really comes to life as a result of the stronger production values here. I tend to skip over one track, “Holy Spirit”; however, the remainder of the albums compositions are well constructed and hold up under repeated play. In the end, if you enjoy Unlimited Love then by all means pick up a copy of Lost In Vain as well. The keyboard and string based ballad
“Oh Lord” is the first of the two tracks from the bands 1992 single Be There Forever. The song slowly moves through its first and second verse and first chorus until a crisp rhythm guitar enters the mix in time to buttress its second chorus in emotional fashion. While “Oh Lord” is by no means bad musically, I find the backing vocals in its chorus to be laid on a bit too thick.“Be There Forever” is an up-tempo hard rocker that starts to a drum solo before the rhythm guitar kicks in and drives it to a melodic based chorus bolstered by vocal harmonies. Great guitar solo from Peter that kind of reminds me of Chris Impellitteri.Both of these tracks, obviously, represent some of Laudamus’ earliest work and, while it is certainly good to hear them for the first time, serve to showcase the bandspotential which is later fulfilled on its follow up efforts Unlimited Love and Lost In Vain.“Ready Or Not” opens the 1993 four song EP of the same name. By far the best song on Laudamus, “Ready Or Not” is a creative number full of time changes galore that almost has a bit of a progressive edge to it. The song commences to a catchy riff before tapering off for its first verse as the rhythm guitar drops from the mix. Slowly and gradually moving ahead, “Ready Or Not” picks up in pace as the rhythm guitar returns and leads the way to a chorus with an infectious hook you will be challenged to get rid of.I like how “He Will Be There” embarks to an instrumental section with an almost jazz-fusion feel to it. The song proceeds to advance strong and steady until it reaches a chorus conveying a faith based message(http://www.holymetalrob.com/)
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