Treasure Seeker: A Tribute To The Past Re Issue 2024 | A Bridge To The Past
(Ulterium Records – 2024)
A curious re-issue, not of a classic album, but of a work presented as a tribute to the best and most brilliant era of Heavy Metal, that is to say the ’80s, but framed within what is popularly known as “White Metal”. The genesis of this project is embodied in the initiative of the Germans William Hieb, former bassist of Seventh Avenue and Andy Gutjahr, former guitarist of Creed (the German band, not to be confused), Seventh Avenue and current Tankard. They together with Olaf Hayer on vocals, Danilo Baldorf on drums and Marc Piras on the other guitar gave shape to this work that for many, has gone unnoticed.
“A Tribute To The Past” was originally released by the label ‘Treasure Hunt’ in 1998, and now it is conveniently re-released by the label ‘Ulterium Records’, who rescue it from oblivion. This re-release respects the original album cover and has done a great job in terms of graphic design quality, adding for the inner envelope, a lot of information about how this project started, the choice of songs, etc, including comments from each of the members of the band that recorded this album, as well as opinions of the musicians honored. In addition, there are a large number of vintage photographs that give a distinctive touch to this great edition.
Now, let’s get down to what we have in our hands. The album consists of the same songs with which it was originally released in 1998, highlighting that the first track, the one that gives title to the album, turns out to be an original theme composed between Hieb and Gutjahr, as a kind of introduction to what follows. Here we can already notice what Treasure Seeker’s proposal is about from the musical point of view; German-style Heavy Power Metal, reminiscent of early Helloween, Blind Guardian, Running Wild, etc. And it is in that line that the Treasure Seeker combo moves to perform songs like “Too Late For Living” by Saint, the hyper known “To Hell With The Devil” by Stryper, “Flames Of Fire” by Leviticus, etc. The result is more than optimal, and allows us to hear some songs with a more metallic filter, especially in those songs of bands that are not exactly Heavy Metal. It is difficult to choose our favorites but I think that “Heroes” by Bride, “Rebels Of Jesus Christ” by Jerusalem and “Out Of Darkness” are the high points of this album.
Regarding the sound of “A Tribute To The Past”, it is not reported that there has been any kind of remastering, so evidently this has not been touched in any way, being that it should be clarified that the original audio work was not superlative but it was correct.
The only negative point we find in this album is its short duration and the fact that many gems from the 80’s were left out, something unforgivable. There was a lack of songs, bands to pay tribute to, etc. I don’t know if it was the idea, but if there had been a second part, it wouldn’t have been completely wrong. A pity. In the meantime, we celebrate that this album may be available again, albeit only on CD. To find out how to get it, go to https://www.ulterium-records.com/
