Leonardo
surely wears their influences on the outside; Rainbow and Deep Purple are the
godfathers, Stratovarius, Symphony X and Time Requiem their offspring’s and
their Metal God is none other than Yngwie J. Malmsteen. And like so many other
neo-classical metal bands they are also heavily influenced by classical music.
Leonardo
has absolutely nothing to do with the high profiled project "Leonardo: The
Absolute Man" involving James LaBrie (Dream Theater) and Wayne and Trent Gardner
(Magellan) among many. This band hails from Belgrade, Serbia and has been around
in some form since 2001.
I think "Armageddon" is a fresh breath of air, not because they offer anything
new nor are they super tight and the vocals are even a bit off here and there,
but they stick to their formula and their influences are so obvious that there
is no point in denying. But they deliver everything a true neo-classical metal
fan wish for in an album: loads of classical influenced songs packed with
splendid guitar leads, keyboard leads and duels between them.
We do not see that many neo-classical albums at the moment and "Armageddon" is
good enough to put Leonardo on the map.
