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Dorian Opera is a project mentored by Sven The Axe & Harry Reischmann, respectively vocalist and drummer of Solemnity. And while Solemnity have a more traditional Heavy Metal sound, Dorian Opera focus on keyboard-based Progressive Metal.

“Crusade 1212” is in fact a concept album about what became known as the ‘Children’s Crusade’ – a tragic episode in a time when ordinary people risked their lives embarking on pilgrimages to Jerusalem, a.k.a. ‘The Holy Land’.

Sven has a great singing style but oftentimes I didn’t think it sounded right for the material of “Crusade 1212”, especially in the more aggressive bits. The album also features a guest appearance of lead vocalist Alexandra Goess, who does a pretty decent job. I have reservations about the production which sounds rather sloppy and negatively affects the music.

Apart from all this, overall the music is quite good – full of meaty riffs and convincing melodies. There seems to be a significant influence coming from Dream Theatre but the vibe here is distinctly ‘German’. The best parts of this album, in my view, are the instrumental excerpts, especially those involving the keyboards as within ‘Sermon In Saint-Denis’ or the instrumental ‘Crusade’.

Despite its flaws, “Crusade 1212” is definitely worth checking out.

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