One of the first surprises dor me this year is yet another Italian band. The
band combines power metal with traditional metal in a progressive Dream Theater kind
of style. The record was already self released in 2009, but fortunately it will
be better available now. After a short intro, the album opens with one of the
best songs of the album. Heavy riffs, good vocal performance and a very melodic
and catchy refrain form the solid base of this song.
"Mistery" opens very fast and slows down during the chorus after which the song
speeds up again. Vocalist Francesco Valentini is a decent vocalist, but in some
songs he just tries to sing a bit too high, if he can improve that on the next
record, it will be even a better one. Most of the songs are very open, but they
sound progressive too. The biggest advantage is that they know how to write
catchy choruses, that makes their songs very accessible. With "Two Skies" the
album has its ballad too, but I cannot say that it impressed me a lot.
"Interlude" is a short dance/house interlude, after which "Dream of Illusion"
sets off. Another strong track with good vocals and heavy riffs, it even
contains a neo-classical guitar solo. It is in this song that the band Six
Minute Century entered my mind, probably another band not known by many, but
there are some similarities.
Strong debut-album, worth checking out, recommended!
