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European Power Metal seems to be passing through quite a productive phase. From within this genre comes “Ethera” - the fifth and latest effort from Visions Of Atlantis.

 

The music is very much song-oriented with lots of catchy harmonies and big choruses. Visions Of Atlantis are quite adept at all this as songs such as ‘Vicious Circle’ demonstrate.

I also liked the electro-gothic sequences which, I felt, gave the songs an interesting touch.

 

What, on the other hand, I sorely yearned for in these songs is an element of punch and grit. Making a cake without sugar would be pointless but too much of it would ruin the experience. Similarly, I felt that “Ethera” has too much pop-inspired ‘catchiness’ weaved into the songs, making the overall listening experience somewhat unremarkable. And it’s not as if VOA cannot produce engaging Power Metal, as previous albums such as “Delta” (of 2011) had shown.

 

Visions Of Atlantis use both male and female lead vocals and most times this approach seems to fit in well with the song dynamics. Both vocalists hover around the mid-range of typical male/female Metal vocals.

 

Bottom line: “Ethera” is doubtlessly a valid effort even though it didn’t get me over-excited.

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