First
impression of this new Mastercastle was of a tedious album with a predisposition
to be swamped under an ocean of similar-sounding bands. I wondered…was there
going to be anything worth my while?
Before I
go on, some brief notes on the band: Mastercastle, from Italy, are a Power Metal
band with a self-confessed penchant for Neo-Classical melodies. They already
have 5 albums to their name and current/previous band members have been active
in other bands such as Labyrinth, Necrodeath, Shadows Of Steel and Extrema.
Back to
“Enfer”…the singing of Giorgia Gueglio doesn’t have such a wide range and I
often felt she wasn’t injecting enough verve into the music. Funnily enough I
liked her most both in the album’s mellow song (‘Behind The Veil’, where her
singing is particularly great) as well as in the heaviest songs (such as ‘Throne
Of Time’). So, who knows, maybe it’s a matter of getting the right musical
context for her singing.
As
suggested, “Enfer…” suffers from a lack of inventiveness but there are still a
few good songs to be found. ‘Venice’, for example, is a well-written and
infectiously anthemic number with some cool guitar solos from Pier Gonella. It’s
the instrumental ‘Coming Bach’ where Gonella shines, though, a passionate
tribute to the music pioneered by Yngwie Malmsteen.
If you
adore bands such as Labyrinth, Vision Divine, Sonata Arctica or even latter day
Tristania, then “Enfer…” might be something you’ll enjoy. Or else, having such
bands in your record collection might make this new Mastercastle redundant.
Which way will it be?
See the video for the song ‘Enfer’:
