It's not everyday you get the opportunity to listen to female fronted metal from Rumania. Romanian band Magica has released two albums: 'The Scroll of Stone' from 2001 and 'Lightseeker' from 2004, both of them were released internationally, but 'Hereafter' is their first Worldwide release.

Magica is just like so many other female fronted bands a fine combination of symphonic, gothic, power and melodic metal - but this is simply a bit too safe for my liking. Sure they have a very good vocalist in Ana Mladinovic, who with her classic trained background displays great skills, and the band is talented and tight. But they are walking the same paths, which have been covered by the genre giants many, many times. They do simply not bring enough independence and own ideas to rise above the competition.

I am left with a feeling of discontent because the stones for a good album are in place, Magica does however never manage to put them together in the right order and delivers a mediocre album, which most likely will go under in the massive flow of female fronted metal that is being release these days.

I recommend you take a careful listen before you decide whether or not this is worth your hard earned money... To me there's just no magic about them at all...