Tag Archives: symphonic metal

Within Temptation – Let Us Burn: Elements and Hydra Live In Concert

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2014 seems to have been the year that symphonic metallers Within Temptation proved their status as one of metal’s modern giants. Arena tour shows across the globe including in the notoriously difficult to tackle UK market (which sees very few bands of our world reach such heights, and still stumble), the announcement of their return to Bloodstock Open Air in 2015 as main stage headliners, and a new album in Hydra (BMG/Nuclear Blast) which epitomised their grandiosity (and even got songs onto Radio 2). This double live release is a showcase of what to expect from this special act.

The first half sees the long awaited release of their 15th anniversary show Elements (BMG) from Antwerp, with accompaniment from Il Novecentro Orchestra, whilst the second is taken from their Amsterdam show this year in support of Hydra (for clarity this review is based on the audio and not the video content). Both sets have significance for different reasons and it is commendable for this reason instead of a lazy release of near identikit sets. Encompassing and celebrating the band’s history, Elements proved a milestone show with a wealth of rarities and guest appearances from ex members such as Martjin Westerholt, plus a large chunk of their well received The Unforgiving (Roadrunner) album, which was released the previous year.

The accompanying orchestra adds an extra element of boldness to proceedings, making the likes of ‘Stand My Ground’ sound absolutely colossal. Not to mention that WT are always a reliably impressive live act; with Sharon den Adel showcasing her talismanic presence.

The second set may not have the gravitas of celebration of its predecessor but is still a huge statement of their strength as a live act. In support of their latest effort, this shares some set similarities but holds a significant chunk of Hydra (opener ‘Let Us Burn’ leaving no prisoners), particular highlight being ‘Dangerous’ with guest vocals by Howard Jones projected via video screen. Yes it would have been great to have the collaborators perform live, and the clumsy ‘And We Run’ could have been omitted from the set altogether, but this shows that even on a more standard booking, Within Temptation are a true live presence.

Fans will of course lap this up, and the uninterested will not have their minds changed, but nevertheless this is a fine exhibition of one of our worlds largest entities (whether you like it or not) in their natural environment.

 

8.0/10

Within Temptation on Facebook

 

CHRIS TIPPELL

 

 

 

 

 


Xerath – III

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When most metal bands attempt to introduce non-metallic elements to their sound, the results are often disastrous. It took Fleshgod Apocalypse three albums to effectively blend classical refrains with blasting death metal while the introduction of opera to black metal that Arcturus ‘perfected’ is regarded by many as unforgiveable. However, sometimes the combining of disparate styles is a joy to behold, as Basingstoke bruisers Xerath once again prove with their emphatic blending of the rough with the smooth on third album III (Candlelight).

While it may be lazy to assert that all the quartet do is play groove metal with orchestral keyboards swirling away in the background, when it boils down to it, that’s not too far from the truth. What makes the band special, however, is just how good the songwriting is, as the infectiously twisty riffs of album opener ‘I Hold Dominion’ demonstrates. The keyboards that make up so much of the bands’ sound, and indeed, their identity aren’t just merely tacked on, they flow in time with the riffs and enable the arrangements to take on a more profound and grand aspect than one might expect. Catchy hooks like the soaring chorus to ‘I Hunt For The Weak’ don’t do any harm either.

New guitarist Conor McGouran has integrated seamlessly and his massive Meshuggah-esque riffs make the music seem urgent and alive, such as the stomping heaviness of ‘Autonomous’ and the staccato assault of ‘Passenger.’ Vocalist Richard Thomson may occasionally lapse into a Devin Townsend impersonation but it’s likely you’ll be enjoying proceedings too much to care. As with Xerath’s previous two albums, III feels like the soundtrack to an epic sci-fi film with stunning visuals and profound themes. While it’s just heavy metal at the end of the day, you can’t help but feel that the four members of the band are reaching for the stars, and one day they might just succeed.

 

8.0/10

Xerath on Facebook

 

JAMES CONWAY


Scar Symmetry – The Singularity, Phase One: Neohumanity

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Part of the charm of being in the heavy metal community is the fact that it is a real community, a group of diverse people from diverse backgrounds, beliefs and ethnic origins bound by a shared love and appreciation for all things heavy and metal. It gives a real sense of belonging, a shared understanding – a belief that the music that you love can open hearts and minds and generally make the world a better place.

If you’re getting the distinct sense that I’m filibustering and not actually getting to the actual review of the sixth album from Sweden’s Scar Symmetry, then you’d be right because if you like Scar Symmetry, my suggestion is that you look away now.

The Singularity, Phase One: Neohumanity (Nuclear Blast) is the first of a trilogy of records. The Singularity is a sci-fi (in the loosest sense of the word) concept album that revolves around the rise of “artilects (artificial intellects) with mental capacities far above the human level of thought” and that “by the year 2030, one of the world’s biggest industries will be ‘artificial brains,’ used to control artilects that will be genuinely intelligent and useful.” According to the band, the album focusses on the divide between “those who embrace the new technology and those who oppose it” due to the social issues caused by the rise of artificial intelligence and the emergence of trans-humanists adding artilect technology to their own bodies.” Of course.

Let’s not get too carried away with the ludicrousness of the story – what we have come here to praise, or not, is the music, isn’t it?

Well, as you probably know already, what you get is fundamentally a melodic death metal record that is exquisitely produced and efficiently and energetically performed by a band that appear to have gotten themselves something akin to a second wind. The problem is the entire enterprise leaves me utterly, utterly cold.

Granted, there’s a bit more on the melody and a soupcon of prog thrown in but that’s it really. You know when the choruses are going to kick in, know when the growly vocals are going to get really growly. It’s all just a bit, well, obvious.  I thought the lyrics and subject matter in need of an editor and the overall effect of listening to this record was, I imagine, like being covered in a vat of cliché and self-regarding hubris. I’m sure there will be plenty of people that will praise this to the highest, revel in its supposed ambition and generally fawn around it like a sycophantic junior at an Elizabethan court: not me, though.

There’s two more where this came from, too.

You know, sometimes if it’s not doing it for you, then it’s not doing it for you. And The Singularity… is not doing it for me. At all. I can admire the effort here, the scope and the ambition, and I applaud the single-mindedness and the collective musicality. What I can’t do is pretend that I like any of it.

 

4.0/10

Scar Symmetry on Facebook

 

MAT DAVIES


Within Temptation Announce New Live DVD Details

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Hot on the coat tails of being confirmed as the Saturday night headliner at next year’s Bloodstock 2015 Festival, symphonic heavyweights Within Temptation have announce details of their upcoming live DVD entitled Let Us Burn. The DVD will be released on the 14th November, containing two live shows.

 

Press Release:

WITHIN TEMPTATION: LET US BURN LIVE DVD/BLU-RAY DETAILS REVEALED

Shot & recorded in front of 15,000 fans at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp, Belgium in 2012 to commemorate their 15th anniversary and at the last show of their European Hydra arena tour at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Let Us Burn: Elements & Hydra Live In Concert are two dynamic evenings with Dutch symphonic rockers WITHIN TEMPTATION as they perform their most requested career-spanning compositions plus new music from their latest Billboard-/world-charting album, Hydra, to arena crowds.

Captured in high-definition with pro audio mixed in 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound, the formidable live reputation of WITHIN TEMPTATION’s stunning performances – complete with dazzling on-stage imagery and special effects (including fire-breathing dragons) – are showcased and brought to life.

With a total running time of 170 minutes, this 34-track live concert experience will be released in the U.S. this November 24th in the following three formats:

• Let Us Burn DVD + 2 live audio CDs

• Let Us Burn Blu-Ray + 2 live audio CDs

• Let Us Burn 2 live audio CDs

All versions are available for pre-order now at the Nuclear Blast USA Webshop.

The track listing for Let Us Burn: Elements & Hydra Live In Concert is:

ELEMENTS – Live in Antwerp
01 – Intro
02 – Iron
03 – In The Middle Of The Night
04 – Faster
05 – Fire And Ice
06 – Our Solemn Hour
07 – Stand My Ground
08 – Angels
09 – Sanctuary Intro
10 – The Last Dance
11 – Say My Name
12 – Candles
13 – Sinéad
14 – The Promise
15 – Mother Earth
16 – Ice Queen
17 – Stairway To The Skies

HYDRA – Live in Amsterdam
01 – Intro
02 – Let Us Burn
03 – Paradise (What About Us?)
04 – Faster
05 – Iron
06 – Edge Of The World
07 – In The Middle Of The Night
08 – Dangerous
09 – And We Run
10 – Stand My Ground
11 – Covered By Roses
12 – Mother Earth
13 – What Have You Done
14 – Silver Moonlight
15 – Whole World Is Watching
16 – Sinéad
17 – Ice Queen

This past February, WITHIN TEMPTATION’s sixth studio album Hydra secured the band’s highest U.S. Billboard Top 20 chart entry to date with a debut at #16 in addition to landing more than ten European Top 10 chart positions plus a #2 debut in the iTunes World Charts. Hydra‘s 33-date European arena tour – witnessed by more than 120,000 fans – sold out notable venues such as the Wembley Arena in London, Le Zenith in Paris, and the legendary Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam (twice). Their “Hydra World Tour” is currently in full swing in North America with five sold-out shows. South America and Japan are next, and by the end of 2014, more than half a million fans around the world will have experienced WITHIN TEMPTATION’s live magic.

Fans are encouraged to purchase pre-sale tickets to the four remaining U.S. dates on WITHIN TEMPTATION’s trek through North America, which include:

10/07/14 Ram’s Head Live – Baltimore, MD
10/09/14 Electric Factory – Philadelphia, PA
10/10/14 Terminal 5 – New York, NY
10/11/14 The Palladium – Worcester, MA

Pre-sale ticket links are available at www.within-temptation.com/ontour/.

Official WITHIN TEMPTATION music videos include:

• ‘And We Run’ featuring Xzibit – www.youtube.com/watch?v=awvqIi427_A

• ‘Dangerous’ featuring Howard Jones – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAiV8RpqzME

• ‘Paradise (What About Us?)’ featuring Tarja Turunen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy6MpsDPKts

• ‘The Whole World Is Watching’ featuring Dave Pirner – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRNPkJ0ELPc

ABOUT WITHIN TEMPTATION:

Masters of elegance, melodrama, and symphonic grandeur, WITHIN TEMPTATION are not just one of the most distinctive and charismatic bands to emerge from the metal scene in recent times; they are also one of European metal’s greatest success stories of the last decade.

Formed in 1996 by guitarist Robert Westerholt & vocalist Sharon den Adel and ably assisted by bassist Jeroen van Veen, the Dutch quintet set out to create music that would strike a sublime balance between the bold, evocative sweep of cinema soundtracks and the brooding, gothic splendor of the finest dark-hued rock & metal of the modern age. A well-kept secret in the Netherlands for the first few years of their existence, the band exploded into the mainstream spotlight across Europe with the release of their second album, Mother Earth, in 2000. Within a few studio albums, WITHIN TEMPTATION experienced huge commercial success in their native country as well as around the world, with a discography that has sold an excess of three million albums to date.

Hydra – the follow-up album to 2011’s Billboard Top 200 album, The Unforgiving – debuted at #16 on the Billboard Top 200 chart this past February, marking WITHIN TEMPTATION’s first appearance in the Billboard Top 20. It also debuted at #12 on the Billboard Digital Albums chart, #1 on both the iTunes Rock & iTunes Metal charts, and #1 on Amazon’s Hard Rock & Metal chart for two consecutive weeks. At radio the week of release, Hydra had the highest chart debut and ranked in the Top 5 on the CMJ Loud Rock chart. In Europe, Hydra debuted at #1 in The Netherlands & The Czech Republic and secured the #2 position in Switzerland & Finland, #4 in Germany, #6 in the U.K., and #9 in France.

Like: www.facebook.com/WTOFFICIAL

Watch: www.YouTube.com/WTOFFICIAL


X Japan Planning Massive Show At Madison Square Garden Next Month

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Ground-breaking and beloved international rock favorites X Japan are closing in on their long awaited comeback show, their first in three years, next month at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Led by Yoshiki, their 11th concert in 20 years at the storied venue has been much hyped, befitting of their status as icons, cult pop taste makers and showmen beyond compare. In the bands’ 32-plus years of existence they have at times defied classification, but have aligned themselves musically with thrash, progressive rock, symphonic metal and other styles, all done in concert with the flair of biggest production spectacles around. This event is the start of a likely very busy slate from X Japan who are planning a new album for release in 2015 from Warner Music.

Watch the trailer for the MSG concert here:

 

 

From The Press Release:

Internationally renowned rock icons X Japan announced today that tickets for their highly anticipated October 11th concert at Madison Square Garden will go on sale this Friday at 10:00AM EDT at http://www.ticketmaster.com/XJapan-tickets/artist/723909. The Madison Square Garden concert event is sponsored by New York Comic Con.

X Japan, led by co-founder, drummer, pianist and songwriter Yoshiki, will return to New York City for their first concert since 2010, performing both fan favorites and previously unreleased music from the band’s decades of recordings. This Madison Square Garden concert marks a significant milestone for the band who made their U.S. debut with a Rockefeller Center press conference over 20 years ago, which presented the fierce J-Rock stars to an American audience. The band is finally fulfilling the promise they made to the fans to return. The group has since toured 16 countries, sold over 30 million albums and singles combined, and sold out Japan’s 55,000 seat Tokyo Dome a record-setting 18 times. The concert trailer for X Japan Madison Square Garden can be viewed here: http://youtu.be/qI-zQehlQaI

X Japan has had a notoriously tumultuous career, even among the world of rock, which includes the loss of two of its five founding members to tragic death. Amid death and breakups, the band has steadfastly maintained X Japan’s vision and this year brought themselves together to perform where their U.S. story started, in New York City.

In line with October’s Madison Square Garden concert, Yoshiki and X Japan will appear at New York Comic Con, where Yoshiki will participate in a panel with Marvel Comics founder Stan Lee and discuss the pair’s collaborations, including the comic based on Yoshiki, Blood Red Dragon. New York Super Week is an immersive and inclusive experience that will bring the energy, passion and color of the entire pop culture universe to every corner of all five boroughs of New York City. Featuring concerts, comedy shows, gaming events, lectures, podcasts, storytelling, food tastings, and more – New York Super Week will take place October 3-12, leading into the East Coast’s biggest and most exciting convention – New York Comic Con.

About X Japan

X Japan returns to the United States this October bringing their legendarily edgy brand of rock to New York City for one night at the iconic Madison Square Garden. The concert event marks the band’s first show together in 3 years and will feature fan favorites as well as previously unreleased and never before performed music. X Japan is revered in their native Japan and around the world as a genre-defining and boundary pushing group, and have mesmerized audiences across the globe with their incendiary live performances. With worldwide sales of over 30-million, they’ve headlined a staggering 18 sold out shows at the 55,000-capacity Tokyo Dome known for historic concerts by Michael Jackson and Bon Jovi. Since forming in 1982, they’ve continued to challenge not only themselves but rock n’ roll as a genre.

X Japan first landed on American soil in 1992. Signed to Atlantic Records at the time they held a massive press conference at Rockefeller Center debuting their eye-catching personal style. Embracing a combination of flamboyant futurist imagery and Japanese history, X Japan’s “Visual-Kei” style would go on to immensely influence the anime and cosplay that’s so commonplace today. Prior to the group’s 1998 breakup they released five albums —Vanishing Vision [1998], Blue Blood [1989], Jealousy [1991], Art of Life [1993], and Dahlia [1996]—solidifying a sound that’s equally scorching and soaring.

The death of original guitarist Hide profoundly shook the band, but in 2007 Toshi and Yoshiki, friends since childhood, reunited. They paid tribute to Hide on tour by utilizing a hologram of the deceased guitarist—long before 2Pac’s appearance at Coachella – during that first Japanese reunion run. After hitting sixteen countries, the United States tour commenced with a triumphant debut performance at Lollapalooza 2010 and was followed by sold out shows from Los Angeles to New York.

In 2011 X Japan faced another deep loss with the death of original bassist Taiji. The band continued with him in spirit, and X Japan were named Best International Rock Band at the Golden Gods Awards in 2012.

In 2014, Yoshiki, Toshi, Pata, Heath, and Sugizo embodied that mentality in working on the upcoming release on Warner Music, scheduled to be released early next year.

Buy tickets to the show:

X Japan on Facebook


Nightwish Announces Headline North American Tour For 2015

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Symphonic metal masters Nightwish have announced a headline tour of North America next spring. The 27 date tour will sweep the country, hitting major markets. Nightwish aim to have their new album finished and released in time for the tour. Opening support will be provided by Dutch prog/symphonic artists Delain.

 

 

From The Press Release:

Finland-based symphonic metal storytellers Nightwish are pleased to announce their 27-date headlining tour of North America for 2015, launching in New York City on April 9th, hitting three Canadian cities plus Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, then closing out in Silver Springs, Maryland on May 14th. Opening will be Dutch symphonic metallers Delain.

Checking in from the other side of the world amidst all the prep work for recording their new studio album, Nightwish bassist & backing vocalist Marco Hietala shares the following about the band’s return to North America:

“Hi to all! Our work on the new album has been going with serious productive speed and comfortable ease at the same time. It´s going to be great to get it out to you and play these pieces live. And with this announcement it will obviously happen quite soon! Here are the dates for the North American shows. Come on over and we´ll raise hell and kick some arses together!”

EnterTheVault.com is the exclusive place to purchase VIP Meet & Greet tickets (which includes early entry + an official tour program) through October 11th.

Confirmed dates for the upcoming Nightwish 2015 tour with Delain are:

04/09/15 Hammerstein Ballroom – New York, NY

04/10/15 Electric Factory – Philadelphia, PA

04/11/15 Palladium – Worcester, MA

04/13/15 Capitole Theatre – Quebec City, QC – CANADA

04/14/15 Phoenix Concert Theater – Toronto, ON – CANADA

04/16/15 Town Ballroom – Buffalo, NY

04/17/15 Agora Theatre – Cleveland, OH

04/18/15 Concorde Music Hall – Chicago, IL

04/19/15 Val Air Ballroom – Des Moines, IA

04/21/15 Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO

04/22/15 In The Venue – Salt Lake City, UT

04/24/15 Knitting Factory – Spokane, WA

04/25/15 Orpheum Theatre – Vancouver, B.C. – CANADA

04/26/15 Crystal Ballroom – Portland, OR

04/28/15 Warfield Theatre – San Francisco, CA

04/30/15 House Of Blues – Las Vegas, NV

05/01/15 Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA

05/02/15 Marquee Theatre – Phoenix, AZ

05/03/15 Tricky Falls – El Paso, TX

05/05/15 Bomb Factory – Dallas, TX

05/06/15 Warehouse Live – Houston, TX

05/08/15 House of Blues – Orlando, FL

05/09/15 Revolution – Fort Lauderdale, FL

05/11/15 Marathon Music Work – Nashville, TN

05/12/15 Expo Five – Louisville, KY

05/13/15 Filmore – Charlotte, NC

05/14/15 Filmore – Silver Springs, MD

Nightwish members are currently working on new song demos with producer Tero “TeeCee” Kinnumen in the wilderness of Hattula, Finland.

Watch all four new album trailers on the Nuclear Blast YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB4brr7vf-P6LMpAuLbvvaskBkEUpbNuL.

About Nightwish

Hugely influential, unique, and unrivaled in the heavy metal pantheon, Finland-based symphonic storytellers Nightwish continue to expand the breadth and scope of their artistic vision with each successive release. Their 2011 studio album, Imaginaerum, arrived into the world with a visual counterpart “Imaginaerum – The Movie,” an album-length film directed by Stobe Harju and produced by Solar Films which created a musical fantasy world in the vein of David Lynch, Neil Gaiman, and Cirque du Soleil. A journey between two different dimensions, the film tells an extraordinary tale of the power of imagination & memory and what is most important in life.

The keyboard-driven compositions from band leader & song composer Tuomas Holopainen surpass that of some of the most dynamic film scores and work brilliantly alongside their engaging and electrifying Dutch frontwoman Floor Jansen, who was announced as an official member of the band – along with British multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley – in October of last year. With more than 7 million albums sold worldwide and over 60 Gold and Platinum awards, Nightwish continue to be one of Finland’s most successful rock bands to date.


Soaring emotion, divine melodies, haunting choruses, and grandiose orchestrations are all part of the endearing and enduring magic of Nightwish.

 

Nightwish on Facebook


Septicflesh – Titan

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Being a fan of early Septicflesh, I’m keen on the Tim Bricheno-style emotive leads – less evident from their middle period onwards – and I fell away from the Greek ensemble after the bizarre, Big Top like noodlings of A Fallen Temple (Holy) which verged on lunacy and alienated many. Though new full-length Titan (Season of Mist) displays much pomp and grandeur, the seamless blend of death metal and orchestral effects is a throwback to their salad days.

Opener ‘War in Heaven’ begins with the duelling of sharp, buzzing riffs and symphonic keys, and when both blastbeats and Seth Siro Anton‘s alarming growl kick in, it portrays the impending cataclysmic battle well. Its centre-point sees chopping rhythms augmented by complex drum patterns, and this explodes and ebbs in fiery fashion to the Gregorian coda. It is a powerful, dramatic beginning that sets the album’s tone. Elsewhere, the death brutality of ‘Burn’ and ‘Ground Zero’ are countermanded by softly intoned choruses, symphonic swells and a brief appearance from those mournful leads. The orchestra is here in force as horns, strings and bass drums decorate the mildly odd ‘Order of Dracul’ and ‘Confessions of a Serial Killer’, the former seeing a harpsichord also absorb the angry pace.

The drama and intense passion reaches a zenith in ‘Prometheus’ with the growling passages quieted by choral breaks reminiscent of ‘Carmina Burana’, whilst the centre break of flute and harp adds the power of emotion. This continues into the heavy-as-hell title track, with galloping strings and more Orff-style choruses augmenting the blistering power and a most addictive chant-a-long refrain. The euphoric closer ‘The First Immortal’ skirts with that kitsch “metal musical” trapdoor but this time retains its strength and brutality amongst the moments of pomp and beauty to create a meaningful and stirring end piece.

There can be few more divisive bands around than Septicflesh at present, but whichever side of the fence you’re on, you can’t deny they’re bloody entertaining. Those of us with a fondness for them can only breathe a sigh of relief at another show of form.

  

Septicflesh on Facebook

8.5/10.0

 

PAUL QUINN

 


Amberian Dawn – Magic Forest

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It would be fair to say Amberian Dawn is not necessarily the first, or possibly even the fifth or sixth name, you’d think of when throwing the term “Symphonic Power Metal” about (or powerful, melodic metal with classical female vocals, as the band prefer to be described). Their career has flown well and truly under the radar, releasing to date a solid if unspectacular back catalogue with former singer Heidi Parviainen, and the Finnish troupe have yet to have that breakthrough album, or step up in class. A shuffling of the pack has seen the band reunite with several of its former line-up, and bring in the classically trained Päivi “Capri” Virkkunen take over the vocals and lyric writing, and both moves have strengthened their hand significantly.

 

Magic Forest (Napalm) combines up-tempo guitar-driven melodic metal, a stage-musical bent with sweet, catchy, cherry-on-top choruses. Pulling out an unusual trio of Andrew Lloyd-Webber, particularly ‘Memorial’ replete with guest male opera vocals from Markus Nieminen, ABBA (‘Warning’ and ‘Cherish My Memory’) and Nightwish as core sounds, Amberian Dawn also combine classic Helloween and Metallica tinged riffs with a dramatic fantasy narrative feel to their songs.

 

Capri carries a strong, saccharine voice, reminiscent of Anette Olzen, and due to the Doctor Parnassus feel of some of their songs, the Nightwish comparisons that have plagued Amberian Dawn over the years are reinforced at times, both in excellent ‘Son of Rainbow’, and the title track with its dancing Labyrinth (the film) texture. Alongside this ‘Dance of Life’, with its memorable keyboard and guitar patterns, recalls Within Temptation.

 

Magic Forest in and of itself won’t catapult Amberian Dawn to stardom, but it should move them several rungs up the ladder to being a band worth paying some attention to what happens next. Now they’ve found a sound that combines Disney, Phantom of the Opera and symphonic power metal, they are finally finding their niche and developing the playful enchanted touches that give them a more distinctive and interesting sound. Push and develop their cinematic side and it might not be too late for Amberian Dawn to make a name for themselves.

 

7.5/10.0

Amberian Dawn on Facebook

 

STEVE TOVEY

 

 


Epica – The Quantum Enigma

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Epica - The Quantum Enigma

 

Once The Quantum Enigma (Nuclear Blast) has had time to work its way into your brain, it’s a highly impressive album. Due to the fact there’s a lot to it, it does require a few listens for it all to separate out, even though the song arrangements have been simplified compared to previous albums’ over-elaborations.

 

Streamlining serves Epica well, as they no longer get lost in an endless seam of parts. Instead, everyone knows their role and performs it excellently; the guitars are happy to act as a chugging metalcore foil to Simone Simons’ exemplary soprano vocals, or to dial it a down and sit under keyboards or softer chords for the more sugary moments, such as the earworm chorus of ‘The Second Stone’. Equally, with their roaring thick sound, they can step up and drive a song, such as the rhythmic pounding of ‘Victims Of Contingency’.

 

The whole symphonic metal shebang is nicely spiced up by a full chamber choir and live string ensemble both of whom embellish most tracks, but none so more than ‘Chemical Insomnia’, a mid-album track that starts with a dark riff, picks up pace with strings swirling over the double-bass drumming, a thrashy riff, into a staccato verse, a symphonic, orchestral pre-chorus and a sweet, softer poppy chorus.

 

There are two minor gripes. Firstly, the 12 minute closing epic is a touch underwhelming and doesn’t reach the standards of the rest of the album – an ‘Of Michael The Archangel and Lucifer’s Fall’ it ain’t… Secondly, at 70 minutes, no matter how well it’s delivered, Quantum is pushing its’ luck a little.

 

The above may all sound a bit kitchen sink, but the thought, effort and craft bear fruit as The Quantum Enigma is both an excellent album and a collection of great songs and it is churlish to pick when presented with such an expertly put together symphonic metal album. Expertly produced, and in a year when the poppier Delain and the slick machine Within Temptation have released strong albums Epica are more than holding their own with an album that stands alongside Design Your Universe as the best the band have released to date.

 

Epica2014s

 

8.0 / 10

Epica on Facebook

 

STEVE TOVEY

 


Rhapsody of Fire – Dark Wings of Steel

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Eighteen months ago, a year after amicably departing the band to create counterpart Luca Turilli’s Rhapsody, the man himself Luca Turilli strode up, calmly removed his (slightly camp) leather gloves, smiled sweetly, and flicked fingers across the right cheeks of his former bandmates affectionately, before aggressively slapping them hard across their left, dropping the gloves at their feet and turning on his heel with a flourish, striding confidently away. By doing what Rhapsody (of Fire) hadn’t truly delivered since 2002’s Power of the Dragonflame (Limb), Ascendency to Infinity (Nuclear Blast) was dramatic, dynamic, interesting and taking a bombastic risk, moving cinematic metal forward and well and truly throwing down the gauntlet.

In days of yore, once the gauntlet was dropped it meant a challenge had been made and men came out fighting, desperate to save their honour and name from being besmirched.

Unfortunately, Rhapsody of Fire have ignored the humiliating slap to the face, and stood there with their fingers in their ears, ignoring their smarting chops and carried on as if it hadn’t happened. Rather than the salivating prospect of 2 true kings of symphonic metal doing battle round Europe, trading musical blows each trumping the other at each turn, Rhapsody of Fire have conceded the fight, making only a token appearance on the battle ground to wave a white flag.

So predictable is Dark Wings of Steel (AFM) that I could have written this review without actually hearing it. It sounds like the last 3, overflowing with musicianship, but short on songs. The huge choruses and rousing power metal passages are conspicuous in an underwhelming absence. All the requisite is there; it’s exceptionally well played, Alex Staropoli’s baroque keyboard passages twinkle and the as-ever-impeccable Fabio Leone’s soaring vocals are once again the saving grace, while tracks like ‘Silver Light of Tears’ show the flame of creativity can still flicker.

In the main, though, it’s disappointing. Rhapsody of Fire can and should deliver more. More thrills, more epic peaks, more tumultuous choruses, more majestic passages, and bigger driving metal chugs and licks. Instead they seem content to limp along in the shadows of their former glories.

6.0 / 10

Rhapsody of Fire on Facebook

STEVE TOVEY