Visions of Atlantis – “Ethera” (2013)

Label : Napalm Records

Review by Tony Cannella

It’s been a long road for the Austrian Symphonic power metal band Visions of Atlantis. They are true survivors of the genre. They’ve survived numerous line-up changes and yet still they remain as strong as ever. As a testament to VoA’s lasting endurance and strength the band have just released their 5th full-length album “Ethera”.

“The Ark” starts things off with male vocalist Mario Plank beginning the song before Maxi Nil joins in. This is pure Visions of Atlantis and an excellent way to begin things. This is now the second album to feature Maxi Nil (not including the EP “Maria Magdalena”) and she continues to be a great fit for this band. Continue reading »

Black Heaven – “Dystopia” (2011)

Label : Trisol Music Group GmbH

Review by Luisa Mercier

Black Heaven is the side project of mastermind Martin Schindler, which tried to complete the gothic rock played with Mantus through this electronic project. After the release of their last record in 2009, Black Heaven completed their fifth album and in no way they have lost the dark mood of the founder main band. “Das Tor Zu Welt”, the opener, is an up-tempo song full of keyboards and completely sung by Martin while the following “Lächelnd geht die Welt zugrunde” is haunting and the vocals are delivered by Thalia. More slow-paced, it will find its place in the gothic clubs all over Europe.

“Die Zeit Die Bleibt” is more gothic, decadent and romantic with strings and its piano break that seems coming out of a movie soundtrack. Going back to danceable rhytm, “Mensch” is maybe the fastest song on the album and once again the keyboards have a main role. Continue reading »

Clair de Lune – “Introduction to…” DEMO (2012)

Independent Release

Review by Davide Torresan

It’s always nice to discover new bands like this one. Clair De lune tries with this “Introduction to…” to make itself known outside of their country, El Salvador. After some changes in the line-up and in the band’s name, they reached a stable line-up. Their musical style is certainly not classic since they can boast the presence of a violinist, an opera singer and a growler in the group. From these 3 elements I was expecting a gothic metal band, but I was wrong. They do a particular type of symphonic metal with a touch of ordinary madness. I’d say that we are dealing with an avant-garde metal band.

“Introduction to …”, whose cover immediately reminded me the one of “Angels Fall First” by Nightwish, is a demo with only 4 songs that explain directly to the listener the abilities of Clair De Lune. Although the band name is clearly inspired by “Moonlight Sonata” of Beethoven, the atmospheres of this demo are not really calm. After a short orchestrated “Intro”, the very first song makes its appearance: “Soul Mirror”. Continue reading »

Ecliptica – “Journey Saturnine” (2012)

Independent Release

Review by Tony Cannella

From Austria, the band Ecliptica formed in 2003 and features the duel male/female vocals of Sandra Urbanek and Tom Tieber. On their 4th full-length release, “Journey Saturnine”, the band offers up a strong mix of heavy metal and hard rock.

The intro “Saturn’s Theme” leads into “Journey Saturnine”. After that we have crunchy riffs of “Fire! Burn!”. The guitar riff is quite infectious all the way through and the chorus reminds me a bit of Blind Guardian. This is one of the heavier songs and features a good amount of input from Sandra Urbanek. Male vocalist Tom Tieber has a gravelly vocal style and he handles the bulk of the vocals but Sandra does a good job when she is called upon. Continue reading »

Serenity – “War of Ages” (2013)

Label : Napalm Records

Review by Davide Torresan

With this “War of Ages” Serenity reaches the goal of the 4th album. Time really flies since it seems like yesterday when I listened to their debut album “Words Untold & Dreams Unlived”. I was really blown away at the first listening and so even now. With a very attractive artwork, result of the creative genius of Seth Siro Anton, I was surprised by the freshness of the sound though it was the first work for the band. The following “Fallen Sanctuary” was the one that made me fall in love with them: catchy melodies, little hints of growl, epic guitars and choruses that remained in your head at the first listening. “Death & Legacy” was the album that made them famous worldwide thanks to the important collaborations with some of the most renowned female metal singers in the world. Besides the Serenity‘s concert at the ProgPower USA Festival in 2012 was a great success for them and for the American fans. Continue reading »