Rockshots Records
Review by Anthony ‘Tony’ Cannella
Astralium is the name of an excellent symphonic metal band from Italy. The band formed in 2014 and have just issued their debut opus via Rockshots Records, entitled, “Land of Eternal Dreams”. The band features some great duel female/male lead vocals, the two singers Roberta Pappalardo and Salvo Grasso (who also plays drums) have great chemistry together. Roberta’s vocals have a lot of depth, character and emotion; her vocals are clean, soaring and crystal clear, whilst Salvo offers a metal style of vocal (non-screaming or guttural) which blends well with Roberta’s.
“Land of Eternal Dreams” begins with the 2-minute cinema style intro “Remembrance” and segues nicely into the one of the albums finest tracks, “The Journey”. The band has so much talent, that one can’t help but be impressed. But still, you can be the most talented band in the world, but if you don’t have the songs, then what do you have? Fortunately, Astralium has the songs, some killer songs as a matter of fact. “Rising Waves from the Ocean” is another solid example of their songwriting prowess. The songs are huge sounding and musically the band should appeal to fans of Nightwish and Epica. “Breath of My Soul” is a beautiful piano-driven ballad which features some cool orchestration and some more cinematic elements come into play. Other highlights include: “My Life is My Eternity”, “A Dream’s Elegy” and “Seven Seas, Seven Winds”. “Land of Eternal Dreams” is huge in scope and features many twists and turns along the way. It is good to see a bands hard work payoff in the form of their brand of art. I have no doubt that Astralium put a ton of their heart and soul in their debut, and it shows.
Rating – 80/100
Tracklist:
- Remembrance
- The Journey
- Rising Waves from the Ocean
- My Life Is My Eternity
- Whisper In The Silence
- Hope Is Gone
- Breath Of My Soul
- A Dream’s Elegy
- Seven Seas, Seven Winds
- Ethereal Voices From The Forest
- The World Of Unknown
- Hidden Conspiracy
- Hope Is Gone (Bonus Track – Orchestral Version)
Line Up:
- Roberta Pappalardo – Vocals, piano
- Emanuele Alessandro – Guitars
- Giuseppe Pappalardo – Bass
- Salvo Grasso – Drums
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