Norhod – “The Blazing Lily” (2013)

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Label: WormHoleDeath

Review by Tony Cannella

Norhod is a symphonic death metal band from Italy. They first came on the radar in March of 2012 with their 5-song EP “Arianrhod”. Now the band returns with their debut conceptual full-length “The Blazing Lily”. The band is duel male and female fronted with Clara Ceccarelli on operatic female vocals and Giacomo Casa on growling vocals; in that case the dynamic of the two singers works similarly to that of Epica or Draconian. Musically I would say that they are closer to Draconian.

As mentioned above the songs have a conceptual feel and that is pretty obvious once you look at the song titles, for instance “A Moon Tale” is divided into five parts beginning with the intro “Caer Arianrhod” and then into “Doomed to Oblivion”. The songs are definitely on the melancholic side with heavy, darker melodies. The music and vocals go hand-in-hand with building a solid foundation for the songs. Highlights include: “Fading With the Dark”, “Last Sundown (A Moon Tale – Part IV)” and “Mirror’s Lady”. The duel vocals work well with another and the two vocalists work together rather than compete against each other – which is sometimes the case. The final song “White Spiral” is a great song and a solid closer. This is perhaps the fastest song featured here and is just an outstanding number.

All 5-songs that were on their previous EP can also be heard on “The Blazing Lily”. The songs features plenty of bombastic and orchestral moments and I can tell the band has already made a huge leap since that first EP.

Rating – 85/100

 

Tracklist

  1. Caer Arianrhod (A Moon Tale – Part I)
  2. Doomed to Oblivion (A Moon Tale – Part II)
  3. Illusions of Infinity
  4. Lily’s Ashes (A Moon Tale – Part III)
  5. Fading With the Dark
  6. Through the Forest
  7. Last Sundown (A Moon Tale – Part IV)
  8. Creatures
  9. Mirrors Lady
  10. Arianrhod (A Moon Tale – Part V)
  11. White Spiral

 

Line Up

  • Clara Ceccarelli – Vocals
  • Giacomo “Jev” Casa – Growl
  • Giacomo Vannucci – Guitars
  • Andrea “Bistru” Stefani – Guitars
  • Michele Tolomei – Keyboards
  • Matteo Giusti – Bass
  • Francesco Aytano – Drums

 

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