Label : Massacre Records
Review by Tony Cannella & Erwin van Dijk
Germany’s Coronatus play dramatic, symphonic Gothic Metal with operatic overtones. They consist of 7 members in the band, including two female lead vocalists who each bring their own styles to the table. They have previously released two full-length CDs with this – their third – “Fabula Magna” out now via Massacre records. With most of the lyrics sung in their native German, “Fabula Magna” is quite the powerful statement. After a brief intro “Preface”, the band really get into it on “Geisterkirche” and here you can see the contrasts between the two singers, Carmen Lorch is a very talented soprano, who has also guested on albums by Brainstorm and Illuminate, she adds the operatic vocals while Lisa Lasch contributes a straight-forward rock/metal style to the songs. This is the biggest thing Coronatus has going for them in my opinion and these two different styles really bring the songs to life. The next track “Tantalos” is just a straight-up power metal tune and they get heavier still with the blasting next track “Wolfstanz” which is one of the more aggressive tracks that is offered, a lot of great riffs and vocal parts make of the core of this great track. “Der Fluch” is another good one that feature some pretty cool changes in tempo and would make a great single/video if the chose to release one, with some truly epic sounding vocals. Other highlights – and there are many – include: “Flying By (Alone)”, “How Far Would You Go”, “Der Letzte Tanz” and the excellent “Kristallklares Wasser” (really, this is one the best tracks on here).“Fabula Magna” is a masterful piece of work from Coronatus and just an all around excellent third release from this German band. Among the 12-songs and 50-minutes worth of music on “Fabula Magna” lies plenty of substance and the band are not afraid to incorporate such varying influences as metal, classical, opera and even celtic music to create a compelling opus.
Rating – 95/100
Coronatus was one of the big surprises on Metal Female Voices Fest last year (2009) I had never heard from this German band before and while I had listen to some of their songs on the Coronatus MySpace by a handful of too compressed files on the internet. But at the Octoberhallen I was very impressed by their performance. So the question was when I got my hands on the promo if the band could life up to my expectations. In two words – they did. According to Carmen, who is responsible for the soprano singing parts in Coronatus. “Fabula Magna” is the bands most metal oriented album album of the band. The addition of a second guitarist and a new bassist between the recording of “Fabula Magna” and “Porta Obscura” have given “Fabula Magna” (the album title means Grand Tale in Latin) a boost of fresh energy. Many so called gothic bands do not really make metal at all but an up-tempo rock songs. The combination of Carmen’s soprano voice and new rock singer Lisa Lasch works fine. The way they sing both voices blend in perfectly together. And you should not forget that the Metal Female Voices Fest gig was Lisa’s debut in Coronatus. Nothing in the way she sings reveal that she is new in the band. The songs on “Fabula Magna” are sung in German, English, Latin and one in Greek (“Tanatos”, which means Death of course). The first half of the album houses the faster songs of “Fabula Magna”, with “Wolfstanz” as my favourite while the second half has the more epic songs and the ballad. If you like bands like Epica, the Tarja era Nightwish or After Forever “Fabula Magna” would be something for you.
Rating – 80/100
Tracklist
- Intro
- Geistkirche
- Tantalos
- Wolfstanz
- Der Fluck
- Flying by (Alone)
- Kristallklares Wasser
- How Far
- Der Letzte Tanz
- Est Carmen…
- Blind
- Josy
- Scream of the Butterfly (Special Acoustic Version)
- Hot and Cold
Line Up
- Carmen R. Lorch (ex Schäfer) – Vocals
- Lisa Lasch – Vocals
- Jo Lang – Guitars
- Aria Keramti Noori – Guitars
- Fabian Merkt – Keyboards
- Todd G.Goldfinder – Bass
- Matt Kurth – Drums
Links