|
K Here we have another female-led gothic metal band with
prog tendencies. Is this one any good? Yes. Will it stand
out from the pack enough for me to replay it over the years?
Probably not - but it is still pretty good. Angtoria are a
supergroup of sorts that combine members of various black,
death, and power metal bands to form a new group who do their
own thing. The standout member is vocalist Sarah Jezebel Deva,
who has worked with Cradle of Filth and Therion. Her voice
is somewhat different from the norm in this genre - as she
sings in a lower range and is somewhat more throaty. This
is not to say she cannot sing in the high ranges - she can
- just not as often. Her voice is my favorite thing about
this band.
Angtoria also use some serious moog on this release -
though its use is in the background and not in a soloing capacity.
In fact - most verses on this album have a winding, twisting
moog riff going on in the background that makes for interesting
listening. Another unique quality is the orchestration. Not
sure if it us real or not - but it sounds very nice and creates
some cool intros/outros. You will find some choir-esque moments
and only occasional death growls on one song. Also some clean
male vocals pop up once or twice.
The band stays away from the extremely heavy - veering
more often into symphonic power metal stylings with prog leanings
from the keys. I suppose the closest sounding band would be
Edenbridge, although Edenbridge is better. Piano reigns supreme
when the moog is not in the background, and strings as well.
Melodies are memorable in a couple of tunes, and I have a
hard time pinning down why this release is not deserving of
a higher rating. I suppose it would be as another reviewer
has stated elsewhere - the songs just don't stand out. I like
what these guys are doing - and maybe if it was the first
band I heard in this genre I would be more impressed. Yet
- I may actually like the new Evanescence more - despite the
fact that they are more "radio-friendly" than this group -
a quality I normally despise. So - this is a solid release
with good tunes - but if you are new to this type of music
- check out Nightwish, After Forever, and Epica first.
Rating: 3 stars.
|
