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Artist: Master Castle |
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Master
Castle is the brainchild of Labyrinth guitarist Pier Gonella who brings
with him a new talented vocalist for his new project and her name is
Giorgia Gueglio. Master
Castle mix neo-prog metal with traditional guitar based metal and this
their debut album, will again show that this genre is far from depleted
of new talent and another Phoenix is about to rise from the ashes. The
album opens up with ‘Words Are Swords’ and straight away Gueglio’s
vocals will blow you away, as she come across like a rockier version of
Aimee Lee and Ann Wilson, power and grace all in one package and with
the Gonella’s guitar work, along with bassist
Steve Vawamas and guest drummer Alessandro Bissa, the band are going to
turn a few heads in the Neo-Classical Metal world. The
album continues its impressive start with ‘Princess Of Love’, a
majestic gentle slice of metal with Gueglio’s vocals once again
dominating the track as they soar and embrace the equally fine guitars.
This seems to be the perfect harmony between guitars and vocals as each
compliment each other so well. The
band show that traditional metal influence with ‘Space’ and the hard
rocking ‘My Dreams’, with some quite sublime riff building from
Gonella before returning to the more gentle tones of ‘Lullaby Noir’,
where Gueglio’s shows that graceful side of her vocals on this
lamented ballad. The
title track ‘The Phoenix’ sees the tempo pick up once more a real
guitar player’s track with Gonella shredding big style, while the
monster back beat provided by Vawamas and Bissa pummels away like an
express train to hell. The
next track “Greed Blade” tells about the disaster of Vajont, a dam
on the Italian Alps that after a landslide created a giant wave that
destroyed towns and villages and villages in the valley, and allows the
band to indulge in a more prog sound by adding that extra atmospheric
element to the proceedings. It's
back to the full on Metal with my favourite track off the album the
rollercoaster ride that is ‘Dawn Of Promises’. A twisting
turning mix of powerhouse drums and bass and stampeding guitar licks,
all wrapped around Gueglio’s wonderful vocals. 'Memories' is as near to genius Neo-Classical Metal as you get, with some quite superb almost Malmsteen-esque guitar moments, then the album closer ‘Cradle Of Stone’, a real up tempo rocker that rounds off an impressive first outing for the band and one that will shake up the world of Neo-Classical Metal for sure
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Tracklisting:
1. Words Are Swords
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