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Artist: Neverland |
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With
such a short history behind them, Neverland the formation between
Turkish band Dreamtone and Greek songstress Iris Mavraki, have taken the
Symphonic and Power Metal genres by storm with their debut 'Reversing
Time' back in 2008. Since then the band haven't rested on their
laurels and now in 2010 they return with their second album
‘Ophidia’ and are set to send waves around the genre with their
powerful and energized spin on the genre. As with
the bands debut we see a number of guest artists on the album with Jon
Oliva, aka: The Mountain King (Savatage, Trans Siberian Orchestra, JoP),
Edu Falaschi (Angra, Almah) and Urban Breed (Bloodbound, Pyramaze,
ex.Tad Morose). This list of "who's who" alone leaves
the mouth watering without even listening to the album itself. So the
simple question does the album live up to the line up? Well I can
say firmly most definitely YES! This is pure bombastic Power Metal
that defines the band as one of the new leaders in the genre, taking the
classical voice of Mavraki and the Metal vocals of Oganalp Canatan (but
not in what I like to call The Beauty And The Beast vocals: one gruff
and one angelic) and combining it with streaming guitars, far reaching
keyboards and a majestic yet powerful rhythm section. The
album opens up with 'This Voice Inside', a track that is about the main
character of 'The Wheel of Time' series, Rand Al’ Thor. It
mainly speaks of Rand’s unwilling turn into a anti-hero type while
constantly trying to battle with the voices inside his head. A
strong progressive start that sets the mood for the remainder of the
album, with Canatan making his mark instantly with the superb backing of
some great musicianship from Onur Ozkoc and
Burak Kahraman on guitar, Emrecan Sevdin on drums, Can Dedekarginoglu on
bass guitar and finally Guney Ozsan on keyboards. The
album keeps that powerful Progressive edge going with ‘Silence The
Wolves’, one of, if not the heaviest piece on the album, but not so
heavy as to detract from that visionary progressive edge the band have
made their own. The
title track 'Ophidia' mixes traditional progressive elements with a
modern electro vibe, resulting in one of the tracks of the album.
This before the album slows down in both tempo and style as the mellow
tones of ‘Will Of God’ melt away this almost folkish track
that although mellow, the lyrics tell of people killing each other in the name of God, under the banner
of some religion or another. On
‘Invisible Wall’ the band have enlisted the mighty Mountain King
himself Jon Oliva, who brings his unmistakable metal vocals to the fold
and adds a touch of bite to the album. Then the band give tribute
to their friend Mike Baker who died in 2008 with the track ‘Places
Unknown’. Again a slower but still poignant piece that reflects
the band mood at the time. Two very different tracks but each as
powerful as the other in their own way and it’s a tribute to the band
for venturing beyond the norm to expand their music and give it a
greater depth. The
album builds up once more with ‘No One Leaves The Hive’ and then
takes another twist with classically infused metal of ‘Speak To Me’,
a real mixed bag of styles that takes a couple of listens to really take
on what the band are trying to achieve with this one. 'Ashes To Fall' sees another guest vocalist, this time the mighty Edu Falaschi, who like Oliva before him, really shows what a great vocalist can do. It's power driven Prog Metal at its finest from the band on this one, then just as you think the band can't push the Prog envelope any further, they bring another surprise with ‘Final Odyssey’. A song that this time brings an industrial mix with some surprise keyboards, a thumping double kick drum and pounding bass lines. It's a mix that really works even if it doesn’t on paper. The
folk metal element is brought back into the mix with the stunning
‘Dying Threads’, a really outstanding piece of music that ebbs and
flows from the might metal to the symphonic, before searing towering
melodies of keys and guitars. The
album finishes of with a stunning instrumental ‘Into The Horizon’
with mixes film score epic metal with Spanish guitars and classic piano
and so much more. A real dynamic track that has to be
listened to fully to appreciate its intenseness and one which rounds off
one of the best Progressive Metal albums of the year so far. Some
might find this album a little intense on first listen, but stick with
it and give it a few spins with your headphones on and take in the
varied and imaginative sounds of Neverland, you be surprised at what
you’ll find in-between the lines. |
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Tracklisting: 1.
This Voice Inside |
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