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Swedish metallers second release following on from the debut Tunes of
Steel, but now reduced to a four piece after losing their second guitarist
to musical differences.
Reality treads the traditional Euro speed metal boards, indeed think parts
of Edguy, Gamma Ray, Iron Saviour and early Helloween and you get the
picture.
This genre is littered with wanna-be's and try-to-be's and it does take some
magic to stand out above the rest (listen and die happy to the awesome
Avantasia project for proof of what can be done).
Vocalist / keyboards and main man Johannes Nyberg does possess the classic
speed metal voice in the Tobias Sammet/Michael Kiske range.
Tracks such as Wheel of Life, Dimension to Freedom. Life and Forever
demonstrate a variation of song writing abilities and strong melodic
content that could lift Zonata up the proverbial ladder.
The second half of Reality displays more variation and adaptability and
makes for a more diverse approach than some of the earlier stylised
tracks. The next release will be the litmus test for the band, if they have the
ability to progress to the levels of the aforementioned bands.
On the strength of Reality, and it has taken several plays then yeah they
could succeed.
(This review was brought to you courtesy of The Groove Machine.)
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