“Ah, Noveria. When I first encountered this talented bunch on sophomore album Forsaken, the clash between the overt melodrama and the serious subject matter forced me to leave a middling score. But 2019’s Aequilibrium was a huge improvement. It was almost like the band had used my review as a template for what to fix, making strides in songwriting, execution, and production alike.” Peak and Death Valley.
“Even though I have pigeonholed myself as the album art guy around here, when I’m selecting promos, I actually don’t often select an album based on the art. I usually go by one of three methods: completely blind (either random or letting a colleague select), selecting straight from the list (where the only information I have is artist, title, genre and label), or cherry picking (where I listen to singles until I find something I think I’ll like). Trick or Treat is an exception, because just look at this goofy-ass cartoon cover! Either this will be stupid enough to work, like Nanowar of Steel, or it’ll be too stupid to work, like most power metal. So which one is it?” Symphonies of slickness.
![Edu Falaschi – Vera Cruz [Things You Might Have Missed 2021]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Edu-Falaschi-Vera-Cruz-01.jpg.webp)
“I fucking love Angra. When I was first hired onto the AMG team, I even entertained the idea of adopting the handle of Angra Metal Guy, partly in retaliation to AMG Himself‘s review of Secret Garden. That piece is what convinced me to apply to this blog in the first place. I agree with a lot of the Guy‘s takes, but the notion that Secret Garden was an improvement over the band’s older material, which is infinitely more effervescent and charismatic, is borderline delusional. Now, with the opportunity to review Edu Falaschi’s first solo outing of original material, I feel something close to vindication.” Cruzin’ to wictory.
“Feats of sheer sonic escapism have defined much of my listening habits in the Covid era. The stronger an artist can nail a “larger than life” aesthetic in sound and concept, the better. My polyamorous affair with Bal-Sagoth and Galneryus has never burned brighter, while new favorites like Finsterforst have dominated my playlists. Immortal Guardian’s debut Age of Revolution fits comfortably into a similarly overblown mold.” Topic blunder.
“Luca Turilli—the primary composer and guitar hero of various versions of [Luca Turilli’s] Rhapsody [of Fire]—represents one of two types of successful musicians, for me. I suspect that if one groups successful artists by attitude toward music, you’ll find two attitudes that can be grouped as either high or low openness to experience.” Guess who’s back to wax poetic about the new Turilli/Lione Rhapsody record? This motherfucking guy!
“Somewhere in my timeline of metal fandom, the term “symphonic metal” ceased to act as a flame for my moth-like tendencies. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when this occurred, but the source is not. Over time, artists began to implement symphonic elements as less of an enhancer and more of a blatant crutch. Bands utilizing full orchestrations have proven so successful under the Nuclear Blast banner that the ensuing deluge of Nightwish and Dimmu Borgir knock-offs still taints the AMG promo sump to this day. And that’s part of what makes Qantice so dadgum charming: they play highly ambitious symphonic power metal on their own terms.” Symphony for the Devil.
“Rhapsody’s history has all the operatic drama required of its Italian heritage. Rhapsody, one of the ‘90s and early-aughts’ finest power metal bands, rose to prominence on the back of outstanding material before suffering a string of setbacks in the mid-2000s. After some legal drama and a triumphant return with two brilliant albums in two years, the band’s primary composers—Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli—split the world in two.” Now Rhapsody of Fire is back with its third post-split album and first with a band new vocalist. What could go wrong?
“When I was first testing the waters of various metal subgenres over a decade ago, in order to familiarize myself with the scene as a whole, something became immediately apparent: I do not like virtuoso-helmed acts. Though bands like DragonForce, that relied on high-flying technical artistry, were standbys in my early days of metal fandom, it was clear to me as soon as I encountered a seventy-five minute, single-track instrumental shred album that indulgence at the cost of songwriting was standard practice.” Shred is not dead.
“Of all the hundreds of underground power metal acts that you will never, ever hear of, Manticora is one of only a handful deserving of widespread recognition. For twenty years and over the course of seven records, these good Danish boys have gradually shed their former obsession with Blind Guardian and Iced Earth, growing proggier and thrashier with each passing release to become one of the genre’s most stylistically distinct acts. Even with their evolutionary tendencies in mind, though, I could not have predicted the forward leap that To Kill to Live to Kill represents.” Nature or suture.
“It’s always more difficult to review a band with an established discography when you’ve never heard of them in the first place. Such is the case with Eldritch, a prolific Italian power metal outfit with a whopping 11 albums under their belt since their 1991 inception. Allegedly, their earlier works contained such influences as Metallica, Machine Head, and Pantera, but 17 years and a few line-up changes can do a lot to a band (right, Metal Magic?) In case of Eldritch, their experience has pushed power and progressive tendencies to the forefront, settling on a sound from the neighborhood of Angra for their new release, the curiously titled Cracksleep.” Eldritch non-elitist.
