Epic Storytelling with Heavy and Power Metal Soundscapes - A Review of Тысяча Вёрст' / A Thousand Miles' Дорогой легенд / Road of Legends

Тысяча Вёрст translates to A Thousand Miles and is a brand-new Russian trio playing music on the thin line between heavy metal and power metal. The newcomers from Moscow have just released their first extended play Дорогой легенд that translates to Road of Legends. This output features five songs with a total running time of twenty minutes.

The band indeed manages to tell legendary tales in a captivating way. The Russian lyrics deal with topics such as ghost ships, mythology and witches as the band is obviously inspired by fantasy movies, novels and video games.

The musicianship is quite diverse. Acoustic guitar sections offer atmospheric campfire folk sounds that build up mysterious atmosphere. The guitar riffs remind of European power metal in the more melodic sections and extensive solos while the riff work in the verses is anchored in classic heavy metal territory. The rhythm section is energetic and tight and especially the drum play sounds playful and versatile. The vocals offer much diversity as well. The female lead vocals sound enjoyably clean, melodic and organic. They are often supported by rougher male backing vocals in choruses and sing-along passages that provide some additional oomph.

All five songs can be described as very good tunes, meandering from acoustic folk passages as heard in ''Время ведьм'' over anthemic folk metal with catchy vocal lines as in ''Ведьмак'' to more technical tunes such as ''Искатель'' with upper mid-tempo riffs on the thin line between heavy metal and thrash metal.

At the end of the day, Russian trio Тысяча Вёрст offers much promise on its debut extended play Дорогой легенд that should please fans of melodic heavy and power metal inspired by epic stories about legendary and mythological topics. The melodic guitar work, captivating combination of female lead vocals and male backing vocals and fascinating Russian lyrics make this band stand out. One should certainly keep an eye on these newcomers. Let's keep our fingers crossed that the youngsters from Moscow come around with a full length effort in the near future.

Final Rating: 80%