Le Jardin Des Mémoires is a hypnotizing avant-garde metal band from Italy consisting of bassist, guitarist, and programmer Gianlucca Gobbi, as well as drummer and vocalist Christian Di Lenardo. Both of these musicians also play in progressive power metal band An Handful Of Dust. Amber Visions is the name of the new project’s first album, and it’s an extremely interesting one.

Musically, this album is mid-paced to slow, and focuses mostly on dreamy guitar melodies, a few symphonic orchestrations, and enchanting piano patterns. The slow and melodic vocals evoke a lazy atmosphere that is often quite dreamlike. Depending on the attitude of the instrumental parts, this unique style creates quite different atmospheres. Some songs sound like peaceful lullabies, such as the opening and middle sequences of the profound “Neptune”, and other parts have a mysterious lounge atmosphere like “Disincanto”. Yet others feel somewhat depressive like “One Memory (A Kiss)”. A few female vocals and vocal layering light up the atmosphere as well. From time to time, the band explores more metal-orientated territories as seen in “Words Are My Personal War”, which starts almost like an alternative rock track from the nineties before switching to vivid riff sections, dark and menacing bass guitar lines, more technical drum play, and a few occasional death growls. One could compare this band to French progressive gothic metal group The Old Dead Tree and the Chilean melodic doom metal band Mar de Grises. This is interesting, as both of these bands were intriguing in sound, but don’t exist anymore.

Le Jardin Des Mémoires writes long and progressive tracks that are rather challenging and need some time to grow. Some of them are extremely surprising and shocking in an avant-garde manner, such as “Margareth”, with its psychedelia and unexpected middle break, which is something I have never heard before from any band. This song is probably my personal highlight on this record. The laid back closing cover song “Le Ciel”, by Japanese visual kei band Malice Mizer, is an original and fitting choice to close the record. Alternatively, the duo also offers a few shorter, and at some points even accessible and catchy, tracks like the beautiful “Our Summer Has Ended”.

The few negative points about this album include the rather average production, portions where some orchestrated parts and piano passages sound out of place, and a few vocals that are out of tune. The dominating positive factors more than compensate, and include creative song writing, gripping atmosphere, and the uniqueness of the final product. All in all, this intriguing and unique band has quite a lot to offer, and I would suggest visiting its Soundcloud presence to give this excellent debut record a try!

Originally written for Black Wind Metal

Lord Symphony is a promising new underground band on the rise. The band hails from Solo, Central Java, in Indonesia and mixes traditional European power metal in the key of Gamma Ray with a more epic and symphonic touch inspired by Rhapsody Of Fire, and then adds traditional Javanese gamelan elements in several tracks. The occasional use of bamboo flutes, bowed strings, gongs, kendang drums, metallophones, plucked strings, and xylophones give this band a rather unique identity. The rest of The Lord’s Wisdom is classical power metal that will convince any fan of the genre. The band began writing the album years ago, and had plenty of time to improve each song before release. This is only the beginning for a band that plans to re-release its first and more obscure record with the new vocalist, as well as add a second part to that album. Lord Symphony is also preparing for a metal opera project in the key of Aina, Avantasia or Timo Tolkki’s Avalon, so I’m pretty sure that we’ll hear from this sextet again.

The songs on this album focus on cinematic atmosphere and long instrumental sections, with fast and melodic guitar and keyboard solos that are sometimes not a far call from old Dragonforce or old Helloween. The vocals of the new singer Arif “Monk Bhodi” Hartoyo are pleasant and powerful, but almost underused at some points, as the instrumental parts are the most prominent feature of this release. Most of the songs are situated between six and nine minutes and take their time to build up energizing and positive atmospheres. There are two short instrumental songs and a shorter transitional track as well, which offer some breaks from the more challenging material. If you include the bonus track (which is a cover of Helloween’s “Kings Will Be Kings”), the band offers sixty-eight minutes of epic power metal over twelve tracks.

It’s worth taking a look at the English lyrics as well. This conceptual release tells the story of a warrior that comes home from war. He feels guilty and has to fight his inner demons after having killed many people on the battlefield. The man tries to find his peace of mind and his way to God. With strong, spiritually-inspired lyrics, the band wants to prove that metal can have positive spiritual messages, and that it’s not always about filthy lyrics and negativity. I would say they’ve succeeded.

What about the most outstanding tracks on this record? One of my absolute favorites is the powerful epic “Mirrors”, which opens with gamelan before strong guitar and powerful vocals set in. The energizing chorus has a strong Gamma Ray vibe in my opinion, but sounds better than anything the German band has released over the last few years. The whole song is a pure musical orgasm, but if I had to point one part out in particular, it would again be the incredible musicianship shown in the long instrumental middle. Majestic sing-along passages reminding me of Iron Maiden meet progressive keyboard leads and solos in the key of Spock’s Beard, along with a clever use of the gamelan. I would go as far to call this track the best power metal song I have heard in quite a while.

“Earth Beneath The Sky” starts as an enchanting ballad with harmonious orchestrations that slowly leads into a fascinating symphonic power metal firework. The middle part is pure fast-paced power metal in the key of old Helloween. All in all, this track includes the calmest and slowest, but also the hardest and fastest parts of the whole record in one track, and shows off the entire talent of this band. The short and fast “Down To Holyland” mixes European power metal and the sound of the gamelan perfectly. Despite its shorter length, this track builds up an almost cinematic atmosphere thanks to some oriental folk inspiration, clever use of keyboards, and neoclassical guitar sounds. Even though the song has no poignant chorus, the vocal parts are extremely catchy. In general, the vocalist is surprisingly good on this instrumentally-dominated album.

The Lord’s Wisdom is a feast for any epic power metal fan around the world. Lord Symphony performs with conviction, passion, and technical ecstasy. A few tracks obviously have extensive length, and the shortening of certain track might be appreciated. However, the sextet from Indonesia delivers two absolute genre masterpieces (for me) with “Mirrors” and “Down To Holyland”, as well as many other highly enjoyable tracks such as “Earth Beneath The Sky” and “Devil’s Emotion”. For their next release, I would suggest the band write a few shorter and more concise songs, to involve its great singer a little bit more. Continuing the unique use of the gamelan in power metal is also a must. I’m already looking forward to more material from this energizing band that has all the potential to get an international breakthrough. Don’t forget to check them out!

Originally written for Black Wind Metal

Sexto Sonar is a progressive metal band from Maracay in Venezuela that mixes elements of heavy and power metal with symphonic ingredients into their distinguished sound. The band has released one full length effort with Spanish lyrics to date, entitled Enfrentando La Realidad. This record from 2009 features cinematic opening and closing numbers, along with five pretty strong tracks in between. Some limited editions include four bonus tracks from which three are live versions of tracks from the album, as well as one more song in English.

The music itself reminds me of progressive metal acts like Dream Theater and Symphony X, but also recalls some epic Iron Maiden classics at some points. Powerful guitar riffs and a versatile rhythm section meet atmospheric keyboard layers. All five songs have a great balance between grace and power. The imaginative bridges and solo sections include piano driven breaks, wild guitar solos, and keyboard solos that make my heart beat a little faster.

The vocals on the record are quite versatile and vary from more aggressive and powerful passages to more high pitched parts that are not far removed from Primal Fear, for example. Many progressive bands convince instrumentally but have less impressive singers. This is definitely not the case for Sexto Sonar.

Let’s go quickly through my favourite songs on this album that includes not a single filler. The extended middle and closing parts of the opener “Visiones” sound like a mixture of Dream Theater’s “Metropolis Part 1: The Miracle And The Sleeper“, Metallica’s “Wherever I May Roam”, and maybe Iron Maiden’s “Rime Of The Ancient Mariner”, but the band also adds some unique folk passages to the sound that remind me of Alma Eterna. Despite ist Long running time, this song is one of the catchiest and most dynamical ones on the record and that's why the track made it on a couple of compilation records of different metal magazines.

“Luces Y Espadas” sounds different but is another standout song on the album. It starts with some sound effects and dark bass guitar play reminding me of Helloween’s “Occasion Avenue”. This track is indeed the darkest and heaviest on the album. In contrast, the track includes flamenco elements (handclapping and Spanish guitar) that lighten up the atmosphere fom time to time. To my surprise, this rather soft element fits quite well in this rather straightforward track.

Let's also briefly Point out the phenomenal title track “Enfrentando La Realidad” that starts with some wind and wuthering sounds, as well as a few radio samples that announce the concept of the eleven-minute long track. What follows is indeed a diverse progressive power metal song with epic chants and extended solos where the phenomenal keyboard work really stands out.

I’m trying to think of any negative elements on this album, and I simply can’t find any. The record has catchy parts, it has laid back and vivid moments, the vocals are gripping, and the instrumental work is absolutely convincing. Even the production is surprisingly good here. Progressive metal fans should definitely try out this band. Sexto Sonar is working on a follow-up, due this year, and I already can’t wait to listen to their new material. Even with as good as this first strike is, I can’t help but hope that they can accomplish something even greater. I suggest you to keep an eye on this talented progressive metal newcomer. 

Originally written for Black Wind Metal

After having covered a very bad Spanish release with the latest stinker from Tierra Santa, let’s take a look on a rather different effort from another famous Spanish metal band, Mägo De Oz”. The folk and Celtic metal band has been around for twenty-five years now and released Hechizos, Pócimas y Brujería after a short break last year. In comparison to Tierra Santa, which created some decent songs in their earlier years, I had some problems with the high-pitched, overwhelming tone of vocals by this band’s previous singer José Andrëa, who was in the band for fifteen years. The more grounded but still versatile new vocalist, Zeta, who came to the band around the same time as the new bassist and new keyboard player, impresses me much more, and truly convinced me on this, his first release with the band.

Mägo de Oz is a band where the vocals are only one element amongst many others. They have nine band members, including a violin player and a musician for wind instruments such as bodhrans, flutes, and whistles. The mixture of folk and power metal on the new album should immediately appeal to fans of bands like Italians Elvenking or the French Les Trois Fromages, with highly danceable, fun songs like “H20z” (that also has a very humorous video clip). The band also offers more metal-driven tracks, like “El Libro De Las Sombras” or “Xanandra”, which should please those who adore DragonForce, Helloween, or Rhapsody of Fire.

My personal highlights are others still, like the classic hard and progressive rock-inspired “No Pares (De Oír Rock & Roll)”, that sounds a little bit like a folk version of Deep Purple with its dominating keyboards. The operatic female vocals in the playful middle part come as welcome surprise as well. “Brujas” convinces with a darker atmosphere, excellent guitar solos, and a very smart use of female vocals. The closing title track, however, is the true highlight of this album. It features the band’s signature Celtic folk influences, including excellent flute play, emotional guitar solos, and many gripping changes of atmosphere in over eight minutes of stunning music.

If you can get your hands on the limited or digital version of the record, you should definitely do so. “Piratas” is a dark and cinematic track that perfectly fits the topic. This song would fit any soundtrack to a pirate movie. It reminds me a little bit of the German medieval rock band Cultus Ferox, in fact. A big surprise comes with the instrumental “Obertura Xanandra”, which is an excellent progressive metal track that could also have come from Dream Theater, and that easily beats the instrumental overture of that band’s last self-titled record. That’s nothing I would have expected from a Spanish folk metal band, but they really prove here what excellent and varied musicians they are.

If you want an outburst of creativity centered on a vivid Celtic folk metal fun ride, this album should be yours by now.

Originally written for Black Wind Metal

Liv Moon is a symphonic power metal band that has what I would call a fairly typical Japanese sound. Their fourth record, Symphonic Moon, opens with electronic samples, cinematic symphonic elements, and variable, slightly theatrical, and powerful female lead vocals. The singer seems to be influenced by singers such as Kate Bush, but also the ABBA singers. The use of sometimes exaggeratedly poetic Japanese lyrics with a few passages in other languages (such as English) is typical for the genre, and so are the topics around dark romanticism. From the first song on, you know exactly what you have to expect for the upcoming fifty-three minutes, and this is very much a “love it or hate it” sort of genre.

The mixture of versatile elements of diverse metal subgenres, along with a commercial touch, is something one can see in many Japanese heavy and power metal bands, particularly in the Visual Kei scene around bands from pioneers X Japan, Concerto Moon, and even MUCC. Similar acts are artists and bands like Alhambra, Cross Vein, and Hamada Mari, but fans of bands such as Seraphim or Nightwish should also check this band out. The catchy “Alchemy” is not a far call from Nightwish’s “Amaranth” and has a lot of hit potential. The sacral elements and vocals in “Kill Me, Kiss Me” or “Datenshino Emi” make think of Krypteria, and this song has tons of hit potential as well.

“Koorino Hitsugi” opens with piano melodies reminding me of HIM’s breakthrough hit “Join Me In Death”, while the rest of the song turns out to be a rather epic ballad with great orchestration that sounds a bit like modern Helloween songs like “Light The Universe” or “Hold Me In Your Arms”. Akane Liv shows her incredible talent in this powerful ballad that puts some warmth in my heart in these cold winter days. My conscience is aware that this kind of music is a bit cheesy and not very unique for some, but my romantic soul really digs this record. If you like this song you will also fall in love with “Shingetsuse”.

The Japanese always know that after such an emotional ballad they must land a harder track and “Fugitive” indeed opens with electronic samples, hard guitar riffs, dominating bass guitar, and a few upper mid-tempo passages. Along with the amazing and powerful “The Last Savior” that even features some male shouts in the chorus and a great guitar solo, it’s probably the fastest track on here. “Black Serenade” follows, sounding like an Anette Olzon song with some influences taken from the “Mission Impossible” title melody.

To keep it short, the band combines energizing power metal with classical symphonic elements to create eleven addicting, reasonably diverse, and energizing anthems plus an interlude. I really can’t find a single weak track on here, but you definitely need to appreciate this kind of music in general to enjoy the album. While the record is not really unique, it’s made with passion and represents Japanese pop metal culture very well. Fans of everything from X Japan to Nightwish, Rondo Veneziano to Evanescence, as well as the Mamma Mia! and Phantom Of The Opera musicals should pick this passionate release up. The warm symphonic sound, the poetic and romantic language, and the powerful female vocals make this the perfect soundtrack for the winter season and Christmas in my opinion.

Originally written for Black Wind Metal