Holy Knights - Between Daylight And Pain (2012) (7,5/10)

HOLY KNIGHTS is a Symphonic Power Metal band hailing from Palermo, Sicily in Italy. After the band’s debut release, they’ve split up just to reunite recently and release this follow-up ten years after the band’s last sign of life. If one thinks about Italian Power Metal, bands such as RHAPSODY OF FIRE, VISION DIVINE, LABYRINTH or DOMINE come to my mind. This band hits exactly the same nerve with a neoclassical songwriting and a mixture of melodic up tempo tracks and more mid tempo paced pieces with some progressive approaches.

The band certainly doesn:t reinvent the genre and their record is a little bit too short with only about forty minutes of running time but they do what they can do best. The record is a diverting and refreshing dose of typical Italian Power Metal. As only truly negative point, I must though cite the band’s vocabulary skills. At first contact, it’s not that evident but a look on the booklet reveals many spelling and grammar mistakes in almost each song which is mildly amusing and especially not professional at all. Maybe these guys should think about singing in their mother’s tongue or even in japanese as they do in the exclusive bonus track “Resolution” which is a cover of the now split up Japanese pop band ROMANTIC MODE. While this song is rather ordinary, the Japanese lyrics have their flaws but sound good enough to me to be a better alternative to English texts.

In comparison to their genre colleagues, the band doesn’t sound too overloaded. Though there are emotional piano passages and balladesque moments on one side and more progressive passages with a few surprisng moments in form of electronic music, the band never forgets what the crowd likes and expects. The melodic guitar play with a few well done solos, the really fast but perfectly fitting drums and energizing high pitched vocals domiate all eigth songs. Fortunately, the band put no overlong ballad or senseless instrumental track on the record. Each one of the eight songs is actually quite appealing to me. As highlights I would cite the opener and the closer. “Mistery” is a fast feel good song with a very catchy chorus and great melodies. “The Turning To The Madness” has some well done classical orchestrations and builds up an epic cinematic atmosphere for a great ending.

Any fan of Italian Power Metal in the key of THY MAJESTIE for example should grab this entertaining release. Symphonic Metal fans should also like this but prefer more courageous bands such as THERION while fans of Progressive Metal might find this record too commercial after all and rather head for DREAM THEATER. It’s nothing new but better than many recently released overambitious projects from similar bands. From time to time, I really enjoy this fun ride of an album in between my many more progressive and avant-garde records I usually listen to.

(Online January 22, 2013)