The Silent Wedding: Enigma Eternal (FYB Records)
Greek progressive/symphonic metal band with a male singer, sounds a bit like Kamelot or Serenity with the melodic metal sounds intertwining with cinematic synths (see Under The Veil Of Grey). The dramatic intro leads into first song Shadows & Dust which sets things in motion very well as it has changing time signatures, a crunchy riff and floaty keys and really displays the range of vocalist Marios who has a melodic but lower register voice much like Khan (Kamelot) or Georg (Serenity) that entirely fits the musical style there's a certain sadness to his vocal and it does wonders on the melancholic style of the band. This is the band's second album and it is a step up in songwriting as the tracks on this record are more complex and carry a gravitas that make you invested in them, this is helped by the production which is crisp if a little thin, it displays all of the facets of this bands talents. The Endless Journey has impressive double kicks, buzzing industrial electronics and the excellent vocals again. The other big influence I can hear in this record is Evergrey so it's fitting that Tom S Englund comes on board to add his weighty baritone to the Gothic A Dream Of Choices. I really like this record, it's the sort of mature, bittersweet, intensely musical I enjoy having named three of my favourite bands as influences I guess it's only natural that I'd like it. High quality progressive/power metal with an emotional punch. 8/10
Dead South Dealers: Walk Through The Line (Sliptrick Records)
Southern heavy metal that reeks of bourbon and beer, Walk Through The Line is the kind of bar brawling music favoured by the Stetson clad tattooed Dean Razorback wielding members of the NOLA crew. It may come as a surprise then that Dead South Dealers come from Athens Greece as their brand of blues-influenced dirty Southern metal sounds very authentic. D.S.D is a highlight of the record dripping with chest beating machismo and reverb drenched soloing layered over the groovy rhythms. Lost Within Time is a slower piece successfully pairing an acoustic opening with crawling riffs, Walk The Line has more acoustics and takes things into slow-moving impactful territory. DSD are as near to the Southern metal favourites as you can get, you can practically smell the bayou on Fairies Of The Swamp and if you love the NOLA blues influenced stoner metal then I urge you to Walk Through The Line as soon as possible. 7/10
Quadrus: Entropia (Self Released)
This an interesting record, sounding like a film score orchestra and a death metal band having a fight, John Galanakis is the brains of the outfit giving this record the rhythm guitars, orchestrations with the harsh/brutal vocals, he takes a similar role to that of Mark Jansen in MaYan or Epica, sound-wise Quadrus share similarities with Epica and Wintersun. However unlike those bands the sound quality of this record is shocking, it sounds like Epica and Wintersun playing together at the same time, but they are playing totally different songs. With operatic vocals, cinematic synths and furious riffing all the elements are there but they are so randomly placed and poorly produced but everything's a blur. Entropia tries to be so much but fails unfortunately. 5/10
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