Year : 2016
Style : Progressive Power Metal
Country : Italy
Audio : 320 kbps + scans + Video
Size : 232 mb
Bio:
Metatrone ("Metaphysic throne of God") is a power/prog metal combo based in Catania (Sicily, Italy). The band merges into one its natural metal attitude with both laical and christian/catholic inspired lyrics. Throughout fully clean and melodic vocals to loud raging growls, Metatrone gained the attention of the media for its unique feature, as to have a priest behind speedy articulated keyboards session and grow as well, fr. Davide Bruno. Hammering rythmics, accurate songwriting and intensive arrangements research make the band keeps the flag of power and prog metal high into the worldwide scene.
Album:
The blistering start to opener “Alef dalet mem” blows away any lingering thoughts that this would be in anyway similar to listening to a Stryper album., they are worlds apart. Stryper are a guilty pleasure of mine. I have been a fan of Stryper since I first received a tape to listen to from an American classmate at secondary school in 1987 which sadly dates me a quite a bit. I have never been religious; Stryper offered more to me musically than any of their religious beliefs.Metatrone have deep rooted beginnings in both the Catholic Church and European style heavy metal. So much so that keyboardist and founding member Father Davide Bruno is actually a Priest himself.So religion is at the core of this group and the songs are delivered in a fervent mixture of English, Italian and just to crank the Religious element up to 11, Latin also. Overall the quality of musicianship is very good. There is no lack of technical ability on show and the songs are well constructed in the Euro metal format.“Alef delat mem” is a cookie cutter example of this style that is not without its charms. Follow up “Molokai” increases the synth factor and combines with twin growling / melodic vocal delivery that also poses one of the main issues I have with the album. The track itself is enjoyable with an intricate mid to end section. However the vocal delivery does suffer.Now, I cannot speak any other language other than the good old Queens’ English however I find it really difficult to understand either singer on the majority of English based tracks. The strangulated delivery detracts from overall impact of the album for me. “Latest news from night” opens promisingly enough but has an almost comical vocal response to the soaring melodic main vocal line.Instrumental “Mozarts Nightmare” provides some prog credentials with its combination of chugging guitars and whirling keyboards. “Keep running” offers Dream Theater enthusiasts a nod to their classic “Another Day” with its classical element finishing off the track with such similarity it certainly raised my eyebrows.The rest of the album closes with 5 songs sung in their native language all following a similar path musically.Keyboards dominate on this album however there is a good variety of guitar riff’s that provide depth and a real heaviness to the album that will satisfy most Euro metal fans. To highlight the link between Metal music and the Church even further they have employed a church choir to some tracks to good effect. It conjures up images of 18th century religious imagery mixed with late 80’s euro style power metal.This is going to sound harsh but I struggled with the vocal delivery. I tried, I really tried. Following the lyrics that are sung in English is hard and alas I don’t speak Italian or Latin which means that half of the tracks on this album, for this listener anyway, are almost totally obscured by the language barrier however the opportunity to enjoy the music remained.
Line-Up:
Jo Lombardo - Vocals - See also: Ancestral, Orion Riders
Stefano Calvagno - Guitars
Dino Fiorenza - Bass (2013-present) - See also: Nowhere, Superbia, ex-Alzheimer, ex-Mystura
Davide Bruno - Keyboards
Salvo Grasso - Drums (2013-present) - See also: Denied, Hypersonic
Tracklist:
01. Alef Dalet Mem 04:54
02. Molokai 05:21
03. Beware the Sailor 03:31
04. Wheat and Weeds 03:56
05. Latest News from Light 04:36
06. In Spirit and Truth 03:43
07. Mozart's Nightmare 05:09
08. Keep Running 05:44
09. Salva l'Anima 05:25
10. Una parte di me 07:17
11. Regina Coeli 04:46
12. Alef Dalet Mem (Italian Version) 04:54 (Bonus Track)
13. Lascia che sia 05:44 (Bonus Track)
+ Video "Latest News From Light" (Official Video)
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
