Year : 2024
Style : Melodic Power Metal , Female vocals
Country : Italy
Audio : 320 kbps + front
Size : 117 mb
Bio:
Elettra Storm is the brand-new Italian Power Metal sensation, brought to life in 2023 by SinHeresy co-founder Davide Sportiello.Featuring the magnificent Crystal Emiliani on vocals, supported by top-notch musicians, the quintet is ready to release its debut album “Powerlords” via Scarlet Records on Feb. 16th 2024!
Album:
Elettra Storm is a new Italian power metal group founded by keyboardist/bassist/ composer/ lyricist Davide Sportiello. Like many of their contemporaries, they wax poetic on familiar tropes of the genre such as “Mighty archangels, moon goddesses, and underground civilizations” according to their press release. Those who frequently seek out this sub-genre know what to expect from bands like this, so how does Elettra Storm stack up against other similar bands? It’s a mix of some great songs, some good ones, and parts that detract from the overall output.We will start with its strengths. I enjoy power metal more when a band drops the obligatory double bass usage for something slightly slower and melodic but no less heavy. Two stand out tracks emerge as a result. ‘Origin of Dreams’ is the type of song that builds to a chorus that takes off to the skies. There are similar songs like this found in the genre but I’m a sucker for this type of song construction. The way the keys encase and support the guitar notations in the opening melody is sublime. It’s subtle things like this that stand out and make the song special to me. That melody is revisited two more times in the song and each time it’s the highlight.The second stand out is the power ballad ‘Alone’. Singer Crystal Emiliani owns this song. I would have liked to hear more moments like this, where her phrasing allows the song to breath, especially in the stellar chorus. Her elegant approach makes this a killer track. In most other tracks, the speed of the song forces her to try and keep up, taking away from her ability to soar. More on that later.Other strong tracks include first single ‘Higher Than the Stars’, with its intricate changeups and excellent usage of background vocals in the bridge. ‘Heirs of the Descent’ is another personal favorite, with Davide Sportiello’s keys a standout here. Guitarist Francis D. Mary also sings lead briefly and adds strong vocal melodies in a somewhat co-lead vocal performance during the chorus. Their vocals mesh well together.One last positive point. Crystal Emiliani can hold her own amongst an ever-growing sea of female power metal performers. At times, her timbre resembles a mix between Doro and Elize Ryd, depending on how she carries her notes. She is someone to watch for and a strong reason to check out future releases.Now we move onto what I believe prevents this good album from being a great one. There are three issues I found to be detractors. First is the inability of band lyricist Davide Sportiello to effectively rhyme words together. It can be overlooked occasionally, but it happens in more than half of each song. This could be due to English not being his primary language. I suspect the lyrics were originally written in Italian and then translated.The second would be the way the band crams words together in various songs. It disrupts the flow overall. Going back to my previous critique, this could be due to the translation that requires more syllables in the conversion. An example would be the track ‘Spirit of the Moon’. There are five syllables in those words, but Crystal is forced to cram the lyrics to fit a four-syllable phrasing, so “Spirit” is stated as one syllable to accommodate, making it sound odd. This happens throughout the album. If lyrics were not provided with the press release, I would have found it difficult at times to figure out what Crystal was saying.The third and final one is the band’s decision to bring the melody to a screeching halt and introduce a quieter, orchestral melody in several tracks. ‘Spirit of the Moon’ and the title track both add this component. Perhaps they think this adds a dynamic to their song that increases the appreciation of the faster parts, but to me it just ruins the pacing and excitement of the track. Some people enjoy those interludes, but it’s not for me. Both those songs would have been better served without those elements.This group has what it takes to play amongst the big bands in metal. Every player brings their “A” game, but they need to work on their lyrical content and not jam in words with too many syllables that do not fit the phrasing. If they remove some words, let the songs breath, and let Crystal slow down and carry more long notes, they will have the chance to be a stand out in the metal world and amass many more fans over the coming years.
Line-Up:
Crystal Emiliani - vocals
Francis D. Mary - guitar
Matteo Antoni -guiar
Davide Sportiello - bass , keyboards
Matteo Norbedo - drums
Tracklist:
01. Higher Than The Stars
02. Redemption
03. Origin Of Dreams
04. Powerlords
05. Alone
06. Heirs Of The Descent
07. Sacrifice Of Angels
08. Spirit Of The Moon
09. Voices In The Wind
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
