Tracklist:
01. The Mission
02. Servant Of Will
03. Desert Of Your Sins
04. Queen Of Fate
05. Host From Kingdom Of Lion
06. Rain
07. Crystal Eyes
08. Mercenary
09. Heaven’s Fall
10. Last Heretic
Country: Czech Republic
Genre: Power metal
Label: Underground Symphony
Released: 2003
Website: http://www.symphonity.com
Line-up:
Vilém Majtner - vocals
Libor Krivák - guitars
Tomas Celechovsky - bass
Ivo Hofmann - keyboards
Martin Škaroupka - drums
Czech Republic’s Nemesis probably made the career move of their lives by recruiting German powerhouse vocalist Olaf Hayer (Dionysus, Luca Turilli) and changing their name to Symphonity, thus more accurately reflecting their musical style (bombastic power metal, in case you hadn’t noticed). However, let us not forget that there once was a band that released a pretty good album called Goddess of Revenge back in 2003. Not as overblown as 2008′s Voice from the Silence, this debut album nevertheless offers the listener a solid 3/4 of an hour’s worth of European power metal, pinning down a sound pretty similar to Italian contemporaries and forerunners of the genre.
Even though there is nothing here to differentiate the band from thousands of others in style or execution, there are, however, some very good songs on display, as well as a vocalist that, although partially lacking in range, makes up for it by lending the songs an aura of passion that makes them stick. Yes, Vilém Majtner’s voice may not be among the most technical of them all, and most certainly not among leaders of the pack, but something in the way he sings makes me think he’s actually very intent on making the listener feel the importance of what he is trying to convey. It is hard to explain, but there is a passion there, as if the message just needs to come across to whomever is listening.
Some songs stand out above the others, glittering like little pieces of gold among their brethren. For instance, ”Rain” boasts a melody line so sad yet beautiful that I cannot not mention it. Penultimate (unless you count the outro ”Last Heretic” a proper song) ”Mercenary” as well as ”Heaven’s Fall” would be two other favorites. The former sports a very infectious chorus around the 2:30 mark, and the latter is a fantastic power metal song altogether, hitting you over the head with a chorus so bombastic and anthemic one cannot help but silently singing along to it just about every time. This would be my favorite song overall, and a perfect way of ending an album (last songs are underrated, they can be as important, if not more so, as openers).
The production on the album is rather dry, and the rest of the band, while competent, offers nothing ”extra”. Yet the songs on this disc make it worth the while. One can only hope they play some of these tunes live, as they are too good to fall into oblivion.
(originally published on cronopio.se February 9:th, 2011)
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