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Webzine dedicated to the metal band fronted by girls. We also like ambient,darkwave,rock & electronic music.

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* Narwhal Tusk - “In Despair” (2009)

Label: Musica Productions

Review by Tony Cannella

If you like female fronted symphonic metal ala Delain or Tarja era Nightwish, than Russia’s Narwhal Tusk should be right up your alley. The band formed in 2006 and after releasing an EP (“Widow’s Walk”) in 2009 has issued their full-length debut “In Despair”, and here it is. I have not heard their initial EP, but they consist of 5-songs that all appear on this debut, in re-recorded form, I imagine. Narwhal Tusk is very good at what they do and should secure a fan base in the symphonic metal genre. In singer Valentina Yastremskaya the band has a very competent front woman with an operatic style and the music has a melancholic, orchestral vibe to it, which, at times is quite beautiful. The piano/violin dominated opener “Waltz (As Autumn Falls)” serves its purpose as a useful intro track and leads into the bombastic and the up-tempo “Mourning Purple”. “Everfall” is next and keeps a steady pace and features the clean male and Valentina’s operatic vocals performing the song as a duet. The male vocals are very well done; the style is clean throughout and provides solid support to Valentina’s operatic approach. “Nova” is next and has a very accessible quality to it; it would make a great single/video (in my opinion) if the band chooses to release one. “In Despair, Pt. 1” is mournful and features some top-notch vocal work from Valentina. “My Angel” ventures closely into “Oceanborn” era Nightwish territory, and features a cool prog rock style keyboard bit in the middle of the track. “Walking over Waters of the Ocean” is a piano-laden ballad featuring healthy doses of orchestration. The over 7-minutes long “In Despair, Pt. 2” wraps things up nicely. The male vocals and orchestration dominate this track.  It also ends things on a rather doomy and sorrowful note. With “In Despair”, Narwhal Tusk has released a very good contribution to the ever crowded symphonic metal genre. With so many bands it has become increasingly harder to stand out from the pack. Time will tell if this talented Russian band has what it takes.

Rating - 78/100

Tracklist

  1. Waltz (As Autumn Falls)
  2. Mourning Purple
  3. Everfall (The Holy Gardiner of Souls)
  4. Nova
  5. In Despair pt.1
  6. New Dawn, New Day
  7. Remedy
  8. My Angel
  9. Walking over Waters of the Ocean
  10. In Despair pt.2

Line Up

  • Valentina Yastremskaya - Vocals
  • Dmitry Slutsky - Guitar
  • Dmitry Taranov - Keyboards, vocals
  • Danil Tolmachyov - Bass
  • Dmitry Cherchesov – Drums


    Links

    MySpace * ReverbNation * Facebook * Twitter

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    * Blackthorn - “Gossamer Witchcraft” (2009)

    Label : Ravenheart Music

    Review by Tony Cannella

    Straight out of Russia come the all female Black, Death, Gothic, Symphonic metal band Blackthorn (not to be confused with the Graham Bonnet led metal band Blackthorne who released one tremendous album in the early 90s). This band have been around since 2004 and have just now released the debut CD “Gossamer Witchcraft”. This is a CD that doesn’t waste any time in getting to the point and with a relatively short playing time (only about 35-minutes) the CD has quite an immediate impact. The music of Blackthorn paints quite a broad picture and makes a definite impact in a short amount of time. The opening intro “Immortelle for a Hollow Grave” sets the stage as the band blast into “Edenbeast”. The soprano vocals of Aina are front and center on this track, she also adds some screams throughout the course of the CD with keyboardist Freya helping out in that department as well. A nice opener that shows off the bands skill as musicians and songwriters. “Necromance” is next and it is a dark, heavy track with the screaming/extreme vocals starting out on this track before Aina joins in with her soprano style, as the two different styles go back-and-forth throughout the song. This is one of the better tracks that are presented here. “The Moon Emerged from Behind Clouds” is next and it really blasts through the speakers, with it’s high tempo and standout musicianship. Other highlights include: “Saturnia”, “Blackthorn Winter”, “The Blackness I Prowl” and the closing outro of “The Cobweb Veils Fall Down with Grace”. With songs relating to such themes as witchcraft, misanthropy and ancient cults, don’t expect anything too bubbly or light on “Gossamer Witchcraft”. Instead the music is the perfect soundscape for what the band is singing about.

    Rating - 75/100

    Tracklist

    1. Immortelle for a Hollow Grave
    2. Edenbeast
    3. Necromance
    4. The Moon Emerged from Behind Clouds
    5. Saturnia
    6. Blackthorn Winter
    7. The Blackness I Prowl
    8. Gossamer Witchcraft/span>
    9. Hell on Earth
    10. Will-o-the-Wisp
    11. The Cobweb Veils Fall Down with Grace

    Line Up

    • Aina – Vocals
    • Elvira Alchemida – Guitars
    • Freya - Keyboards & Hysteric Screams
    • Verbena – Bass 
    • Varaska – Drums 

    Links

    MySpace * Facebook * Twitter

     

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    * Arcane Grail - “Arya Marga : Ninefold Path to the Innocence” (2009)

    Label : Musica Production

    Review by Tony Cannella

    The Russian band Arcane Grail came into existence in 2001 and have previously released one full-length CD in 2006 titled “Mysteries of the Ancient Charnel”, now three years later the band have resurfaced with their sophomore effort titled “Arya Marga: Ninefold Path to the Innocence”. The band is comprised of six members - including the duel male/female vocals of Demether and Natalie and they play a pretty exciting blend of symphonic black metal combined with melodic death metal and that hybrid is on full display on “Arya Marga” - a conceptual piece of work that the band obviously put a lot of thought and effort into. After a slow build up the opening track - coincidentally enough - titled “Arcane Grail” really sets a fast, brutal pace to the proceedings. This is a fast, heavy and energetic opening song that showcases the many different vocal styles that Arcane Grail have to offer, from black/death metal style of singing to the operatic style that Natalie The Grail performs so well. The next track “of Snake and Raven” is really a departure from what one might expect. It starts off with a beautiful piano intro and Natalie’s operatic voice takes the lead at first, before she is joined by the brutal death vocals. This is probably my favorite track, mainly because it is different and it has a good melody throughout and the vocals are fantastic as well - the slower parts of this track are very passionate and beautiful and the heavy parts are chaotic and it all comes together to create a great song. “Autumn Wed Us, Sinned and Lone” is another strong number - it starts off with a symphonic vibe, but it quickly turns into one of the heavier songs this CD has to offer. Once again, the vocals are very well done and the different styles seem to work very well together. Other highlights include: “Imprisoned in the Greatest War”, “Sorrow of Forgotten Pride” and “Die Sonnenhymne” (this song is just an opera piece that sees Natalie showing off her immense vocal talents). In the end, “Arya Marga” is a pretty consistent release all the way through that never fails to hold your attention. The 9-songs and 40-minutes worth of material on this CD is quite impressive. Arcane Grail are a band that should appeal to fans of conceptual, symphonic black metal, the world over - just one listen to “Arya Marga” and that fact becomes abundantly clear.

    Rating - 75/100

    Tracklist

    1. Arcane Grail
    2. of Snake and Raven
    3. Autumn Wed Us, Sinned and Lone
    4. Renaissant the Reverie
    5. Sorrow of Forgotten Pride
    6. Imprisoned in the Greatest War
    7. Die Sonnenhymne
    8. Iniquitous Yoke
    9. Святой Грааль

    Line Up

    • Demether – Vocals
    • Natalia Kempin – Vocals
    • Eugen – Guitars 
    • Anastasia - Keyboards
    • Kir – Bass 
    • Alexander – Drums  

    Links

    MySpace * Facebook * Site