Tag Archives: Cinematic Metal

Avaland – The Legend of the Storyteller (2023) – Review

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Avaland. The band already made a forceful appearance on this ‘zine with their debut album Theater of Sorcery. And back in 2021, this piece came somewhat as a surprise to us. The RMR crew expected some sort of a dime-a-dozen cheese-laden Power Metal piece. Instead, the meaty delivery and the musical acumen impressed us somewhat fierce. So, two years and many more PM records down the road, the band greets us with The Legend of the Storyteller.

And, I daresay, their credo of being a metal opera is now stronger than ever. This time, the band left … [...] Click to raid more!

Arrayan Path – Thus Always to Tyrants (2022) – Review

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2022 was a pretty proliferate year for Power Metal. A remarkable number of records made it onto our review roster, some with pretty excellent fare, others – well – didn’t quite convince.

So, into this lusty fray, Arrayan Path decided to add yet another of their records. The RMR review committee actually vowed to abandon the quest to wring some sense out of this band’s musings. You know, those Power Metal folks from Cyprus that will drive Kiske to tears with their cheese-dripping fare.

Now, the 2020 piece The Marble Gates to Apeiron didn’t quite impress us1… [...] Click to raid more!

Fortis Ventus – Vertalia (2022) – Review

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Symphonic Metal. A genre that many pronounced dead and gone, yet you’ll still find tons of bands tilling these very same fields. In truth, the genre’s heyday was in the early ’00s, up to the early ’10s. After that, too many clones and soundalikes appeared on that limited territory. So much so, that today even the biggies of the genre experience identity crises that make some of them increasingly reluctant to go for innovation. And so, some cling to their past successes instead.

This – in return – leads to brutally bland material. Reheated all over again, with huge loads … [...] Click to raid more!

Epica – Omega (2021) – Review

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So, is Epica the last Symphonic Metal outfit standing? Apart from the newly coined Surma, perhaps. Nightwish has gone all wobbly on us with Marko Hietala now firmly away from the band.1 And now, this February 2021, Delain imploded and reverted into a solo project again. For all the good that this will do them.2 And what about Within Temptation? Well, let’s not go there.

So, with much trepidation we had our eyes turned towards Omega, Epica‘s newest album. Yet, the first thing that we see is this 70-minute runtime. Yet another specter of some … [...] Click to raid more!