Tag Archives: Symphonic Metal

Mystfall – Embers of a Dying World (2026) – Review

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Mystfall - Embers of a Dying World - Album Cover

Greece’s Mystfall must have sailed straight past our outpost a few years ago. Their debut album, Celestial Vision, just didn’t register. But then, 2023 was a busy year, and the RMR crew is thus excused.

But now it’s time for some Symphonic and Power Metal fun of times long past. Yep, that genre again, one that’s hopelessly overcrowded with a felt 99% of wannabes and 1% of real stars of this very special slice of the metal multiverse.

I mean, we all still remember when this movement really took off in the early ’00s with the likes of Epica… [...] Click to raid more!

Trick or Treat – Ghosted (2025) – Review

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Trick or Treat - Ghosted - Review

Ghosted, huh. I wish it not to ye, fans and friends. It usually means someone – and I quote the mighty Merriam Webster – “…abruptly cutting off all contact with someone usually without explanation.”1 Damn. No doubt the creatures on Trick or Treat‘s newest album cover look kinda worried and mighty lost.

Or, perhaps, it’s some sort of omen of what’s to come here. Because the RMR crew did a lot of headscratching on where these Italians are taking their newest concoction. After all, the band’s last record, Creepy Symphonies, kinda landed on our better side … [...] Click to raid more!

Moonlight Haze – Beyond (2025) – Review

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Moonlight Haze - Beyond - Album Cover

Moonlight Haze‘s 2022 piece Animus was one of the Power Metal highlights of that very same year. Founded in 2018 by two Temperance survivors – Chiara Tricarico and Giulio Capone1 – they went on to create what today is a well-known band in the Italian PM sub-section of metal.

The 2022 piece took it away with new-found oomph and a pretty healthy swagger. You know, traits that make you win over fans and sell a ton more records than before. So, what’s it gonna be this time beyond those old records? Let the Metal o’ the Light illuminate … [...] Click to raid more!

Ancient Bards – Artifex (2025) – Review

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Ancient Bards - Artifex - Album Cover

Italy. An astonishing haven for all sorts of metal shenanigans found up and down the famous boot-shaped peninsula. The RMR crew found a full-blown panoply of metal delights, out of which Power and Symphonic Metal grab themselves an important chunk.

Around 15% of all Italian records covered since the zine’s inception wander about these two genres. Put differently, Power Metal has become one of the main staples of Italy’s cheesiest metal soundscapes. And RMR stepped right into it. Gunk or geekery? We might need some Artifex to pull ourselves out of this.

Ancient Bards‘ 2019 piece Origine didn’t quite … [...] Click to raid more!