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 back in 2022. And this one sported some real bite. Even if some spottiness was already apparent all these years ago.
Well, the useless intro powered by the ghostly remnant of cinematic Power Metal DNA apart, Craven Road already sets the tone. A fast-moving, kinda middle-of-the-road PM track featuring a pretty lusty pace. Helloween reinvented with a modern twist, that kind of thing. Yet, the song, usually serving as the can opener of the spiel, barely made a dent in our metal consciousness.
And that is symptomatic of what follows down the tracklist of some 47 minutes of airtime. Ghosted definitely contains professionally structured Power Metal with a symphonic twist presented by seasoned musicians. But that’s somewhat of a prerequisite to get onto our review pipe in the first place. In other words, the record delivers down-home Power Metal with typical riffing, some shredding, and a few pretty outstanding solos here and there. And Alessandro Conti truly sports a pair of impressive pipes that he knows how to use, too. The band also found reputable guest contributors. For instance, Sara Squadrani of the recently covered Ancient Bards takes care of choral duties. Adrienne Cowan (Seven Spires) shows off her wares on Bloodmoon. She appeared at the fringes of our mighty radar on productions from Avantasia and – so we hear – on Eluveitie‘s latest, too.
But somehow, Ghosted always feels like a day late and a dollar short at about every corner of the way. And it’s not for lack of trying. Attempts to get to Happy Metal never quite reach Fellowship levels. When the funnybones come online, a comparison to Nanowar of Steel never quite proposes itself. Dance With The Dancing Clown‘s attempt to reap some cinematic delights just makes it sound like some oldish ELO2 blend. Even the (not so subtle) inclusion of remnants of Puccini’s Nessun Dorma3 didn’t save the day.
But why, oh why did Christoper Bowes suddenly appear in my earphones? At first, I thought Conti mastered a picture-perfect rendition of the man’s style. Until it dawned on me that it was the fiend himself. Said differently, Return To Monkey Island attempts to reach Pirate Metal glory by using yesterday’s stale contenders. And that didn’t impress this crew too much, even if the track’s lusty pace got us to lift our rum glasses in mock salute.
So, is it going to be Trick or Treat? I reckon it will be trick this time. Ghosted turned into a fine Metal o’ the Light collection, filled to the brim with shiny objects that worked well in the more fantastical corner of Power Metal of the past. Well-polished wares that – in the end – never quite reached the levels of excitement to tease the old geezers of the review desk out into the open to start headbanging. Good for a spin or two of heady fun and games, but never more, and in severe danger of being ghosted for good.
Damn.
Record Rating: 4/10 | Label: Scarlet Records | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 25 April 2025