On the surface, Symphonic metal would seem to adequately describe the EP Rose of Melancholy from former Mortiferia guitarist Joakim Severinsen's new band Adyta. And upon first listen many of the "standard" symphonic elements are clearly audible: big sweeping keyboards, lush, dense compositions, operatic vocals and an absolutely huge sound. But that isn't all, as repeated spins will reveal.

Severinsen is clearly a talented musician and composer. The opening track, the instrumental "Ab Exilio" could easily have been taken from any number of movie soundtracks. The next four tracks all follow a similar formula, with crunchy guitars, majestic keyboards and "beauty and the beast" vocals. The songs themselves are well executed but nothing really stands out, with the exception of the final track, "Of a Captive Mind." This song adds some disparate elements to the formula like Power Metal riffs, gothic chanting and even Death Metal blast beats. All this serves to create a sense of unease during the middle of the song, almost as if you are watching a disturbing movie set in a run down carnival with a soundtrack full of minor key calliope music.

Speaking of the vocals, session vocalist Melissa Ferlaak (obviously the "beauty") has an exceptional voice, in the same league as Tarja Turunen. The main difference is that Ferlaak doesn't possess the same "metal sensibility" of a Tarja, and this makes her delivery a bit stiff (not to diminish her talent in any way).

Rose of Melancholy is a solid, if somewhat unspectacular, debut for Adyta.