• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Debut album for Connecticut band Dialith, who are leaning hard on the kind of Symphonic Power Metal that was all the rage 15 years ago, but lately seems to be harder to find. I think that may be because of the kind of songwriting chops you need to pull stuff like this off, which a lot of wannabe bands just do not have. Dialith, however, do.

Not only does this band really nail the "symphonic" part of the equation, but they didn't forget the metal either. The melodies are sweet, with enough layers to make them enjoyably complex without losing the thread of the song. The guitar sound is sharp and wrings out some really hooky riffs. The production is solid and gives enough space to all the instruments that you can clearly hear what is going on. This kind of metal lives and dies with the vocals, and singer Krista Sion is really stellar here. She doesn't have an operatic style, and doesn't try to fake one. She has power to spare, a good upper range, and an ear for really catchy melodies, making these songs easy to sing along with. The compositions stay strong throughout, not losing momentum, and even the 17-minute title track that closes out the album holds together as a real song.

So this is a band with tremendous promise and a debut that just oozes class. Dialith remain unsigned, but I honestly can't see that situation lasting for long, as they are just too good to remain unknown.