Review: Dragonfly - Alma Irae | |||||||
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Alma Irae | |||||||
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Label: Independent Year released: 2009 Duration: 57:50 Tracks: 13 Genre: Power Metal Rating: Review online: November 14, 2010 Reviewed by: Hermer Arroyo |
Readers' Rating How do you rate this release? Rated 4.17/5 (83.33%) (6 Votes)
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Review | |||||||
Dragonfly, an Argentinean band now relocated in Spain released their second album Alma Irae. This is not your typical dime in a dozen European Power Metal band; they don't use the double bass very much and speed isn't their calling card. They draw influences from many bands like Dark Moor, Mago de Oz, Rhapsody, current Blind Guardian and even Lost Horizon but mainly groups from their second country. The band incorporates many orchestral elements here, almost being like Symphonic Metal. Don't let that deter you though; there is enough metal going on here. The guitar is loud, the bass is thick and noticeable, the vocals are very strong, the keyboards provide great atmosphere and the drumming is extremely solid. But the biggest strength the band shows here is their songwriting. You can hear the influences of the aforementioned bands but they have created a sound of their own. There is enough quality and variety to go around and you don't feel like you are listening to the same stuff every time. You have fast songs like "Si Te Vas", and "Dragonfly Parte II (El Renacer)", powerful ballads like "1000 Lágrimas" (with Mago de Oz singer Jose Andrea) and epics like "Viento Norte". Familiarity is huge here, even before I had heard a single note I knew which parts go where, so I didn't feel alien to the music. Normally it would have been a minus but since the lyrics are in Spanish I felt like it was necessary so people that don't speak the language can enjoy it as well (the extremely catchy choruses and vocal lines help tremendously too). That is one of the biggest positive factors here. On the other hand, their themes are fantasy and love so that might be a little bit of a turn off. If there is anything wrong here it is that the band gives too much priority to the keyboards. It is a matter of taste but I felt like there was too much piano and sugar-coating stuff going on here, I would have preferred that the guitar had gotten more priority. This is nitpicking though, as the songs are as good as they can be in this given style. Alma Irae probably is not an album that you will love the first time you listen to it but it gets more interesting each time you hear. If you can handle the lyrics and the keyboards it is a good purchase. |
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