Trend Kill Ghosts – Until The Sun Rise Again
Trend Kill Ghosts – Until The Sun Rise Again
Self-Produced
Release Date: 18/11/21
Running Time: 51:05
Review by Simon Black
7/10
Classified as Power Metal, this Brazilian four piece are very much in the European Neoclassical style, so much so that, having started to listen before reading the press release, I had assumed that they were more than likely to be Italian. That just shows how wrong you can be, but there’s definitely a taste of the Rhapsody clan in the influence bucket, and way more strongly than the American influences (both Northern and Southern) that you might naturally expect. Although they are present, as the Italy cadre would be unlikely to use more extreme vocal styles, and although the vocals are predominately clean here, there are contributions in that more guttural style which works, because this is a record that mostly flies by at very high speed (so eleven out of ten for Leandro Tristane on the drums, because that’s a consistently impressive performance throughout).
There’s no credited keyboard player which is unusual, as that’s a big part of any Neoclassical sound. The ivories are very much a supporting instrument here, to the point that I’m wondering if that’s someone doubling up in the studio, or whether they will take an extra pair of hands on the road. I hope so, as there’s nothing worse than playing along to a keyboard click track – given that it’s one of the sounds most likely to be lost in the monitors live and therefore lead to the odd mishap on the night. Adding a full time keyboard player will add a lot of depth to the sound to boot and give that Neoclassical edge a bit more emphasis, as well as giving the significant shredding ability of Rogério Oliveira someone to spar with. And shred he does, and very well too…
To be honest, musicianship wise, the performances are all consistently strong and relentless, but what the album misses slightly is a little of the anthemic and melodic catchiness to accompanying the virtuosity. The weakness seems to lie a little in the vocal arrangements, which follow the instrumental melody lines very tightly – not unusual in Power Metal circles, but it’s when they stretch beyond those confines that you get to see the real power of the frontman. They are also vital hooks to pull a listener in, particularly one not deep in the more technical sounding traditions. This is hard, because I really, really like Diogo Nunes’s style otherwise, and to be clear it’s the arrangements that need a little work, not his ability or performance. He’s got a clear, powerful, yet delicate when it needs it voice, but he’s a little too much a part of the mix and doesn’t quite feel like he’s leading from the front. At least yet, they are after all quite young, and having only got their debut out before the world went to hell in a hand cart, this means they’ve gone straight back into the studio without the opportunity of bringing some road lessons on board with them.
Do I like it, yes, but a little more in the keyboards department, which by its very nature would push Nunes into having to play around a little more with the melody lines, and then this bunch will go stratospheric. However, a very promising sophomore album nonetheless and one that grows on me more with every listen.
Phoenix (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO):
TRACKLISTING:
01. Marching To the Light
02. Puppets of Faith
03. Rebellion
04. Phoenix
05. When the Sun Rise Again (Feat. Elisa C. Martin)
06. Land of Hope
07. Poisoned Soul (Feat. Marina La Torraca)
08. Prisoners in Our Minds (Feat. Roland Grapow)
09. Puzzle Piece
10. Dead Society
11. Mirror Mirror
LINE-UP:
Diogo Nunes – Vocals
Rogério Oliveira – Guitar
Fábio Carito – Bass
Leandro Tristane – Drums
LINKS:
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