All Reviews
Venturia - The New Kingdom
Release: 2006Label: [link]Lion Music[/link]
By: Anders
Posted: May 22, 2006
The stream of new progressive hopes will not take an end, and as soon as the quality is kept at the current level, I really have no problems with that. Venturia has its base in France, with guitarist and main songwriter Charly Sahony as the pivotal point. The band is rounded off by bassist Thomas James, drummer Diego Rapachietti, vocalists Lydie Robin and Marc Ferreira. Besides that the album is guested by keyboarder Kevin Codfert.
When I had finished my first listen of the album, 2 tracks stood out. The opening track 'New Kingdom', with its melodic catchiness, good vocal lines and superb performance by all the involved. The second track is 'Candle Of Hope Through A Night Of Fear', the instrumental track on the album, where all the musicians really show what they can do with their instruments. The musical performance on the instrumental track is beyond this world, the ensemble playing between the musicians are amazing, the follows each others leads and the instruments and music are weaved really well together. This track does also show good song writing skills.
After more listens more and more of the album catches on, and after a good while the whole album stands strong and calls for even further listens. The band has an amazing flair for good melodies and progressive parts, without loosing the focus on the good and flowing song, a feature that I find very important. The interaction between the music and the male and female vocals works well and adds another dimension to the band, Ferreira's vocals are mostly calm with a lot of power and passion, and when he reaches his high tones, he reminds me of a young James LaBrie. Lydie's vocals are more fragile and "flying", a great contrast to the male part.
The production of the album is good, quite clear with a good focus on the single instruments. The bottom is heavy and there is a good drive present, the sound isn't too complex and has a bit of an organic flow.
A debut album consisting of 8 good tunes, a bunch of really talented musicians and 2 good singers. If there isn't a spot in the progressive metal heaven for this band, there’s something wrong. A good and interesting album, one can spend hours and hours with. And it'll be interesting to follow the development of the band and see them loose the obvious inspirational sources they have now, and get an even more unique sound.
When I had finished my first listen of the album, 2 tracks stood out. The opening track 'New Kingdom', with its melodic catchiness, good vocal lines and superb performance by all the involved. The second track is 'Candle Of Hope Through A Night Of Fear', the instrumental track on the album, where all the musicians really show what they can do with their instruments. The musical performance on the instrumental track is beyond this world, the ensemble playing between the musicians are amazing, the follows each others leads and the instruments and music are weaved really well together. This track does also show good song writing skills.
After more listens more and more of the album catches on, and after a good while the whole album stands strong and calls for even further listens. The band has an amazing flair for good melodies and progressive parts, without loosing the focus on the good and flowing song, a feature that I find very important. The interaction between the music and the male and female vocals works well and adds another dimension to the band, Ferreira's vocals are mostly calm with a lot of power and passion, and when he reaches his high tones, he reminds me of a young James LaBrie. Lydie's vocals are more fragile and "flying", a great contrast to the male part.
The production of the album is good, quite clear with a good focus on the single instruments. The bottom is heavy and there is a good drive present, the sound isn't too complex and has a bit of an organic flow.
A debut album consisting of 8 good tunes, a bunch of really talented musicians and 2 good singers. If there isn't a spot in the progressive metal heaven for this band, there’s something wrong. A good and interesting album, one can spend hours and hours with. And it'll be interesting to follow the development of the band and see them loose the obvious inspirational sources they have now, and get an even more unique sound.
Rating: 8/10
[link]Venturia[/link] website
Kindly supplied by Intromental
Buy the album at
Buy merchandise at
Back
All content Copyright 1999-2006 Nocturnalhorde.com. Powered By...
