"The Universality" is the title of the third full-length album by the French Power Metal quartet GALDERIA. It is actually the first time I listen to this band and I was really impressed by what I heard.
The album starts with a short yet decent intro named "Universal Glory", followed by "Children of The Earth", an epic track with a catchy chorus. Seb's vocal performance is not outstanding per se, but still impressing. Tom and Verdo did a great job on backing vocals as well, creating a rich choir effect. The title track "Universality" is another enjoyable piece that has a catchy melody to it. The epic chorus makes you want to listen to this track over and over. "Raise The World" has an awesome guitar velocity and enchanting choirs. It captures the glorious feeling of the whole album. With "Sundancers", an intriguing female voice is briefly introduced and the enthusiastic feeling carries on with the same melodic catchiness. "Farspace" has a lot of choirs, but I think it's one of the weakest tracks. The feeling changes slightly when we reach "Galderians", yet we can still hear the same zealous sound, enhanced with some keyboards and warmer vocals by Seb. On tracks such as "Ocean of Light", "Beyond The Cosmic Winds", which are really enjoyable, the bombastic sound is somewhat scaled down, but it's soon back in "Rising Soul". "One Million Dreams" and "A Call to The World" are no less enjoyable than the first tracks, and continue in the same of vein. The "Outro" is nice and amusing, concluding over one hour of sonorous Power Metal melodies, vigorous choirs, and a lot light and fantasy visions.
The overall sound of "The Universality" is pleasing, and at some point it may remind you of other bands such as HEAVENLY, FREEDOM CALL, or even GAMMA RAY. This album is very promising indeed. I expect great material from GALDERIA in the future.
Tracklist:
1. Universal Glory 2. Children of the Eart 3. Universality 4. Raise the World 5. Sundancers 6. Farspace 7. Galderians 8. Ocean of Light 9. Beyond the Cosmic Winds 10. Rising Soul 11. One Million Dreams 12. Call to the World 13. Outro
Lineup:
Seb - Guitars, Lead Vocals J.C - Drums Tom - Guitars, Backing Vocals Verdo - Bass, Backing Vocals