Mechanical Swan - Black Dawn Romance

Mechanical Swan

Black Dawn Romance

by Rebecca Miller at 06 May 2013, 2:40 PM

This debut album from Italian Metal band MECHANICAL SWAN has got quite the eclectic mix of influences – everything from ALTER BRIDGE to DEPECHE MODE – and it shows in all the songs. There’s a great variety to “Black Dawn Romance”, and if this is just their debut, I can’t wait to see what the future holds for them.

There were a few moments of the album that I didn’t like, the times when it strayed over into the Electronica influences – especially on the title track – didn’t really sound all that great to me, and I just wanted the guitars to start up. But otherwise, there’s really not that much to fault. They’re a young band, so they may not have found their exact sound yet, but I think they’re well on their way. There’s a lot of soul in this album, and you can tell that the musicians really feel their music, rather than just going through the motions of playing it. And I mentioned their influences earlier, there’s even a cover of DEPECHE MODE's “In Your Room”. A few of the tracks start with the Electronica style, but luckily these are only a few, and since they’re at the start of the song, it’s not long before the song gets into the meaty parts. It’s lovely and melodic, and the solos are amazing, really enhancing the songs. I think fans of LINKIN PARK may enjoy “Black Dawn Romance”.

Technically as well, it’s brilliant. They’re a group of experienced musicians anyway, but coming together as a band, they create a sound that while may not be heavy enough for some of you, definitely has a lot of skill and quality to it. Pasquali Matteo’s vocals are impassioned and strong, matching the melodic style of the music extremely well. He is also paired up brilliantly with female Italian vocalist Alice Sacchi on “Emerald Bird”. The guitars are awesome, as I’ve already mentioned, and the synth is present, but it’s not overbearing, which is always a relief. I have to admit, when the first track started up with the synthesizer, I was a little worried about what the rest of the album was going to shape up to be, but luckily I was pleasantly surprised.

It’s an extremely strong album for a debut, and hopefully MECHANICAL SWAN will continue to impress with any more releases. DEPECHE MODE are obviously big influences on them, but they sound so much better without the Electronica stuff. Anyway, it’s a good showing from the band, and definitely one I’d recommend.