This is quite a surprise. Just recently a friend pointed me towards this Brazilian folk-metal band, and while i didn't exactly expect a lot of it at first, I must say that this certainly is not the worst album I ever heard. The band plays heavy metal with a lot of Celtic influences and interludes and vocals being switched between clean & grunts. Now this might sound a lot like the band Elvenking, and true enough, they have a similar sound, although a bit more folk orientated, but let's not forget that this band has been around since 1996 and this is already their second full length release (I'm not counting their two demo's). The musicians themselves seem able enough on their respective instruments, and they do manage to set a nice mood for all of the songs, even though they might overdo it at some points, but that is just a minor nag. The production of the album is also well up to par with most of the releases this day. Now there doesn't seem to be anything wrong at all with this album, except that most of the songs are not really anything spectacular or special and although well performed and decently produced, won't make the band stand out of the crowd. That aside, I did find the album quite enjoyable with Behold The Horned King (nice chorus & choirs), Fingaforn, Some Tunes To Fly & the two short instrumentals Tingaralatinga dum & Macdara being my favorite tracks. As a last note I also have to mention that even though they have a homepage on the internet, it is completely in Portoguese, which makes it useless for a lot of people of course. Definitely not a bad release, and worth checking out if you like bands like Elvenking & Skyclad, just don't expect anything groundbreaking or original though & I do think that given time ,this band might come up with even better songs.
Tracklist:
The dance of the little ones Battle song Behold the horned king. Tan pinga ra tan Finganforn Vercingetorix Celtia Some tunes to fly Tingaralatinga dum Macdara
Lineup:
Bruno Maia - Vocals, guitar, flute, whistle, acoustic guitars and mandolin Giovani Gomes - Bass, Grunts and percussion Leonardo Godtfriedt - Keyboards and violin Rodrigo Abreu - Drums and percussion Rodrigo Berne - Guitar, grunts and mandolin