Released By: Escape Music
Release Date: April 19th, 2024
Genre: Power Metal
Links: https://www.facebook.com/
Line Up:
Antonio Abate – Vocals
Cristian Guzzo – Guitars
Gabriele Pinto – Guitars
Alex Anelli – Bass
Andrea Mariani – Drums
Tracklist:
1. Clash of the Titans
2. Into the Silence (feat. Roberto Tiranti)
3. Strange House (feat. Wild Steel)
4. The Kingdom (feat Francesco Cavalieri)
5. The Picture of My Time (feat. Claudia Beltrame)
6. Defenders of Light (feat. Marco Pastorino)
7. Il Labirinto Delle Ombre
8. Twilight (feat. Max Aguzzi)
9. I Believe In Love (feat. Anja Irullo)
10. Warrior (feat. Damna)
11. Cruel Game (feat. Luca Micioni)
It’s always exciting when a band that had previously flown under my radar ends up leaving me thoroughly impressed with their latest album. It’s happened several times over the past few years, and the latest example is Italian power metal band Perseus. I think I may have heard of them at some point in the past few years, but I had never listened to any of their music before getting a chance to review their upcoming third release, Into the Silence. I had no clue what to expect, except that it would likely be power metal of some sort, and while I was already enjoying it on my first listen, it’s only grown on me a lot more since. It’s not the most polished sounding or most innovative power metal album, but it’s certainly a lot of fun to listen to, and you can tell everyone involved had a great time making it.
Perseus plays a fairly typical brand of power metal, very melodic, with a big emphasis on keyboards, vocals, and catchy choruses. I briefly checked out their previous work, and it seems they started off with more of a raw heavy/power metal sound, whereas this album sounds much more like late 90s/early 2000s Euro power metal, with tons of influence from the likes of Stratovarius, Kamelot, and Rhapsody. Guitars are still present, with some nice melodic leads, the occasional heavy riff, and some very good guitar solos, but keys are definitely the driving force behind most songs here, along with vocals and symphonic elements. The latter, in particular, didn’t seem to appear much on previous albums, but here it’s often a main focus, with most tracks having some sort of symphonic backing, while a few, in particular, have more of an epic, cinematic feel to them and fall into all-out symphonic power metal territory.
I found the production on the band’s previous albums to be a bit rough, and while I’d say the band has certainly improved a lot in that area, Into the Silence does still sound a bit raw for this style of melodic power metal. Drums, vocals, and keys are often at the front of the mix, while guitars are often buried, and bass can be heard clearly at times (most notably on the opening title track), but they often get lost in the shuffle as well. It took some time to get used to, but overall, the performances and songwriting are more than strong enough to overcome any issues with the production. The keys, in particular, sound excellent, often having a classic 90s/2000s power metal feel to them, while the guitar work that gets through the mix is also very good, symphonic elements are used well, and the rhythm section does a great job. Vocalist Antonio Abate is also very good, sometimes shining with the kind of soaring vocals one would expect from this kind of album, while at other times he uses a more theatrical approach, especially on the softer tracks. His vocals have improved quite a bit since the debut, as he sounded a bit rough at times there, while on this album, he sounds excellent the whole way through. He has a very deep, smooth voice, which especially sounds great on choruses. He’s accompanied throughout the album by many different Italian singers, as almost every track has a guest vocalist, and while I’ll go into more detail on that later, suffice it to say, everyone does a great job and fits in perfectly.
Another area where the album delivers is songwriting. As expected from an album with many guests involved, there’s a fair bit of variety, with plenty of up-tempo power metal, some epic symphonic power metal, a couple of tracks that mix in some folk, a lighter symphonic metal track, and three slower, ballad-type tracks, all placed right next to each other around the middle of the album. I was initially thrown off a bit by that choice, as it slows things down a bit for a long period, but over time I’ve come to appreciate each of those three tracks, and they do make for a nice break in between all the high-energy tracks, of which there are plenty on this album.
Unsurprisingly, the album opens up with a fairly typical intro, with lots of ambient keys, before things fully kick off with the explosive title track. Some nice, retro-sounding keys lead the way into a fast-moving, bass-heavy opening verse, led by pounding drums and soaring vocals, before the chorus kicks in and speeds things up further, while nicely mixing together keys, guitars, and some awesome vocals. The track has a very classic power metal feel to it, which is no surprise considering the guest vocalist is Labyrinth frontman Roberto Tiranti, whose smooth and powerful voice sounds as awesome as always. The quick pace continues with “Strange House”, a slightly more progressive track, which also introduces some epic symphonic arrangements, a recurring element throughout the album. The track starts off at a moderate tempo, slowly building momentum throughout a rather light and atmospheric opening verse, before launching into full speed and going all out for a huge, epic and very catchy chorus. I’ve never heard guest vocalist Wild Steel (from Shadows of Steel) before, but he has a very smooth voice and really shines on the chorus. While it’s another keyboard-driven track for the most part, there’s a big guitar solo in the second half, with a bit of a classic heavy metal feel to it, and it’s quite impressive.
One track that very much feels like it was written with a particular singer in mind is “The Kingdom”, an epic symphonic/folk/power metal hybrid, which has some of the heaviest guitar work on the album, while still maintaining the strong key presence and going all out with symphonic arrangements. Unlike most other tracks on the album, there’s also a strong folk presence, with the main melody having a strong folk feel to it. The track moves at a moderate, slightly upbeat tempo throughout the verses, before speeding up for another huge, incredibly epic and catchy chorus, with some fantastic vocals. As for the guest? Well, when talking about this kind of hybrid track on an Italian power metal album, of course, it has to be none other than Wind Rose vocalist Francesco Cavalieri, a personal favorite of mine, and he sounds absolutely phenomenal on this track, helping to make it my favorite on the album. Next is “The Picture of My Time”, which slows things down to a more relaxed tempo, while still having an upbeat feel to it. It’s the lightest, most melodic track on the first half of the album, very much falling into symphonic metal territory along the lines of Nightwish. It has a strong, catchy chorus and very light, calm verses, while keys and symphonic elements lead the way throughout. The guest vocalist here is Claudia Beltrame from Degrees of Truth, another guest I hadn’t heard previously. She has a very light, slightly operatic voice, which fits in nicely with the tone of the track, and she does a great job, singing well alongside Abate.
It’s all guns blazing once again with “Defenders of Light”, the speediest, most frantic track on the album, with drums firing off at a blistering pace throughout, while the guitars are also heavier than normal at points, along with some nice melodic leads. The chorus is absolutely fantastic, very epic and melodic, while also having an extra layer of intensity compared to other tracks, and the verses are quite heavy and powerful. The guest vocalist this time is another personal favorite, Marco Pastorino from Temperance, and his fiery, powerful vocals really help make this the most intense track on the album, as well as another one of my favorites.
Next is the block of slower tracks I mentioned earlier, starting with “Il Labirinto Delle Ombre”, a soft piano ballad, with a very theatrical feel to it. Abate sings solo on this track, accompanied by some nice piano and light symphonic elements. He utilizes a more theatrical approach, singing in his native language, and he absolutely excels, delivering possibly his best performance on the album. Guitars show up briefly for a beautiful solo towards the end, and the final run through the chorus is fantastic. Next is “Twilight”, a sort of power ballad with a classic hard rock/heavy metal feel to it. It has some heavy guitars during the verses, which maintain that classic rock feel, while the chorus is light, melodic, and somewhat theatrical, with some pretty epic vocal melodies. Former Dragonhammer vocalist Max Aguzzi is the guest on this track, and his rather raw, powerful vocals match up nicely with the more smooth-sounding Abate. Closing out this section is a more typical love ballad, “I Believe In Love”, which has some light, melodic guitar work, as well as soft keys and some symphonic elements. The vocals are obviously the highlight, with the chorus in particular being quite beautiful and very well sung, with some excellent operatic vocals from Elegy of Madness vocalist Anja Irullo.
Moving into the final stretch, “Warrior” starts off with some nice folk melodies and more Italian sung vocals, before speeding up a bit and turning into an epic symphonic power metal track, with light folk elements. Verses are fairly mid-paced, light, and melodic, while the chorus picks up the tempo with frantic drums, heavy guitar work, and big symphonic arrangements. The vocal melodies are fantastic, and the lyrics switch seamlessly between English and Italian. Elvenking vocalist Damna is on hand for this track and does an amazing job as always, on a song that fits his voice perfectly. Closing out the album is “Cruel Game”, featuring Infinita Symphonia vocalist Luca Micioni. It’s a very epic, upbeat track with some nice melodic guitar work, as well as some of the most epic symphonic arrangements on the entire album. The verses have a slight edge to them, with some heavy riffs, while the chorus goes all out, with an epic symphonic power metal sound and is one of the best choruses on the album. I don’t really notice the guest vocals too much, but Abate shines, as always, and the track is one of my favorites overall, so it’s a great way to end the album.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Into the Silence, but it ended up being an excellent melodic power album, with plenty of symphonic elements, a bit of folk, and plenty of nice sounding keys, to go along with a stellar vocal performance by Antonio Abate as well as some excellent work from all the guest vocalists involved. There’s a good amount of variety to the tracks, so fans of different types of power metal and symphonic metal should find a lot to enjoy here, and performances and songwriting are strong across the board. I wasn’t overly impressed with what I heard of their previous two albums, but this is an excellent album, and hopefully, it will get Perseus the attention they deserve!
Ratings: 9/10
Written by: Travis Green
My Global Mind – Staff Writer
Travis Green is a Canadian based writer for My Global Mind, with a particular passion for power metal, as well as an interest metal in all its forms.
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