Released By: Napalm Records
Released Date: July 5th, 2024
Genre: Symphonic Metal
Links: https://www.visionsofatlantis.at/
Line Up:
Clementine Delauney – Vocals
Michele Guaitoli – Vocals
Christian Douscha – Guitars
Herbert Glos – Bass
Thomas Caser – Drums
Tracklist:
1. To Those Who Choose to Fight
2. Land of the Free
3. Monsters
4. Tonight I’m Alive
5. Armada
6. The Dead of the Sea
7. Ashes to the Sea
8. Hellfire
9. Collide
10. Magic of the Night
11. Underwater
12. Where the Sky and Ocean Blend
For the past six years and more, Austrian symphonic metal band Visions of Atlantis have been on a steady rise, starting with The Deep & the Dark, which represented somewhat of a new beginning for the band, as almost their entire lineup was switched up at once, aside from longtime drummer Thomas Caser. That album showed the band taking everything they had been before and somehow taking it several steps forward, with the new lineup producing easily their best album up to that point. Skip ahead six years, and the band has since unleashed two more fantastic albums with Wanderers and Pirates, the latter of which, in particular, felt like a pretty big step forward. Now, with the recently released follow-up, Pirates II – Armada, the band has once again stepped up their game even further and delivered their best work to date, improving upon its already fantastic predecessor!
Not much has changed between albums, unsurprisingly. The lineup has remained completely unchanged since Wanderers, and they took just over two years to come out with a new album, clearly looking to keep their momentum going. Fans of VoA should know exactly what to expect here, as the band’s cinematic, melodic, and catchy vocal-driven brand of symphonic metal is as intact as ever, and everyone is in top form, as always. Symphonic elements and vocals are clearly the main driving forces behind most tracks, as there’s an epic, cinematic feel throughout. While there are bursts of heaviness to be found, it’s a very melodic album overall, with some fantastic choruses and vocal melodies. Compared to the previous album, there’s perhaps a bit less power metal, as the album is instead quite varied and has a good mix of different styles of tracks, with plenty of mid-tempo, epic symphonic metal, a couple of more folk-infused tracks, a couple of ballads, and a couple of huge, epic-length tracks that go all out and deliver a bit of everything. The second half is a bit slower-paced in general and it has the three softest tracks on the album within a five-track block. However, everything is very well written and performed, and it all flows together perfectly, so unlike the previous album, the quality never suffers even a slight dropoff at any point.
As usual, while it’s a very melodic, very vocal-driven album, the musicians all do a great job as well. Guitarist Christian Douscha is largely restrained for a large duration of most tracks, mostly delivering solid rhythm guitar work in the background and some subtly heavy riffs that play a secondary role to keys, vocals, and orchestration. However, he does shine with some heavy riffs and melodic leads at times, particularly on the title track, and his guitar solos are absolutely fantastic. The rhythm section is also very good, with Thomas Caser in particular doing a great job of providing some nice beats with his drums and doing a nice job of alternating between different tempos, and the different percussion used on a couple of tracks also sounds fantastic. Keys and symphonic elements are obviously very important here, and sound great as always, with the orchestration giving the music an epic, cinematic feel and it works equally well on more intense, upbeat tracks as it does on slower, more relaxed tracks. Vocalists Clémentine Delauney and Michele Guaitoli are also fantastic, with Delauney taking lead throughout the majority of the album and delivering smooth, emotional vocals, while Guaitoli is largely used in short bursts during verses and certain big moments, sounding more animated and intense, while also delivering some surprisingly soft and smooth vocals on a couple of tracks. Both of them are in top form and work together perfectly, as they did on the last couple of albums. Production is also fantastic and well-balanced, as expected.
The one area where the band has improved the most in recent years has been their songwriting, and that once again continues with Armada, as each song is fantastic in its own right, and they all flow together seamlessly, helping make it an incredibly fun and addicting album to listen to over and over again. There is a typical intro track, though it’s more engaging than usual, as it has some cinematic orchestration, as well as some soft vocals from Delauney, which help set the tone for the rest of the album. The first full track is “The Land of the Free,” which opens up with some atmospheric keys and orchestration, before the drums go full speed ahead and some heavy guitar work kicks in. The opening verse has a bit of a stop/start feel to it, slowing down and taking some of the heaviness away for brief periods, then bringing it back and speeding up, and this is done quite effectively. The chorus is very epic, with huge vocal melodies, epic choir vocals, and symphonic arrangements. The first run-through stays mid-paced throughout, but on subsequent runs, it speeds up halfway through and becomes even more epic. The second verse has some intense vocals from Guaitoli, which is one of the highlights of the track, along with a very melodic guitar solo towards the end, followed up by a fantastic reprise of the intro track. Overall, it’s a fantastic opener, and one of the best tracks on the album.
VoA have been known to include some very catchy, more radio-friendly tracks from time to time, and one of the best examples of that is “Monsters,” a light, catchy, and very melodic symphonic metal track with some very catchy and upbeat keyboard melodies, epic symphonic arrangements, and a big focus on vocals, with the chorus in particular being incredibly melodic and catchy. Guaitoli shows up to lead the second verse and he sounds great as always, but the track is largely dominated by Delauney, who’s a perfect fit for the track, as it has somewhat of a modern Nightwish feel to it, which suits her voice very well. Next is one of the more folk-infused tracks, “Tonight I’m Alive,” which is led by some rather unique percussion, giving the track a fun, distinctive beat. It also has some folk instrumentation, giving the music a unique flavor, and it has an upbeat, somewhat playful vibe to it. The two leads alternate parts during verses and both are excellent, but Guaitoli in particular sings with a bit of extra grit and he fits in perfectly with the unique beat of the track. The chorus is incredibly fun and catchy, maintaining the percussion, while becoming more melodic, and it’s easily the highlight of the track. There’s a nice guitar solo in the second half, as well as some more very cool and unique-sounding folk elements. Overall, it’s a fantastic track and another personal favorite.
The highlights keep coming with the title track, the fastest, heaviest, and most power metal-influenced track on the album. Drums go off at a frantic pace throughout, while Douscha delivers some heavy, powerful guitar work, and the verses are a ton of fun, with Delauney leading the first and Guaitoli leading the second. The track has a ton of energy, between the guitars, drums, vocals, and epic symphonic arrangements. I especially love the infectious “Jolly Roger!” chants throughout the verses. The chorus is fast, fun, and super epic, in the way a symphonic power metal chorus should be, and I also love the heavier, more technical guitar solo towards the end. Overall, it’s probably my favorite track on the entire album. The first of two 7+ minute tracks is “The Dead of the Sea,” which starts off with light instrumentation and some of Guaitoli’s softest vocals, before the symphonic elements kick in for an extended instrumental intro, slowly followed by some light guitar work. The song takes a while to get going, but once it does it moves at a fairly upbeat tempo, with a nice mix of epic symphonic arrangements and rather subdued guitar work. Delauney leads the verses, sounding super smooth as always, but I also love how Guaitoli provides some light, very melodic vocals during a calm, slow part leading into the chorus, which itself goes all out with drums, guitars, symphonic arrangements, and epic vocals from both singers. Hearing the softer vocals from Guaitoli spread throughout the track is the definite highlight, as it’s a nice change of pace from his usual approach, and he does an incredible job, though obviously everything else about the track is also excellent.
Following two intense and epic tracks, it makes sense the band would calm things down with the first of three ballads, that being “Ashes to the Sea.” It’s a light, almost entirely orchestral track with little metal or rock elements of any kind, instead delivering an epic sound in the style of a film score, with sweeping orchestral arrangements, along with fantastic vocals from both leads. Delauney in particular is fully in her element during an emotional, very beautiful chorus where her light and emotional vocals really get to shine. Things get more intense once again with “Hellfire,” which opens up with an epic orchestral intro sequence, before heavy guitars and drums kick in and the track quickly picks up the pace, moving pretty quickly during the verses, which have an upbeat, yet tense feeling, building up to the heaviest chorus on the album. Speaking of the chorus, it features some very chunky guitar work in the background, laying a nice backdrop for intense leads from Guaitoli and some epic operatic vocals from Delauney, along with an epic “Burn, Burn, Burn!” chant. The instrumental section in particular has some very chunky, alt-metal style guitar work, leading into a melodic, yet technically impressive guitar solo.
The second ballad is “Collide,” the heaviest of the three, as it’s more of a power ballad, with some heavy but slow and rather subdued guitar work, accompanied early on by some rather nice symphonic arrangements, and then during the second verse there’s some very epic keyboards. The chorus is heavy and powerful, but still very melodic, and both singers do a great job throughout the track. The highlight of the track is when the second run-through of the chorus immediately transitions into an epic guitar solo. The solo itself and the seamless transition are both truly fantastic. Next is another folk-infused track, “Magic of the Night,” which has a very nice folk melody at the start, leading into a moderately paced verse with some rather subdued guitar work. The verses are fun, but the chorus is the clear highlight, as it’s very fun, catchy, and melodic, and it has a nice mix of folk and symphonic instrumentation to help really make it stand out. I also love the instrumental section, which has more of the folk elements, and the soft, cinematic-sounding bridge section towards the end. The backing choral vocals during the final run of the chorus are absolutely fantastic.
One final ballad comes in the form of “Underwater,” a nice piano ballad, which starts off very soft, with a beautifully sung, atmospheric opening verse driven by Delauney’s voice and a piano. Symphonic elements creep in during the first run-through of the chorus, which is very soft and beautiful. The track slowly and subtly adds in more instrumentation as it moves on, with the guitars not fully kicking in until the second run-through of the chorus, and from there Delauney starts singing with more power, eventually building up to an epic final run-through of the chorus. Closing out the album is another 7+ minute track, “Where the Sky and Ocean Blend,” which alternates nicely between soft, slow passages and fast, heavier passages. Keys and symphonic elements lead the way early on, though once Guaitoli takes over a while into the first verse, the guitar work becomes much heavier and the pace picks up, leading into an epic, cinematic chorus where both singers shine and guitars and orchestration are both intense and on point. The second verse starts out heavy with excellent guitar work and powerful vocals from Guaitoli, but it leads into a soft, piano section where Delauney takes over, before transitioning back into the chorus. It’s an example of the band not only utilizing both singers effectively but also doing a great job of alternating between soft and heavy passages. The instrumental section is heavy and there’s an intense guitar solo, leading into an epic bridge where both vocalists get to shine, and that’s one of the highlights of the track. Overall, it’s another one of my favorites on the album, and it closes the album out perfectly.
Four albums into their current era, Visions of Atlantis have fully mastered their sound, delivering their best album to date, and making everything seem effortless in the best way possible. Pirates II – Armada is one of the best symphonic metal albums of the year, with excellent orchestration, excellent guitar work when it kicks in, fantastic vocals, and amazing songwriting which manages to be extremely varied but also consistently entertaining and well-paced. Fans of the band are sure to love this album, as it feels like the band has a full grasp of what they’re doing and they’re clearly having a great time. Newcomers looking for an epic symphonic metal album with fantastic vocals and some power metal elements would be very well advised to give this album a shot, as it’s sure to be one of the best of its kind released in 2024.
Ratings: 10/10
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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