As Serenity is touring together with Xandria and Jaded Star it was time to catch up with melodic tunes! I loved the artwork and the first notes pleased me, so here we go!
Codex Atlanticus opens as a melodic piece with a touch of Wagner and some Irish influences. You can almost smell the sea and feel the boat going up and down. The red line of the album is none but Leonardo da Vinci. Follow Me is the first real track that starts with hammering drums, guitars and a symphonic sound. I must admit that Georg Neuhauser vocals sometimes gets close to the sound I remember from the early The Scorpions years! Sprouts of Terror has a speeded up tempo, perfectly fitting with the title! This is true power metal perfectly mixed with a symphonic touch! Iniquity starts like a lullaby but pretty soon changes into a very bombastic track with a symphonic sound (as if backed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra). Fans of this genre will adore it! It’s sweetness mixed with power full licks, all very catchy! You love it or you hate it, but I love it! Reason carries more catchy tunes and a lovely chorus mixed with the best melodic sound! My Final Chapter is a sweet ballad with Irish influences. This song is build up as if it was written for the last Hobbits movie. It’s a bit strange to hear this song in the middle of this album rather than as last track, but I cherish it! It’s clear that this catchy track will be played and might even end up as opening dance of a wedding. The construction of this song is phenomenal! Count out all the different elements, the swings, the pathos … It’s a pearl! Caught in A Myth is a mid-tempo track with a bombastic sound (hell: even with a slice of an industrial sound). The sound is pretty catchy and reminds me once again of The Scorpions (but with a symphonic sound). Fate of Light is another fast track with a catchy and very sweet sound. The mix between the speed metal and the bombastic symphonic sound is just perfect! The breakdown with the up fronted piano shows that this song even has some potential in an unplugged version! It’s clear that their producer is one of the best! More piano comes with the start of The Perfect Woman reminds me very strongly of Meat Loaf (I’d do Anything for love …), even the restart of the song in the middle. When we hear a female voice jumping in it even creates a bigger Meat Loaf feel. I just hope that they ask Xandria on stage and perform this song whilst touring together! More power metal comes with Spirit in The Flesh. I miss extra notes from the record company to tell me from who the second voice comes. I can’t put a name on his voice, but I feel like I know this voice. The Order is the perfect end track as it explodes totally (and ok it ends with a piano outro): it feels like one last rush!
I must say I was amazed by its quality and ok, I wished they could have made one more album with some extra female vocals (doesn’t really matter with whom), but it’s also very clear that Georg has a great voice that doesn’t need backings! Let’s see now how the new songs sound like on during their new tour!
21/02/2016: Xandria, Serenity & Jaded Star will play in The Biebob (Vosselaar, Belgium)
