Benedictum: Dominion

Dominion is the third offering from US traditional/power metal outfit Benedictum and if the band's first two efforts (Uncreation and Seasons Of Tragedy) marked this five piece out as one of the new breed of metal bands genuinely capable of competing with the established acts, then Dominion leaves you in no doubt that they already are! Packed with songs that are brimming with superb guitar work, this is an album that has you gripped right from the off and has no intention of letting you go until it is done tearing at your senses.

Guitarist Pete Wells, Chris Shrum on bass, keyboard player Tony Diaz and drummer Mikey Pannone combine to romp their way through eleven insistent, brutal and remarkably memorable tracks. The shout along "Bang", the groove infested "Grind It" and the threatening stomp of "Dark Heart" not only show Benedictum at their spitting snarling best, but also illustrate that they have the variety of delivery to hold the interest from song to song. Add to that heady mix the best female singer in the metal genre right now and Dominion is a sure fire recipe for success. If you have never encountered the mighty vocal talent that is Veronica Freeman before, then please, whatever you do, don't go lumping her into the operatic – atmospheric pigeon hole that so many female metal singers are desperate to squeeze into these days. More in the mould of Dio or Udo, Freeman is a metal singer, and that's with a capital METAL! Thankfully Benedictum are a band capable of matching those considerable talents and if you are looking for a fistful of metal any time soon, then Dominion is for you.

There are two very interesting bonus tracks on this album, with "Sanctuary" being an acoustic based song that bares another side to this band and actually sees Freeman sound a little like Cher, before the cover of Rush's "Overture/Temple Of The Syrinx" lets you know where some of the slightly more proggy elements in the bands repertoire come from. It is a brave song to take on, but as with everything else on this album, Benedictum nail it from start to finish.

Track Listing
1. Dominion
2. At The Gates
3. Seer
4. Grind It
5. Prodigal Son
6. The Shadowlands
7. Beautiful Pain
8. Dark Heart
9. Bang
10. Loud Silence
11. Epsilon
12. Sanctuary
13. Overture/Temple Of The Syrinx

Added: February 10th 2011
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Benedictum Web Site
Hits: 3912
Language: english

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