Sea Of Tranquility



The Web Source for Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal & Jazz-Fusion
  Search   in       
Main Menu




Visions of Atlantis: Maria Magdalena (EP)

"Maria Magdalena? Ain't that a pop song?". Why yes, it is, it is a pop song from the 80s by the German singer, Sandra, and, yes, it is that exact song that this Visions of Atlantis EP is named after. And, as you have guessed, the reason is that there is a cover version of the song on the EP. Needless to say, it has been seriously metallized and now has crunchy guitars, heavy riffage and powerful drums as well as Vision of Atlantis' trademark symphonic effects. Actually, Visions of Atlantis prove that 'Maria Magdalena' sounds just as good as a 2011 symphonic metal song as it does as a 1985 pop song. One of the strengths of the pop song, which Visions of Atlantis have thankfully retained is its memorable and very catchy chorus.

The other tracks are original Vision of Atlantis compositions. The style is basically midtempo modern power metal with symphonic effects. The focus is, however, on the guitar riffage and the vocal melodies, and the symphonic effects are kept in the background, which also keeps the cheese-o-meter comfortably out of the red. 'Melancholia' and 'Change of Tides' are quite solid and catchy symphonic power metal tracks, and especially the former has some very strong vocal hooklines, and, while the tracks are not really groundbreaking or out of the ordinary, I think they are quite good. The same goes for 'Distant Shores', while 'Last Shut of your Eyes' and 'Beyond Horizon' are epic ballads which, I must admit, do not really rock my world. I mean, they are well written with lots of melody, and I am sure that fans of epic metal ballads will absolutely love them... they just do not appeal that much to me.

As has almost become a typical feature of symphonic power metal, the vocal duties are shared by a male vocalist and a female vocalist, and this combination works quite well, although I am not a fan of it per se, and - while the vocalists are incredibly skilled - I think that they lack the power to match the heaviness of the crunchy guitar riffs.

The main attraction of this release is, for my money, the cover version of 'Maria Magdalena' as well as the very strong and catchy 'Melancholia'. The remaining tracks will probably appeal mostly to people who are already fans of the band.


Track list:
1. Maria Magdalena
2. Melancholia
3. Change Of Tides
4. Distant Shores
5. Last Shut Of Your Eyes
6. Beyond Horizon

Added: September 21st 2011
Reviewer: Kim Jensen
Score:
Related Link: Visions of Atlantis @ MySpace
Hits: 2614
Language: english

[ Printer Friendly Page Printer Friendly Page ]
[ Send to a Friend Send to a Friend ]

  

[ Back to the Reviews Index | Post Comment ]

» SoT Staff Roundtable Reviews:

Visions of Atlantis: Maria Magdalena (EP)
Posted by Mark Johnson, SoT Staff Writer on 2011-10-17 13:20:23
My Score:

What a surprise to read a Facebook update from the band that they had completed and released an EP before the end of the year! Their album "Delta", released back in January was a great welcome back for the band. Now they are ready to continue the story.

I remember from my interview with the band earlier this year that they had some pent up creativity waiting to be unleashed. With the selection of Maxi Nil as lead female vocal they have bolted out to create two great pieces of work this year. I remember this quote from the interview I did earlier this year: "Maxi gave us back the faith we had lost. We promise we will bring the best out of VoA and we are ready to conquer the world!" http://www.seaoftranquility.org/article.php?sid=1828

Well, they were serious! Lead by the beautiful voice of Maxi Nil, supported by Werner Fiedler's power guitar chords; Mike Koren's ever – present bass; Chris Kamper's keys; Thomas Caser's blasting drums, and with this EP, more of Christian Stani's vocals, they are back to conquer the world…or at least make sure you know there is more to come…and soon!

Maxi Nil kicks the first and title track off with her vocals, but Christian gets more of the front of the stage on this EP, as he joins in early on this first track. This is an excellent collection of heavy metal music with more male vocals than we heard on "Delta". It creates a new balance and points in a new direction from the mostly female vocals of the past.

Every song is full of power and the magic of the excellent guitar, bass, keys and slamming drums we heard earlier this year on "Delta". The highlights for me were the title/opening track, "Change of Tides", and "Beyond Horizon".

I just can't believe this band rolled this good music out this year after the excellent "Delta" album...They definitely are ready to rock!



© 2004 Sea Of Tranquility
For information regarding where to send CD promos and advertising, please see our FAQ page.
If you have questions or comments, please Contact Us.
Please see our Policies Page for Site Usage, Privacy, and Copyright Policies.

All logos and trademarks in this site are property of their respective owner. The comments are property of their posters, all other content © Sea of Tranquility

SoT is Hosted by SpeedSoft.com