Tears Of Martyr: Tales

It seems like only yesterday that we were all hailing Nightwish as the bringers of a new age in Metal music, their mixture of Symphony, Gothic Metal and female operatic vocals being a genuine shot in the arm for the genre. However that debut was now seventeen years ago and many, many bands have followed those wishers of the night down the Symph path since. So is there really call for a band, Tears Of Martyr, to provide what could, with their second album Tales, be described as a straight reinterpreting of those ideals? Well Nightwish themselves now perform music which resides a long horse gallop away from this style and seem eager to continue to move further away with each album, so if TOM can do it well, then why not?

And do it well they do, with Tales, which comes four years after their debut, fully utilising the soprano of Berenice Musa and pitting it (as you expected) against the sometimes clean, sometimes gruff tones of guitarist Miguel Angel Marques and filling the gaps around them with strings, riffs aplenty and cascades of drums. Yes, we've heard it all many times before, but the likes of "Vampires Of Sunset Street", or "Of A Raven Born" both provide plentiful helpings of drama and bite, while also offering neat arrangements and interesting storytelling where spoken word sections interplay against the co-vocals, adding an ear catching theatricality which refuses to interfere with the music itself. Some sections almost veer into progressive territory with tempo changes galore and the focus altered on a regular basis however the energy and grandeur of "Wolves And A Witch", or "Golem" (the latter proving decidedly catchy) ensures that any temptation to be over flash is cleverly shelved in preference for keeping things focused and to the point.

If you yearn for the past glories Nightwish once provided, then Tears Of Martyr will undoubtedly satisfy and delight. Done before maybe, but done very well.

Track Listing
1. The Scent No. 13
2. Golem
3. Mermaid And Loneliness
4. Vampires Of The Sunset Street
5. Ancient Pine Awaits
6. Lost Boys
7. Fallen Hero
8. Of A Raven Born
9. Wolves And A Witch
10. Ran Into The Forest

Added: February 9th 2014
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Tears Of Martyr Online
Hits: 2099
Language: english

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