Uncreated Light: Whom Should I Blame

Hailing from the Ukraine, Uncreated Light formed in 2003 under the moniker of New Land. Their new album, Whom Should I Blame, is the first under their new name. In the band are Artem Mokry (guitars, keyboards, writing, arrangements), Helen Musienko (vocals), Ilia Mamikin (bass) and Viktor Bilan (drums). The Russian band plays a style of symphonic metal that leans towards the likes of Nightwish, Epica and After Forever and if you like any of those bands you will gravitate towards this release.

The album includes ten songs sung in Russian and four English versions as bonus tracks. I suppose early Nightwish would be the closest comparison as the lead vocals of Musienko bear a strong resemblance to Tarja Turunen. She sings in a similar operatic style and her voice is very strong. With Uncreated Light you will not find any growling vocals which may be a positive or a negative depending on your point of view. The heavily orchestrated arrangements and layers of strings and keyboards are very important to the band's sound. Many of these songs boast a heavy metallic guitar crunch and are driven by power metal rhythms but there are also some ripping solos like in the bombastic "Sign of the Time", where heavy riffs meets strings and a quieter orchestral section contrasts nicely with the rest of the song's heavy intensity. In the beautiful ballad "Searching for the Destiny", the band slows it down and offers some nice acoustic guitar and a soaring electric solo that fits the mood nicely.

Although Uncreated Light present nothing new under the sun, the band performs very well in the symphonic metal genre and displays stellar musicianship throughout the CD. The songs are well crafted and arranged and the melodies are bountiful. Indeed, Whom Should I Blame will sit quite nicely beside your Nightwish collection. Definitely recommended for fans of symphonic metal.

Track Listing:
1. Whom Should I Blame…
2. Burning Hearts
3. Searching for the Destiny
4. What Will Remains
5. The Mystery of Water
6. Legend
7. Sweet Capture
8. A Poet
9. The Mighty of This World
10. Sign of the Time
Bonus Tracks:
11. Whom Should I Blame… (english version)
12. Burning Hearts (english version)
13. Searching for the Destiny (english version)
14. What Will Remain (english version)

Added: October 17th 2009
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band's Official Site
Hits: 4157
Language: english

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