Celesty
Vendetta

From the cold and white expanses of Scandinavia here comes the fourth full-length by the six power metallers Celesty, returning to the music scene in 2009, three years after Mortal Mind Creation.

Proponents of a melodic and fairly light power, the six members of the band partially abandon the stylistic choices of the previous chapter. In fact, while in Mortal Mind Creation the keyboards were set aside in favor of a more heavy choice, with guitars in the foreground, with Vendetta we return to the "fantasy" melody of Reign of Elements and Legacy of Hate. It's a debatable choice by the six Finns, who return to propose a style certainly personal, but by now hackneyed and overused that ends up entangling itself.

Vendetta, starting from the title, the cover, and the track titles themselves, might seem the epitome of banality. Partly it is, but to a lesser extent it is not. For this reason, this album still manages not to remain anonymous.

The underlying problem remains that now common to most of the new European and worldwide power bands: by following the characteristic lines set by pivotal groups like Helloween, Blind Guardian, Gamma Ray, and Iced Earth (just to mention the most well-known), these power metal bands reshuffle what has been served to us for the past twenty years. Let it be clear: Celesty doesn't properly belong to this category, but the difference isn't too great...

Vendetta returns forcefully to the keyboard digressions of Legacy of Hate (the link is represented by the final suite) and presents us with an album slightly inferior to the previous. "Euphoric Dream", "Autumn Leaves", "Feared by Dawn", "New Sin", and the concluding track are acceptable songs, but they don't add anything to the genre.

The fourth chapter of the Finnish band is a decent album, which has nothing to do with the (in my opinion) exorbitant ratings it has received from critics. About an hour of appreciable music...

1. "Prelude For Vendetta" (1:26)
2. "Euphoric Dream" (5:02)
3. "Greed & Vanity" (4:16)
4. "Like Warriors" (4:44)
5. "Autumn Leaves" (4:06)
6. "Feared By Dawn" (4:53)
7. "Lord (Of This Kingdom)" (4:59)
8. "New Sin" (5:27)
9. "Dark Emotions" (5:16)
10. "Fading Away" (3:59)
11. "Legacy Of Hate Pt. 3" (14:06)