Visions Of Atlantis
Trinity

Thanks to the commotion that has recently impacted the now famous champions of symphonic metal, the Finnish band Nightwish, due to reasons that have bewildered and sparked quite a discussion among critics and fans, all the so-called "minor bands" have finally been able to find more space within a world that used to praise only the "big names." On one hand, there remains the bitterness of knowing that in the future the favourites of all, the masters of a genre, will no longer be what they once were, and for quite some time will be absent from the scene (but Tuomas and company, thanks to some clever promotional and commercial maneuvers, have found the formula to ease the wait); on the other, we have the satisfying sensation of discovering albums like this one, making us think "it's really a shame not having known this band before." As the saying goes, "even crises have their positive sides"... We really have to admit it: a wave of well-made albums has pleasantly overwhelmed us, as if to prove that the symphonic scene is still inspired and tremendously active.

The times when even Visions Of Atlantis couldn't emerge from the traffic jam created by all those musicians of the last minute who combined the typical gallops of power metal with symphonic keyboards and soprano vocals without too much moderation (and maybe even had the courage to call such a proposal gothic metal) are now a vague memory. So we have arrived in 2007, just over seven years since the birth of the Austrian band. After the voluntary departure (for personal reasons) of the nevertheless talented (but rather unripe) Nicole Bogner, and the recruitment of the much more attractive and stylistically competent American singer Melissa Ferlaak, the Austrian sextet is back on track with a fresh album, ready to make a splash among fans of a certain sound. "Trinity," let's make it clear right away to avoid misunderstandings, certainly does not aim to compete with a monolith like "Once" (for this the band will mature, only time will tell if they will be able to accomplish such a feat), but at least it has the good taste to present its audience with a range of dynamic, well-assorted, and totally engaging episodes, which do not get entangled in intricate orchestral structures and do not make use of those overused embellishments (the epic and polyphonic choirs dear to Epica and Within Temptation are not even present here) that sometimes make the listening of a record cloying (remember we are in front of a humble band, they do not consider themselves "prima donnas," unlike others).

The sound, thanks to the mixing of Finnvox Studios, has become much more powerful and energetic: the guitar is the guide in these territories, winding through paths not too winding but not lacking in emotions (how beautiful are the solos!); supported by drums and bass, it offers pulsating rhythms that will engrain in your head without much effort. A separate note must be made for the keyboard; this instrument has certainly not been attributed the most important roles: there are no solo passages noteworthy and its sounds serve to create a nice background, nothing more, nothing less. But all this is part of their style, and therefore I didn't even wonder how certain songs would have sounded if more space had been given to the crystalline notes of a piano (among other things, the ivory keys haven't been used with immense thrift).

However, you may have realized that I haven't yet mentioned the type of vocals used by this band; well, it's indeed the final surprise. Let's put aside the rather conventional but still appreciable performance of Mario Plank; Melissa Ferlaak is a true golden voice. She possesses the highest, sharpest, and most crystalline tones I have ever heard in a metal group. The impact is stunning, it's just a shame that perhaps the somewhat excessive rigidity in composition hasn’t allowed her to fully express her interpretative capabilities. Over time perhaps everything will improve and many will sing the praises of this angelic voice.

What can we say about the eleven tracks on the setlist? A track-by-track analysis is not necessary, as they all move along coordinates dear to symphonic power metal (with a bit of imagination we might imagine standing in front of a side-project formed by members of Kamelot and Nightwish) and although the songwriting is quite homogeneous, we don’t find even a single boring or filler track; this "Trinity" is an incredible and continuous succession of highlights (if you pay attention, you'll find one for each track). The CD opens with what is the most anthemic track of the batch, the one that focuses the most on power, a straightforward song compared to the others ("At the back of beyond"), it is interspersed with the calm "The poem" (practically entrusted only to Mario's voice) and the beautiful piano ballad "Return to you" (listen to it and you'll understand my enthusiasm in praising Ferlaak’s talent), turns dark with "Through my eyes" and draws exotic landscapes with "Flow this desert". The only misstep, in my opinion, is represented by the less than thrilling "My dark side home", placed exactly halfway through the tracklist, possibly to break the emphasis of the other songs, all set to medium-high quality standards. In terms of themes, forget the childish fantasy lyrics in Rhapsody style that the artwork and moniker may suggest. With determination, bucolic love themes are revealed, without forgetting that touch of naivety and the melancholy breath that so satisfy the souls of the more romantic metalheads.

While waiting for the apples to ripen, and hoping that with the next album Nightwish remember they are great musicians and not pathetic protagonists of a heavy metal-style reality show, try giving a chance to these Visions Of Atlantis, now a few steps away from excellence. You won't be disappointed.