The single Melancholy Angel is a genuinely perfect 4 minutes of gothic-infused metal – all gigantic hooks, high drama and heart-searing harmonies. The evocative arrangement – a mix of orchestral, folk and metal instruments colliding with huge choirs and the towering twin lead vocals of Delauney and Guaitoli – puts you right in the picture and ready for the voyage ahead.Īnd what a voyage it is. Opener Pirates Will Return sets the scene immediately with a soaring, almost shanty-like chorus that’s joyful and triumphant without feeling corny. While the previous two albums – The Deep & The Dark and Wanderers – saw them move from “oh, yeah, that nautical band, they’re pretty good” territory to being a serious frontrunner of the melodic/symphonic metal scene, Pirates places them right at the top of it. Their latest incarnation brings singers Clémentine Delauney and Michele Guaitoli to the songwriting fore and, for Pirates, they’ve teamed up with producer Felix Heldt (Feuerschwanz) to create a record that takes them to a whole new level. Visions Of Atlantis are no strangers to metal, having been on the scene for 22 years and counting, although drummer Thomas Caser is the only founding member still on board. Which is why you don’t need a peg-leg to relate to the lyrics. The pirates here aren’t the rum-swilling, keelhauling loons of Alestorm, they’re freedom seekers – heavy metal rebels who dare to live outside the ‘rules’ of so-called polite society, in search of who they really are, in search of a life worth living. While not a concept album, as such, it takes the band down a new lyrical route – indulging their darker, piratical side as a means of exploring the challenges of true emotional change. Here, it’s pirates, which may put some listeners off (I know, hard to believe, some people don’t like pirates!?) but honestly, if it does, they’re missing out on some of the most brilliant lyrics, first class songcraft and soaring metal energy of recent years. At its best, it uses heightened imagery – be it the high fantasy of power metal, the morbidity of death metal, the incendiary blasphemy of black metal – to express real, dark and complex emotions that aren’t always easy to talk about. Metal has always been a genre that attracts outsiders and offers solace in dark times. You can take these pirates either you way you like – as marauders or metaphors. Yes, ostensibly out on the oceans wearing a battered old tricorne, but it applies to landlubber life too. It’s an album entirely about long, hard journeys and taking leaps of faith. This is the atmosphere evoked from very first notes of Pirates, the new album by nautical melodic metallers Visions Of Atlantis. It’s not a journey for everyone but those hardened sailors wliling to risk everything, adventure on the high seas awaits! Storms and sea monsters – an inglorious trip to Davy Jones’s Locker – or treasures untold, a bounty of legend. The main sail hoists, the anchor drops, the Jolly Roger flies proudly in the wind… Mighty birds circle overhead as the skipper shouts a hearty “ARRRR!” and the boat sets sail on a voyage across uncharted waters. ^ "Sweden's DIMENSION ZERO To Reunite For Next Year's GOTHENBURG SOUND FESTIVAL".Deadlock biography MusicMight Archived at the Wayback Machine. Review of Wolves, Revolver, July 2007, p. ^ "DARK AGE: 'Live, So Far.' DVD Details Revealed - June 12, 2007".^ "CALLENISH CIRCLE Confirmed For Estonia's GREEN CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL"."Battlecross Unveil New Album Details, Unleash New Single".
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