Archangels in Black

Following a long waiting, “Archangels In Black” didn’t quite stick with me as I would have expected and thus I embarked on a long reading with whichever reactions the album has been obtaining. I quickly realized that if others showed the same awkwardness, I couldn’t agree less with any of the less positive reactions the album obtained.

So, what’s wrong with “Archangels In Black”?

Fundamentally nothing.

The reason for the awkwardness might be that “Archangels In Black” shows some rather deep changes in Adagio and demands that fans not only relearn what they’re looking for, but also a more extensive appreciation before forming an opinion.

Other than that, “Archangels In Black” is an extremely good album. Instrumentally powerful, between Forté’s excellent guitar work and the dynamic and progressive rhythm section, there’s a lot to chose from. Worthy of note is also Codfert’s exemplar performance, making justice to his reputation by presenting us with a subtle and delicious keyboard work.

Maybe the greatest news is the vocal might that band found with Christian Palin, whose voice will remind David Readman, but more powerful, transgressing levels of aggression that place “Archangels In Black” in a quite extreme side of metal. Some vocal lines wouldn’t be out of place on a Death Metal album and might be excessive for purists, but Christian’s main focus is on very theatrical and dramatic moments filled with the melody to grab you at once.

The resulting music is heavy and intricate, but also dramatic, dark, sometimes close to a manifesto of madness and suffering that will bring out memories of Beyond Twilight, always a good thing. “Archangels In Black” thus presents us an imaginative and less typical Power Metal of Neoclassic and Progressive contours highlighted by the great performances of the musicians involved. If it will take some time for us to get used to Adagio’s new sound, the persistent ones shall be rewarded and this will reveal itself as one great album that even includes a booklet with excellent photography and added value presentation.

This review was written for: http://www.rockheavyloud.com