With echoes of Danish melodic rock icons Pretty Maids and German power metal titans Helloween at their most melodic, Swedish melodic rock/metal titans Ginevra return with their eagerly anticipated second album, which comes hot on the heels of their debut in 2022.
Kicking off with the driving melodic metal opener and stand out track, Moonlight, it really hits the ground running. Everything that you would want is here, melodic, driving, powerful catchy rock/metal with great symphonic and synth elements that feel integral to the sound and don’t just feel like an afterthought tacked on to the mix; a great opening song. And it doesn’t let up from there; the symphonic, choral intro to, Lightning Roses, which develops through a great riff into epic, soaring melodic metal; the mid-paced melodic rock of, True North, which really blurs the line between rock and metal; the power metal feel of the single, Let Freedom Ring, with its driving double kick drums and the classic, uplifting melodic rock of another stand out song, Echoes Of The Lonely. The second half of the album keeps up this pace with more driving, melodic metal; Arms Of Oblivion, with its melancholic, symphonic feel; penultimate song, Higher, which is straight up classic melodic rock that could easily have been the soundtrack to a “training montage” in any classic 80s movie; and finally rounding the album out with another classic feeling melodic rock track, Enemy Of Your Destiny.
Production here is excellent, from the great chugging guitars (which can often sound flabby or wooly, but not here, the guitar tone is outstanding), to the really well produced bass tone, most noticeable on the track Lightning Roses, the production works really well. The mix is balanced and appropriate for this style of modern music which could really be described as melodic rock with metal guitars. Musicianship across the album is exceptional and we must make special note of the guitar work of Magnus Karlsson. Is the man superhuman? Talk about prolific! This is the second album released so far this year which features his guitar work, which is always erudite, appropriate and just what’s needed, it’s flashy but controlled; an exceptional musician.
A slight criticism of the album is that it’s a little front loaded with most of the best tracks appearing in the first half of the album; another symptom of streaming and the need to grab a listener’s attention, perhaps? Despite this however, this really is a great album; powerful, catchy, melodic and despite some of the lyrical content being deep and often serious in its tone, musically the album is uplifting and at times exhilarating. If you’re new to this band but you’re a fan of any sort of melodic/heavy metal or melodic/hard rock then there’s very likely something here that you’re gonna like. So once again I have to ask the question: does anyone do melodic rock/metal as good as those Scandinavians? There certainly must be something in the water in Sweden!
Rating: 8/10 – Great
Wayne McAloon | Now Spinning Magazine
