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April 2024

• Vanden Plas: The Empyrean Equation Of The Long Lost Things
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March 2024

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February 2024

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January 2024

• Corvus: Immortals
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Narnia: From Darkness To Light

Melodic Heavy Metal

4.5/5.0

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Narnia Songs/Ulterium Records
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 17.07.2019 | Released: 02.08.2019

The heavy metal lion known as Narnia made its triumphant return in 2016 with their self-titled Narnia. The band featuring vocalist Christian Liljegren and guitarist CJ Grimmark began extensive touring, resulting in 2018's live album, We Still Believe – Made in Brazil. Now Narnia returns with their eighth album, From Darkness To Light. The title once more suggests Narnia's commitment to Christianity and the Gospel Of Jesus Christ, with references to Acts 26:19, Ephesians 5:8, and 1 Peter 2:9.

Narnia

Musically, once more Narnia traverses the path of melodic heavy metal, infused with some power metal gallop, hard rock groove, a flair of keyboards, and abundance of Grimmark guitar solos. All these things are wrapped up in a commitment to melody and harmony, rhythm and groove, and memorable refrains for immediate melodic metal accessibility.

And most songs turn on that simple melodic heavy metal motif. Metal meets melody, groove, and near AOR accessibility with Sail On and You Are The Air That I Breathe. Other songs turn on a mixture of heavy metal steadiness and power metal speed, such as A Crack In The Sky, The Armor Of God, and MNFST. That later song juxtaposes heavy riffs and rhythm section with milder vocal segues. The War That Tore The Land offers a metal anthem with a light vocal and synth start before rising to a crescendo with a choral vocal arrangement and Grimmark delivering some epic guitar licks. In the end, with From Darkness finds Narnia in excellent form, offering bombastic and entertaining melodic heavy metal. Easily recommended.

Mind Key: MKIII - Aliens In Wonderland

Melodic Heavy Power Metal

4.0/5.0

The last we heard from Italy's Mind Key was a decade ago. America elected it's first Black American president, Barack Obama, Russia shut off gas to Europe ... [ Read More ]

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

In the end, with From Darkness finds Narnia in excellent form, offering bombastic and entertaining melodic heavy metal. Easily recommended.

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Three years have passed since Sweden's Cruzh dropped their second long-player, Tropical Thunder, also introducing their new singer, Alex Waghorn. Now the band returns with The Jungle Revolution ... [ Read More ]