• New Music Reviews
• |
• Archives
• |
• News
• |
• Submissions
• |
• About
• |
• 
• |
• 

November 2024

• Voodoo Circle: Hail To The King
• Lionville: Supernatural
• Starchaser: Into The Great Unkown
• Empires Of Eden: Guardians Of Time
• Lonerider: Down In The Dust
• Seventh Crystal: Entity
• Neal Morse & The Resonance: No Hill For A Climber
• Beardfish: Songs For Beating Hearts
• Impellitteri: War Machine
• Brothers Of Metal: Fimbulvinter

October 2024

• Casandra's Crossing: Garden Of Earthly Delights
• DGM: Endless
• Daytona: Garder la Flamme
• Fate: Reconnect 'N Ignite
• Frost*: Life In The Wires
• Aries Descendant: From The Ashes Of Deceit
• Fans Of The Dark: Video
• Radioactive: Reset
• House Of Lords: Full Tilt Overdrive
• Cleanbreak: We Are The Fire

September 2024

• Sinner's Blood: Dark Horizons
• Serious Black: Rise Of Akhenaton
• Eclipse: Megalomanium II
• SteelCity: Reverence
• Hydra: ReHydrated
• Heartwind: III
• Gabrielle De Val and the Dragonlords: Tiger
• Find Me: Nightbound
• The Nail: The Nail
• Timeless Fairytale: A Story To Tell
• Stryper: When We Were Kings
• Phil Mogg: Moggs Motel
• Pure Reason Revolution: Coming Up To Consciousness
• Jordan Rudess: Permission To Fly

August 2024

• Siege Perilous: Creation's Call EP
• Paralydium: Universe Calls
• Mike Tramp: Songs Of White Lion Vol. II
• Bite The Bullet: Looking For Paradise
• All For Metal: Gods Of Metal (Year Of The Dragon)
• Hammerfall: Avenge The Fallen
• Jim Peterik & World Stage: Roots & Shoots Vol. 2

[ More Music Reviews ]

Asylum Pyre: Fifty Years Later

Melodic/Heavy/Power Metal

4.5/5.0

Website Facebook Twitter YouTube
Massacre Records
by Craig Hartranft,  12.06.2012

Here's one more female-fronted melodic metal band. Asylum Pyre comes from France with their second album, Fifty Years Later. While these types of bands are in abundance these days, it would be grossly unfair to cast Asylum Pyre into the whole symphonic power metal category. This band has some diversity to their music.

Asylum Pyre: looks cold, light a pyre.

First, to their new vocalist, Chaos Heidi: she's a classically trained singer and vocal coach with tremendous strength and range. She's not dramatically operatic, though she can be, but neither is she a metal screamer. She does sound very good across this entire album. Heidi is one of the better female vocalists in the melodic metal arena.

Conceptually and lyrically the album follows their previous effort voicing concerns over a world ecological crisis in climate change. Asylum Pyre points 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference as a failure and considers the hazardous results Fifty Years Later.

Musically, the songs express great depth and diversity in the arrangements. This is mostly melodic heavy and power metal, with notable progressive nuances, built upon strong melodies and musicianship. There's songs which are heavy and speedy like Dead in Copenhagen and These Trees. Then there's simply light material with Fisherman's Day. Or a combination of all these in epic fashion with Any Hypothesis. The title cut, which turns on the range of Heidi's vocals and wonderful melodic chorus, is a pure delight. Now and then there's some growling male vocals for accent, but that's only small weak point. Fifty Years Later is strong and entertaining second effort from this talented band.

Listen, Buy, Download: Asylum Pyre - Fifty Years Later

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

Fifty Years Later is strong and entertaining second effort of melodic metal from this talented band.

Alphabetical Index

eviewing my archives, I was pleased to find that I have had the privilege to review every Lionville since their self-titled debut in 2011. Formed by Stefano Lionetti, a songwriter, singer and guitarist based in ... [ Read More ]