Niobeth - Silvery moonbeams 4/5
Reviewed: 2-1-12
Tracklist:
1. The banished princess
2. Eclipse
3. Withered lullabies
4. Sons of the earth
5. Campeon
6. Stolen innocence
7. My dead angel
8. I know that I know nothing
9. I need you to need me
10. Sadako's wings of hope
11. Polovtsian dances
12. Solitude
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Spanish band Niobeth released their debut 'The shining harmony of universe' a few years ago, which I reviewed and felt was a promising start. 'Silvery moonbeams' is therefore the band's 2nd CD and I must immediately mention that I absolutely love the beautiful cover artwork - really striking. For those who missed my review of the debut, the band is female fronted, and is mainly symphonic metal, but with a touch of gothic metal and there's some power metal too. Since we've heard this style many times before, comparisons are easy, and they would be Nightwish, Adrana, Dreamer, Visions of Atlantis, Arya, Overdream, Venin Noir, Amberian Dawn, Coronatus, Atargatis, Dotma, Imperia, Rosa Ignea and others, though Niobeth is more symphonic/gothic and less power metal than some of these bands.
Vocally, the wonderful Itea Benedicto returns with her operatic (mostly soprano) vocals and even though she was great on the debut, she sounds even better on this CD and sings with a lot of emotion. There are some small yet outstanding choirs, and also some clean male vocals on the memorable track 9 "I need you to need me" (duet style), and they too are well done. By herself, Itea stands out the most on track 5 "Campeon", a slow song that really lets her shine, though she's just as successful in the powerful/upbeat songs like track track 8 "I know that I know nothing", which is another highlight. Honestly however, all of the songs are of great to excellent quality, with improved songwriting over the debut, and it's a consistent and thoroughly enjoyable CD. I do want to add that it feels a bit more upbeat and slightly less dark than the debut, which works for me personally.
It's always nice to see a 2nd CD from a band because it means that they can't be lumped with the numerous "one and done" bands. Especially when the 2nd CD is better, it's pleasing. Therefore, fans of the debut can pick this up right away, and fans of female fronted metal that haven't heard the debut (or this CD) have no reason not to check out this band.
CLINT
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