Adrana - Perturbatio 3.5/5
Reviewed: 2-20-09
Tracklist:
1. Enter prusias
2. Prusias
3. Saneday
4. The moonchildren
5. Mortelle fourberie enfantine
6. The nymph's corpse
7. Gabrielus
8. Secret gathering
9. L'eveil de Markius
10. The lords of the tapestry
11. Oprane
12. Ingalrian
13. Mortualia
14. Gabrielus (acoustic version)
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Adrana is a very young French band that was formed in 2004, released a demo in 2006, and now they bring us their full-length debut 'Perturbatio'. The CD as a whole is a concept - a fantasy-based story about Princess Adrana, who tries to restore peace throughout the world, while going through some unique experiences. I should mention that some of the songs are sung in French, and this is one of the few CDs I have that contains the French language, though I seem to enjoy the English and French songs equally.
The band's style is symphonic power metal and they're female fronted, by Anae (with no last name given), whose voice is of the soprano type, and she's very much in the operatic realm. While it only took a few spins for me to understand and enjoy her voice, you must remember that I'm a huge lover of female fronted metal bands, so her vocals may be over the top (too operatic) for some of you. There are also some occasional black metal/raspy male vocals (think Penumbra) and they add another dimension to the band that is welcomed, as most female fronted symphonic power metal bands don't have this side to them.
For comparisons, I would definitely lump Adrana in the group that includes Legenda Aurea, Visions of Atlantis, Rosa Ignea, Nightwish, Dreamer, The Aerium, Overdream, Arya, Imperia and maybe Amberian Dawn, but because of the French-language songs and occasional black metal/raspy male vocals, I guess Adrana does have a slightly original sound, even though their base style of symphonic power metal is fairly unoriginal.
Thankfully, 'Perturbatio' contains a lot of speed and is of the upbeat and exciting variety of power metal. It's also not too symphonic, and there are some excellent guitar solos to be found. Considering the band is young, I think they've done a great job in all areas, both musically and vocally. My favorite songs are track 7 "Gabrielus" and track 10 "The lords of the tapestry", as they're the catchiest and most memorable songs on the CD. I also really like the one slow song (track 13 "Mortualia"), which is a piano-oriented song with dual vocals (Anae with a clear male vocalist), most of which are in harmony.
So what we end up with is a promising debut for fans of female fronted symphonic power metal, that can easily be considered a great start for a young band. However, I know that because of the highly operatic vocals and the fact that some of the songs are sung in French, this won't be for everyone. That said, if you enjoy the same kind of female fronted symphonic power metal bands that I do, there's a good chance you'll dig this, as I sure do.
CLINT
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