DESDEMONA: Lady of the Lore CD Epic, must have, Great Power Metal. !

Description

DESDEMONAs underrated debut release.

Andrea Marchisio has a set of power metal lungs that hit the notes without helium. And hes given some mighty dramatic tunes to belt out here. The lyrics are a bit of everybody, but the music is from the pen of guitarist Christian Rosso and keyboardist Foca Torchia, which might explain the perfectly forged sound this band has.

Black Lady starts out with poetic acoustics, does a dramatic speed metal turn, and wins the power metal anthem chorus game hands down. Shadows of my life is next stop riff central. The lyrics are a dash deeper, and the melody and tempo verge on prog, but this band is too good to get lost on the way to anywhere. When the bridge and chorus finally arrive, good luck trying to decide which is catchier.

Event Horizon is sci-fi with some Latin lyrics thrown in because thats what its going to take. The deceptively jumpy guitar work skips just the right notes, and the drumwork is double-kick 101. And keyboard solos followed by guitar solos are not supposed to work this well. Lancelot opens with horses neighing and stuff. Theres also some guy narrating something. Bands should normally be taken out and shot for this kind of thing, but at the two minute mark the song happens. And at the three and half minute mark the chorus happens; speed metal chorus meets pounding power metal arrangement. Gold.

Othellos Crying is next. Its a ballad. I love them. But this one is so bad it might be why they broke up in the first place. The couple that is, not the band. Neptune the Mystic is a strange beast. Old school verse structure, prog chorus and great vocal performance. And in there somewhere a momentary solo piano interlude that has no right to be so short damn it.

If I Were Fire is a song title as mighty as it is simple. You can practically hear Manowar and every other codpiece band just wishing theyd thought of it first. And just for the record, the title sounds even better in the original Italian (which is provided in brackets beside the English). Still not convinced? Well one last set of brackets reliably informs you that the lyrics are adapted from a 16th century sonnet. All of which adds up to what is pound for pound the album scene stealer. No analysis or blow-by-blow call required people, just a money back guarantee that youll play this one over and over.

So thats DESDEMONA. File under Italian power metal. Maybe insert the words almost and classic in there somewhere too. I would. Well almost.

1. Black Lady 08:25
2. Shadows of My Life 07:14
3. Event Horizon 05:09
4. Lancelot 10:11
5. Othellos Crying 06:26
6. Neptune the Mystic 06:44
7. If I Were Fire (S’i’ Fosse Foco) 07:11 S
8. Changing Skin 05:37
56:57

Andreas vocals truly one of? the best. Sure wish this band was still around, what a loss for metal.

Great music? alway enjoyable & with great vocals too.