Asterise – Tale Of A Wandering Soul

Asterise
Tale Of A Wandering Soul
Label: Inverse Records
Out: December 6^th, 2024
Playing time: 54:08

Asterise were still classified as a project on their debut album ‘Two Worlds’. Now the cover letter says ‘international Power Metal band’. OK, the three musicians in the rhythm section (guitar, bass, keyboards and drums) are the same. Three of the singers are also still there. Otherwise, however, there are many illustrious guests. It reminds me a little of Tobias Sammet’s Avantasia. But I already wrote about that last time. And there’s no more information about the band’s creators this time either. Whether it’s a band or a project is debatable. What is decisive, however, is that ‘Tale Of A Wandering Soul’ is now their second album. After I quite liked the debut, I also listened to the follow-up.

Asterise don’t even bother to come up with a more or less good-sounding name for the ‘’Intro’’. And in contrast to many other intros, you don’t just hear some sound gimmicks, but a powerful orchestral introduction that can almost be described as an overture. The real opener ‘Twisted Ferryman’ gets off to a powerful start with hard riffs and some Metal screams. This is accompanied by distinctive Tapestries of strings in keeping with the genre. And the whole thing is crowned by a strong guitar solo. The riffs literally gallop on ‘Into Fantasy’. As before, the vocals are expressive and can easily keep up with the tempo and speed of the instrumentation. The power ballad ‘Raven’ ripples along. And not in a figurative sense, but actually. You can hear the rippling of water at the beginning. The string orchestrations also dominate the background. In ‘Wicked Dream’ you can hear the hectic synths that are typical of Italian Power Metal bands. After that, the vocals in particular become very catchy. ‘Drifting Into Darkness’ is once again characterised by high-speed riffs and driving drums. At times there is no singing, just screaming. ‘Tale Of A Wandering Soul’ is the next power ballad. Acoustic guitars and strings underpin the calm vocals. Powerful guitar riffs can be heard again on ‘Golden Land’. Damn near mainstream with high male vocals that go right up to the pain threshold. The short instrumental interlude ‘Call Of Whispers’ is already the third ballad. A beautiful guitar melody can be heard. The longest song on the album, ‘Awaken’, lasts more than seven minutes and starts with strings. Actually, a small epic, it is very varied, although it is also strongly rooted in the mainstream. In my opinion, this is the highlight of the album. Here, choruses provide epic bombast. No, ‘Farewell’ is not a cover of Avantasia’s noble sweet song. But the musical structure is very similar. A contemplative end to the album.

One thing has to be made quite clear. There is still a long way to go before they reach the genius of Tobias Sammet or Arjen Lucassen. Nevertheless, with ‘Tale Of A Wandering Soul’, Asterise have presented a strong Symphonic Power Metal album. The quality of its predecessor was easily surpassed. The people behind the project are on the right way.

Asterise – Into Fantasy: https://youtu.be/aL4ngP_M1Qw?si=3piUC3weDQkZuSme

Lineup:

Bartlomiej Mezynski – Guitars, Bass
Dionysis Maniatakos – Keyboard, Orchestrations
Slawomir Siwak – Drums
Lukasz Wyspiarski – Acoustic Guitar
Andi Kravljaca – Guest Guitar Solo
Lubomyr Kosakovsky – Guest Bass Solo
Sozos Michael – Vocals
Noah Edward Simmons – Vocals
Arnaud Menard – Vocals
Katharina Stahl – Vocals
Tristan Harders – Vocals
Garrett Campbell – Vocals
Aleksandra Mezynska, Katarzyna Lewucha, Kacper Stawski – Guest Choir

Track list:

• Intro
• Twisted Ferryman
• Into Fantasy
• Raven
• Wicked Dream
• Drifting Into Darkness
• Tale Of A Wandering Soul
• Golden Land
• Call Of Whispers
• Awaken
• Farewell