Elegy of Madness – Invisible World
Album Review By Rainer Kerber
Elegy of Madness were founded in 2006 by guitarist Tony Tomasicchio. In the same year the demo “Another Path” was released. In 2009 followed the album debut “The Bridge of Sighs”. The next two albums were then released every four years. During their appearance at the Metal Queen’s Burning Night 2018 I was able to convince myself of the live qualities. Elegy of Madness are not a typical symphonic metal band. The bombast was limited, but a lot of metal could be heard at this gig. In January the Italians released their fourth album. After the live show, of course, I wanted to hear how production in the studio has worked.
The opening song “Egodemon” is introduced by electronically processed, oriental-sounding vowels by singer Anja Irullo. However, the drums are already shooting behind it. But these sound gimmicks are short-lived. Soon the guitars roars and Anja’s bell-clear mezzo-soprano can be heard. Not much can be heard of the expected (or feared) symphonic bombast. The rhythm section is too dominant here. With “Es” the vocals are initially accompanied by industrial sounds. These can also be heard in the further course of the song. But guitars and drums also dominate here. In addition, the bass booms extremely powerfully. Certainly, epic choruses can be heard here and there. However, this remains discreetly in the background. Musically, “Apnoea” scratches the mainstream a little. Still remains a catchy rock number with lots of banging riffs. And band boss Tony Tomasicchio contributes some growls here. And towards the end you can hear cellist Luca Basile. At “Invisible World” the trend towards incorporating industrial sounds continues. But these are used with care. The extremely melodic vocals are often accompanied by orchestrations. “Believe” is very reminiscent of pop songs, thanks to the electronic processing of the vocal part and the catchy melody. The flute that can be heard in “Kore” also brings medieval folk elements to the album. “Reborn” is then the obligatory (power) ballad of the album. At first the vocals are only accompanied by cello and drums, before guitars and bass join in powerfully. The musicians from southern Italy chose the instrumental “Day One” as a bouncer. Here, all possibilities of modern technology are explored again. So, it’s more of an outro than a regular song.
Listening to “Invisible World” several times confirms my impression that I had already won live. Elegy of Madness are not a typical symphonic metal band. No big bombast, hardly excessive symphonic epic, no overly long songs. None of the songs are longer than four and a half minutes. So most of them are also suitable for Airplay. And varied. Symphonic metal has been said to be dead many times, but the Italians manage to set many new impulses in this genre.
Elegy Of Madness – Egodemon: https://youtu.be/gLrVLqrMyRs
Lineup:
Anja Irullo – Vocals
Tony Tomasicchio – Guitar, Growls, Sequencer
Marco Monno – Guitar
Luca Basile – Cello, Orchestra
Larry Ozen Amati – Bass
Francesco Paolo Caputo – Drums
Label: Pride & Joy Music
Out: January 24th, 2020
Playing time: 43:01
Track list:
- Egodemon
- Es
- Apnoea
- Invisible World
- Believe
- Aegis Of Light
- Kore
- Fil Rouge
- Reborn
- The Rise Of Sirius
- Day One
Rating : 8.5/10
MHF Magazine/Rainer Kerber
