Emetropia – Equinox

Emetropia
Equinox
February 23, 2022
Playing time: 53:02

Emetropia hail from Linköping in Sweden. This country is known to be a stronghold of strong Epic Power Metal. Among others. Names like Sabaton, Hammerfall, Astral Doors, Therion and Civil War speak for themselves. Emetropia have dedicated themselves to Symphonic Power Metal. The band was founded in 2017 and the EP “Procession Of The Kings” was released one year later. The band played at Rockfest in Belgium and shared the stage with Bloodbound and Crossing Eternity. With the Covid-19 pandemic making live performances impossible or difficult for years, the musicians took the chance to work on their album debut. Three songs from this album were released as singles and thus gave a foretaste of “Equinox”.

One thing in advance, four of the songs are no longer completely new and come from the first EP from 2018. However, since the full story of the EP is to be told here, they were re-recorded for the album. So were the first two songs “Seasonal Warfare” and “A Summer Breeze”. Lisa Wallenberg sings with a bell-clear soprano. Musically, one feels reminded of early Epica.Unfortunately, the individual instruments are recorded a bit woolly.  Only drums and keys stand out a bit. But there are impressive guitar solos. In “A Summer Breeze” there are also discreetly used growls, but without pushing the interplay of ” The Beauty and the Beast” into the foreground. Lisa is clearly the boss on the microphone. You can always tell that Emetropia are trying to learn from the great ones of their genre. For example, Edenbridge quotes can be heard on “Lord Of The Blizzards”. Although Sabine Edelsbacher sings in a completely different league. “The First Leaf Falls” starts with e-piano. The ballad-like introduction is a bit out of the ordinary at first. Later, however, you hear stomping Symphonic Metal, in the midtempo range. In “Fall’s First Storm” the musicians try to combine the progressive approach of Epica with Nightwish bombast. Not uplifting, but probably a bit better than the Finns did on their last albums. Emetropia should avoid such experiments in the future. “The Old Gods” and “Procession of the Kings” are not bad, but a bit too simple and predictable. Typical Scandinavian Symphonic Metal. But then there is the eleven-minute Epic “His Final Endeavor” at the end. Here, once again, there’s no spilling the beans. Calm, fast rocking, hectic and epic passages alternate with each other. This progressive orientation is once again reminiscent of Epica. 

With “Equinox”, the Swedes have made a good debut. Certainly, Emetropia are not yet up to their great idols. But the sound of the album can definitely be built upon. If the musicians can commit themselves to one musical style, it should be possible to take big steps towards the Symphonic Metal Olympus. In my opinion, the band has the potential to do so.

Emetropia – The First Leaf Falls (Official Lyric Video): https://youtu.be/CRYRpu8pF2g

Lineup:

Lisa Wallenberg – Lead Vocals, Lyrics
Liam Strand – Songwriting, Keyboards, Orchestras, Vocals
Olle Renius – Lead Guitars, Backing Vocals
Jonatan Jakobsson – Rhythm Guitars, Backing Vocals
Oscar Heikkinen – Drums
Kristoffer “Bobo” Pynnönen – Bass

Track list:

• Seasonal Warfare (Re-recording 2021)
• A Summer Breeze (Re-recording 2021)
• That Fateful Night
• Lord of the Blizzards (Re-recording 2021)
• The First Leaf Falls
• Fall’s First Storm
• The Old Gods
• Procession of the Kings (Re-recording 2021)
• His Final Endeavour