Cypriots of 'Winter's Verge', created in 2003, are already releasing their 7th studio album and, on Spotify, only 'Tales of Tragedy' from 2010 and 'Beyond Vengeance' from 2012 are present. Tagged in Power metal, we cannot strictly limit them to this style because they bring symphonic components with, of course, very accessible melodies which distinguish them from formations of this style because they borrow as much from groups like 'Rhapsody Of Fire ' or 'Gloryhammer ' than to more symphonic artists like 'Visions of Atlantic ' or 'Serenity' or even to other formations like the Germans of 'Lord Of The Lost' or like the Russians from 'Imperial Age'.
Of course, in this style of music, the epic side is always very present with a story which is, either taken from legends or simply from the imagination of each formation and in this case, the Cypriots of 'Winter's Verge' continue to bring us tales of their mythological kingdom of 'Tiberon' and this time they tell us the story of 'James Tig' who lost his family at sea when he was young and who dreams of refinding, to take revenge, a sea monster named 'Killagorak' who would be responsible for the death of his entire family. So we embark on this adventure starting with the mid-tempo 'It Begins' which unrolls a memorable first melody with a beautiful vocal performance of 'George Charalambous' who goes from a deep voice to a much higher register in the more energetic parts, then, 'A Thousand Souls' is very catchy with an impetuous rhythm section in an epic atmosphere supported by a new melody that we immediately appropriate and 'Dead Reckoning' brings a marked symphonic side with beautiful vocal harmonies and remarkable alternations between powerful parts and others much quieter. With 'Timeless', the guest singer 'Teodora Stoyanova Freya' brings a feminine sweetness that goes perfectly with this magnificent ballad, then the short 'Killagorak', placed right in the middle of the album, prepares in a grandiose atmosphere filled with admirable choirs the rest of the story with first of all 'I Accept' which is an energetic symphonic composition with a beautiful central part, very calm breaking with the rest, then 'Blood on the Foam' continues in this powerful symphonic atmosphere, interspersed with a nice acoustic break and with a marked mid-tempo and a deep bass which adds fullness to this track. As for 'The Sea', it is undoubtedly the masterpiece of the album which mixes power, symphonic and progressive in 8 dense minutes in which 'George Charalambous' and 'Teodora Stoyanova Freya' with a lyrical register form a magnificent vocal duet (it is a very good idea to have integrated a female voice in this musical type) and which offers us a new heady melody that never leaves you and an alternation between power and serenity, the story ending in a quiet atmosphere with the eponymous title of the opus, a last beautiful ballad with folk accents brought by a violin.
In summary, this latest Cypriot album from 'Winter's Verge' is a great success and goes well beyond a simple power metal album, which should destine 'The Ballad of James Tig' to a public large enough for lovers of metal whether melodic, power or symphonic... | |
