'Volurian' is an Italian formation born from the meeting of the singer 'Federica Lanna' who is the singer of the symphonic metal band 'Sleeping Romance' and who was invited by 'Georg Neuhauser' for the album 'Lionheart' by 'Serenity', and guitarist and keyboardist 'Federico Mondelli' who is also the composer and who is a member of the power metal band 'Frozen Crown'. After a promising first album in 2020 (see here), the Italians are releasing a second opus 'Red Dragon' inspired by the detective novel 'Dragon Rouge' by 'Thomas Harris' published in 1981. In an original style on the margins of traditional melodic and symphonic metal formations, they offer us 10 titles which mix different styles ranging from, pop to metal, all this being tinged with electronic sounds.
After the instrumental introduction 'Rebirth' with electro sounds which gently raises the mood, 'Stay' is one of the two energetic titles of the album with a marked rhythm, a catchy melody and, in this composition, 'Federica Lanna' sounds like 'Charlotte Wessels' (ex 'Delain'). The other energetic title is 'Freeze' in which the melodic lines make me think, this time, of the band 'Stream Of Passion' which stopped its adventure in 2016, 'Frederica Lanna' having some resemblance this time with 'Marcella Bovio'. The other titles, more measured, also show this resemblance to 'Stream Of Passion', starting with the very beautiful 'Harley' (see the video above) which presents beautiful alternations of intensity between verses and chorus, then, 'Empty World' (see video here) is closer to a melodic rock with modern keyboard sounds interspersed, here and there, by some saturated guitar riffs. We find this contemporary spirit with electro sounds and a 'rhythm machine' battery in 'Torn Asunder' which brings a pop side and moves away from metal, then, 'Burn It Up' brings us back to the atmospheres of 'Stream Of Passion' with a powerful mid-tempo with a marked rhythm. We find electronic sounds with 'Distant Caress' which highlights all the vocal talent 'Federica Lanna' which fits beautifully into the repetitive accompaniments and which flies over this title with its angelic singing still reminiscent of 'Marcella Bovio' in certain places, then, 'Bury Me' returns to more classic metal with a catchy melody and catchy rhythm, the album ending with the short instrumental 'Descent' à la 'Jean Michel Jarre', quite dispensable, which again highlights keyboards with electronic sounds.
In summary, the Italians of 'Volturian', led by an admirable singer who largely bears comparison with the gratin of singers of this style, offer us a resolutely modern metal mixing electro sounds with saturated guitar riffs that which makes them a very original group on the fringes of the traditional symphonic and melodic metal scene... | |
