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Lion Music
by Craig Hartranft, 09.13.2012
French metal band Venturia returns with their third album, Dawn of a New Era, which could refer to their becoming a four piece act. Vocalist Marc Ferreira has been gone since 2009, with founder and guitarist Charly Sahona taking over to compliment Lydie Lazulli's leads.
Musically, however, this album could have been called Hybrid II, though it has a more commercial melodic metal feel than progressive metal. Venturia continues to pump in the sequences and synths, familiar to the previous work. Secret Dream, A New Dawn Rising, What We're Here For, and What If are all examples of Venturia mixing metal with a groove equally suitable for a European rave session or a heavy metal arena.
If it weren't for the inherent metal heaviness that informs most songs, or the same complimenting the closest thing to prog on A Land of Dreams or Devil in Disguise, I couldn't say what direction Venturia is heading. Frankly, I like the 'A Land of Dreams' side over the industrial discotheque side of What We're Here For. Nevertheless, Dawn of a New Era does present some entertaining challenges and deserves your attention.
Dawn of a New Era could be called Hybrid II, but Venturia seems to be after a more commerical melodic pop metal with only slight references to prog.
Formed in 1999 by singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Erik Martensson, Sweden's Eclipse is well into their third decade of making music. In the recent past, their recordings and reputation have ... [ Read More ]