Metalwings
For All Beyond

This Bulgarian band seems to be flying on metal wings a band that has managed to draw over 12 million views for their son Crying of the Sun. That is quite an achievement I suppose, they have put together their first album some time ago now and it has been quite well received according to the press material. I have been listening to this album now as well, it is called For All Beyond and it features an artwork that doesn’t quite impress. Classically trained vocalist Stela formed the band back in 2010 so they have certainly taken the time to release their first album.

They make music in the symphonic/gothic metal with female operatic vocals and things like that. The vocals are good. The album has a decent variation of songs, but the tempo is often quite low so the album doesn’t give the impression of being varied. The sound is also good but they don’t really offer anything that we haven’t heard before and it isn’t as grand as Nightwish, as captivating as Within Temptation, as impressive as After Forever or Epica, and we can add many other bands to the list to whom they don’t quite measure up. They do what they do well but their album lacks depth and it is a bit long – it sounds lovely though.

I would describe this album as quite good, quite likeable. The songs are good but none of them stand out and that is the thing about this album, it is really well-produced and all but sounds quite bland. Good and relaxing to listen to but not captivating and not exciting – that is how I see this album after having played through it about a dozen times. Perhaps it will be more impressive to those more into the gothic or symphonic stuff than it is to myself, or perhaps I have just heard too many albums and written about too many to be excited about one more symphonic album that offers nothing that hasn’t already been done a lot better by many other bands and on many other albums.

But lets not dismiss this album just because it doesn’t offer anything fresh or exciting, it is still a relaxing and fairly enjoyable album to listen to. And it is a strong debut that promises a lot, if the band find a slightly more dynamic sound and dare to think a little outside the box they will be flying very high on their metal wings in the near future. But until they take flight you can always relax and lull yourself to rest by listening to this album, an album that might be worth checking out if you like the gothic or symphonic female fronted metal.

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