Band:	Eternal Idol
Album:	Renaissance
Style:	Heavy metal, Power metal, Progressive metal, Symphonic metal
Release date:	November 2020

01. Into The Darkness
02. Black Star
03. Dark Eclipse
04. Without Fear
05. Away From Heaven
06. Not The Same
07. The Edge
08. Flying Over You
09. Lord Without Soul
10. Renaissance

After the 2016 debut The Unrevealed Secret, Eternal Idol is back with their newest effort Renaissance. The literal translation of that title is "Rebirth". A fitting title because the band has gone through some changes.

The most notable change is the line-up. Due to some internal tensions, drummer Camillo Colleluori and singer Giorgia Colleluori left the band; Enrico Fabris and Claudia Layline replace them in the new line-up. Since this was the first time I heard of the band, I decided to check out some of the songs from their debut. That way I could get an idea of what kind of impact these changes had.

The biggest change are the vocals. Giorgia Colleluori's rock vocals are now replaced with more operatic vocals: a change that works rather well in my opinion. It allows for a nice contrast between the power vocals of Fabio Lione and the more operatic style of Claudia Layline. The latter often reminded me of Christianna (Elysion) when she wasn't using her operatic vocals. The chemistry between Fabio and Claudia is one of the best aspects of this album and adds a lot to the enjoyability.

The instrumental portion of this album is just like the previous record: a mixture of power metal with symphonic elements. These symphonic elements aren't exactly as complex as they are in some other releases that use them. However, it's clear that Eternal Idol knew exactly what they were going for, because they are used very effectively. They help to add some extra catchiness to Renaissance, and that's probably (together with the vocals) the main strength of this album.

In terms of production, there really isn't much to talk about. It's solid, a typical power metal production where the symphonic touches get a prominent place in the mix. Production on the vocals is crystal clear as well. Just like the production, the lyrics are solid. They are pretty much what you'd expect on a power metal record: a bit of cheese here and there, but all in all they're fine.

I found the album fun to listen to. Sure, it isn't the most original in terms of ideas, but it's well thought out, simple and effective in its execution. It's catchy and the songs are memorable enough to keep them distinguished from each other pretty easily. It just works. For the most part? Towards the middle (after track 4), Renaissance runs a bit out of steam, and some of those tracks tend to sound less unique. However, the last 3 songs manage to grab the attention again.

All in all, I've had a good time while listening to this album, and from what I've heard from the previous record, I feel like this is a step up. And a lot of that has to do with the chemistry in the vocals, as I mentioned earlier. It isn't going to set the world on fire, but it's a well-made record with some catchy songs, and it delivers for the most part on what it set out to do. I'd say it's definitely worth a listen; if you're a fan of the genre, you'll probably enjoy it.