Band:	Heavenly
Album:	Coming From The Sky
Style:	Power metal
Release date:	May 2000
A review by:	Dream Taster

01. Coming From The Sky
02. Carry Your Heart
03. Riding Through Hell
04. Time Machine
05. Number One
06. Our Only Chance
07. Fairytale
08. My Turn Will Come
09. Until I Die
10. Million Ways
11. Defender [bonus]
12. Promised Land [bonus]

Usually, when a promising Power metal band reaches the time to record their first full-length album they head toward Germany. The French combo Heavenly did the same in 2000 with the help of several experienced guys such as Piet Sielck [guitars, famous producer, also front man of Iron Savior], Kai Hansen [guitars, vocals, Gamma Ray, ex-Helloween and too many other projects!], Jan Eckert [bass, backing vocals, Iron Savior and Masterplan] and Thomas Nack [drums, also Iron Savior]. The band itself was then composed by Benjamin "Ben" Sotto [vocals], Maxence "Max" Pilo [drums], Laurent Jean [guitars] and Christophe "Chris" Savourey [keyboards]. The result of that cooperation is called "Coming From The Sky" and is overall an honest release.

The record starts with the title track, which is in fact an instrumental intro for song number two 'Carry Your Heart'. This one is very catchy at first, due to typical background vocals a la Freedom Call, and on the other hand the uniqueness of Ben's voice stands as a huge plus for the band. However, his voice is so peculiar that you either love or hate it. Now it's hard to deny that the best track on that album is 'Riding Through Hell', very epic song full of good guitar riffs and atmospheric keys.

On 'Time Machine', you can recognize Kai Hansen on vocals and, no surprise, this song sounds like it could be on a Gamma Ray album. Well, this is not really original but at least well done. 'Number One' tends to be more innovative and is truly one of the good songs on this album. The chorus is so weird that it took me some time to fully enjoy that song but after a while, it sounds awesome. 'Our Only Chance' is made of the same wood but is not evenly catchy.

'Fairytale' is a half-minute introduction to another big moment 'My Turn Will Come'. In the same powerful lyricism as 'Riding Through Hell', that track also features the best guitar solo of the entire album. 'Until I Die' is to my mind the weakest song on the album despite a very good guitar work. The vocals are too overwhelming for me, I guess. Maybe it's just the way the vocals are mixed or something. Anyway, 'Million Ways' sounds a lot better to me. There is even kind of a progressive part after two and an half minutes. But no worries, overall, Power metal reigns! That's another strong track on "Coming From The Sky".

'Defender' is another good one, unfortunately once again the vocals are too much for me. On the other hand, 'Promised Land' is a very nice conclusion to this album: lyric, epic, and magnificent. Ben Sotto at his best level is something to be heard, especially when the background vocals are finally what they are supposed to be, BACKGROUND vocals not "second lead" vocals.

To sum things up, Heavenly's first album is full of good intentions, they managed to record quality songs such as 'Riding Through Hell', 'My Turn Will Come' or 'Million Ways'. Their work is clocking just over the hour in 12 tracks and 10 "real" songs, which shows that they were eager to record their material. You can definitely tell that the band had fun recording with the guests. "Coming From The Sky" is overall an honest Power metal album nevertheless the only problem is that the vocals can be sometimes too overwhelming to one's ear. It's nonetheless a remarkable debut album for Heavenly.