Magica - Hereafter review
| Band: | Magica |
| Album: | Hereafter |
| Style: | Symphonic power metal |
| Release date: | October 19, 2007 |
| A review by: | Jeff |
01. All Waters Have The Colour Of Drowning
02. Turn To Stone
03. Through Wine
04. No Matter What
05. Entangled
06. This Is Who I Am
07. Weight Of The World
08. Energy For The Gods
09. Shallow Grave
10. I Remember A Day
11. Into Silence
12. Endless [digipack bonus]
13. Vrajitoarea Cea Rea [digipack bonus]
Years after years, Magic from Romania is following its road! Their two first albums weren't really original and not so personal, it was just a "new" version of Nightwish but it seems that this time is coming to an end! "Hereafter" their new release is a lot more surprising and definitely better than the two previous releases of the combo, I can tell you that Magica is becoming a real leader of the genre so if you're a fan of this kind of Metal, you'll not have the right to miss this new album!
Magica still plays Power Metal but "Hereafter" is not so symphonic anymore and more melodic now. Despite the fact that we have a female singer it doesn't sound anymore like a simple copy of Nightwish but more like a classy album of Melodic Power Metal. Plus the really good keyboards lines played by Mr 6 Fingers and the great guitars soli of Bogdan even add a little Progressive touch to the music of Magica. It's not Dream Theater of course and it's still Power Metal but it's not so easy and commercial (well some songs like "Entangled" can be a bit like that but that's ok in general) and a lot more complex than in the past. If you don't understand what I mean, I'm just saying that Magic has finally found a real musical personality. Their Music is a lot deeper and personal and that's a great point for them!
So ok, it's maybe one other release with a female vocalist but Ana Mladinovici has improved her voice a lot (that's impressive) and this band just seems to be a bit more honest now. I'm not saying that this guys were just surfing on the wave of the Female Fronted bands trend, it was easy to see that Magica was a bit different but it wasn't enough. Right now, our guys and girl are a lot more convincing? no doubt that the time and experience helped a lot this combo.
Now that Magica is signed by the big AFM Records, now that their recording is really good and now that they wrote real original songs I'm sure that a new career will begin. Of course it's not the album of the year and it's probably not the best release of the genre (nothing will ever beat "Oceanborn" in my opinion?) but it's classy and really good. Don't miss this release if you like Metal bands with female singers because definitely "Hereafter" is highly recommended for you!
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 7 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written by Jeff | 26.11.2007
Comments
Comments: 6
Visited by: 58 users
| Bas Retired Staff Elite Posts: 5591  |
despite all the negative review i read everywhere about magica's second album, Lightseeker, i like it a lot, i'll give this one a listen as well of course i hope this album will be bursting with guitar and keyboard soli and duels as well =)
---- BAS - Beautifully Accented Sexiness
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| LeDruide Posts: 119  |
So the first two album were Nightwish copies ? Well, no. But of course all bands playing some melodic power with a female singer is a (bad) copy of Masters Nightwish -_- Anyway, the subject here is the third album. I see two main differences with the first two albums. First, the sound is now good. They finally have a good production, having AFM behind them. Sound of Lightseeker was bad, and was awful on The Scroll Of Stone. But now they have the possibility of doing almost whatever they want. Secondly, about the music itself. Though it's still melodic power metal, they play a much more heavier music. A second guitarist is now there (though not on the album line-up) and those two guitars plus the bass make a heavy part, countered by the vocals and keyboards. Last thing, the lyrics are also deeper indeed, we have here a concept album about the life after (not hard to guess with the title). In the end, a very good album, heavier though still melodic, much more mature and personnal.
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| Bararey Winter is Coming Elite Posts: 3139  |
funny, i never compared them to Nightwish, always thought they're different, like this band I like their first release the most, and the latest one sounds very promising, yeah i am adding it to my wishlist 
---- "Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, Rhaegar fought honorably. And Rhaegar died." Ser Jorah Mormont
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| Oracle Orcinus Posts: 1425  |
Ive got their Lightseeker album and it does have a bit of a Nightwish sound but i still like it. i would like their new album. it sounds like it will be better than the others. Ill also add it to my wishlist
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| nas22atani Posts: 3  |
Written by LeDruide on 26.11.2007 at 22:29 From what i know the album was recorded before signing with AFM.
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| Jason W. Razorbliss Staff Posts: 3523  |
I am often easy to please with female fronted bands, but this is just not working for me... The production is not nearly as high as you rate it, and in fact the mix is weak that it takes away from what may have been an enjoyable track. The keys are just mixed poorly, and the drums often sound unnatural. The vocals are okay, but nothing worth bragging about... I would love a few more power metal bands fronted by women, but this release just doesn't work for me in any way. Not even the videos could win me over  . A much better studio sound could at least have saved it for me on a basic level, though.
---- "After silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." - Aldous Huxley
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