Brutiful_ViXn
Reign In Metal
Zodiac :  Metal Reputation : 88
Join date : 2012-01-05
Location : Vacationing in Hell
 | |  Soul Of Steel – Journey To Infinity (2013) Album Review | |
Soul Of Steel – Journey To Infinity (2013)
Bakerteam Records -- Running Time 72:14
'Journey To Infinity' is the second album from Italian band Soul Of Steel and if you look at that combination and know your stuff then it will come as no surprise to learn that they operate in the Melodic/Progressive/Symphonic and Power Metal genres! Soul Of Steel follows in the footsteps of bands such as Labyrinth, Vision Divine and to a lesser extent Rhapsody/Rhapsody Of Fire. There are also some small references to the more traditional Prog Rock genre as well. Musically ‘Journey To Infinity’ is pretty much on the money in all respects. Everything you would expect of an album like this is present and correct. Guitarists ‘Nicola Caroli’ and ‘Valerio De Rosa’ riff and solo with some real talent and also provide some very good passages on the ballads, Keyboardist ‘Daniele Simeone’ makes sure everything sounds grandiose and duals with the guitars when needed, drummer ‘Lorenzo Chiafele’ thunders along nicely whilst playing the relevant amount of double kick and bassist ‘Domenico Santagada’ holds everything together with some nice powerful rhythm lines. So far so good!
Unfortunately there is a problem and that is with the vocals of ‘Gianni Valente’. Now he is NOT a bad singer, but he doesn’t really seem to have the correct voice for this sort of metal and it can come across as quite bland and thin at times. During the quieter sections and ballads his voice can work pretty well, although it is still not immune to a bit of weakness, however, during the more powerful songs it really does sound a little out of place and has lessened what could have been a great album. If Tony Kakko (Sonata Arctica), Damian Wilson (Threshold) or Tommy Karevik (Kamelot) were singing then ‘Journey To Infinity’ would sound a hundred times better. It’s not all bad though and Soul Of Steel do enough with songs such as ‘Shadows Of The Past’, ‘Secret Words’ and ‘Through The Gates Of Heaven’ to actually come up with something of a signature sound. Two songs do stand out though, and these are the ones with special guest appearances! Firstly ‘Eternal Life’ which features the fantastic keyboard skills of ‘Alessio Lucatti’ (Vision Divine) and final song, the awesome acoustic version of ‘Last Desire’ with features ‘Roberto Tiranti’ (lead singer of Labyrinth). It’s a shame that these two songs are the best with Tiranti’s singing further exposing the inadequacies of Valente but this is still a very solid album within the genre and well worth a listen.
I would also like to mention the fabulous production from ‘Olaf Thorsen’ (Labyrinth, Vision Divine), mix and mastering by Simone Mularoni (DGM) and stunning artwork from Nerve Design (Threshold, Eldritch) which captures perfectly the story behind the album.
http://www.soulofsteelband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/soulofsteelband
http://www.bakerteamrecords.com/index.php
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bakerteam-Records/151232588302442
Review written exclusively for Brutiful Entertainment by Rick Tilley: https://www.facebook.com/richard.tilley.351
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