ANTALGIA - Twisted Dreams Of Dark Commander
Neither band name nor album title want to stick with me, but that shouldn’t discourage you. Twisted Dreams Of Dark Commander, the second album by Spanish female fronted symphonic metal band Antalgia, has really a lot to offer.
Four years ago, the debut album Perception Of Reality came out. Although I am not familiar with the predecessor, I can imagine that the band must have quite evolved since then. The music’s foundation is classic symphonic metal, but there is much more to it than that. The songs are between five and eight minutes long, and the concluding The Enemy Inside even makes it to exactly ten minutes, giving the musicians ample room to indulge themselves. The progressive touch plays an important role, and the band puts a lot of emphasis on their pace and mood changes as well as fast riffs that are sometimes hard to follow. Quieter moments are also a part of the repertoire, allowing the musicians and the listeners some moments of respite.
One of the album’s highlights is definitely Absinthe In Paradise which sounds as weird as its title promises. This track, which evolves into a downright anthem towards the end, comes with powerful riffs that gives it a certain thrash metal flair. Next to the excellent songwriting, front woman Bella Dianez is another asset of the band. The vocalist is bursting with energy and masters screams and clean singing alike. I only had to withdraw one point because of The Seventh Day where the band sounds too gloomy and is also overdoing it with the pathos. Apart from this one setback, the album offers over an hour of first class symphonic metal.
It’s hard to believe how much talent, vocal power and heart’s blood have been put into the second album of the Spaniards. This band is unafraid of adventures and has more ideas in a single song than other bands on an entire album. So far Diabulus In Musica are Spain’s most popular female fronted metal band, but when you listen to Antalgia, it’s only a question of time before that changes. I dare say that Twisted Dreams Of Dark Commander is one of the best albums of the year.