When I want to find this CD, I know exactly where to find it; in my five disc, CD player. While other CDs in my player have come and gone, Lunatica has occupied the coveted number one disc position for at least two months.
Honestly, there isn't anything particularly outstanding about this Swiss Symphonic, Femme Metal sextet or there music for that matter. Their attraction, for me at least, seems to be that their music is just so pleasant to listen too. In fact the opening song, "The search goes on," bears a remarkable resemblance to the opening theme song from The Fellowship of the Rings and the last song, "A little moment of desperation" reminds me of Blackmore's Night's "Fires at Midnight."
I'm not accusing Lunatica of plagiarism. I'm sure at least the melody for "Fire at Midnight" and probably the theme from The Fellowship of the Rings has been floating around Europe for hundreds of years. What I am accusing Lunatica of is poor judgment in their choice for a band name. Maybe it means something else in whichever of the three languages they speak in Switzerland but still the lyrics are in English so you'd think they'd come up with a catchy name that didn't make them sound like a group of lunatics. Seriously, with the name Lunatica, wouldn't you suspect it was a Death Metal Band. Well, they could,'t be farther from Death Metal.
Speaking of Blackmore's Night, Lunitica's excellent lead singer, Andrea sounds a little like Blackmore's Night, his wife, Candice Night that is. If you have heard Candice, you know that is a big plus. Another big plus is these guys sound an awful lot like Nightwish, sans Tarja, which happens to be the way Nightwish is now. Honestly, I'm not particularly sorry to see Tarja go. Her vocals were a tad too stiff and formal, too operatic for me.
Conclusion
As I mentioned, Lunatica's music is similar to Nightwish. It's also a lot like Visions of Atlantis, who I've compared to Nightwish. Coincidently Lunatica's debut album was simply titled Atlantis and this follow-up is a concept album of the continuing story of, you guessed it - Atlantis. I guess Atlantis is big in this genre.
Now if you're wondering, other than comparisons to other bands what Lunatica sounds like, I will try to tell you. The music is highly melodic and structured. It's hard to tell in this day and age of layering but many of the songs if not all are backed by an orchestra. The leadoff song, "The search goes on"starts with one of the male band members reciting a dialogue, telling the story while an orchestral intro continues in the background which morphs into a grandiose finish leading into an uptempo version of the same melody, "Avalon"with Andrea at the mic.
All the songs except track one and track four are up tempo rock sounding. Track four, the title track is a ballad that was released in Europe as a single. Track six, "The Spell" is a little different because one of the men in the band keeps repeating - "I can't stop now, I'm losing my brain," while a dog barks. It's similar to what Evanescence and Lacuna Coil have done, Nightwish too, come to think of it but it's just different enough to be cute. The last track, while still a rock number, has a medieval folk feel to it. If Fables and Dreams has a weakness, it's that the recording is fairly homogenous. There isn't a lot of variety. Obviously, it doesn't bother me because it's still in my CD player but it would have been nice to have more variety. Best songs: "The Spell" and "Silent Scream." Final rating 4 ½ stars
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I love this album! I was hooked on it starting with the first song, which is a symphonic intro to the rest of the album. Andrea, the lead singer, sings the rest of the songs and her voice is gorgeous. On "The Spell" she gets vocal support from one of her band members. No grunts on this album. The music great, too, the way symphonic metal should be.
My favorites on this album are "Avalon", "Still Believe", and "A Little Moment of Desperation". Heck, I like them all, lol! I can't wait to get more from this band!! For a debut this is pristine! I would advise you to buy it.
This album didn't have all that much going for it, other than it sounds quite a bit like other bands with stronger songwriting.
It'd be quite a bit better with a different tone on the guitars, synth, however. Sounds kind of cheap to me.
Still, catchy for being fairly typical of the genre.
This band bears a striking resemblance to Nightwish as most people have pointed out, though at times Nightwish get a faster more aggressive sound going. I think that singer Andrea has a haunting angelic voice which is the strongest point of the band. The songs are mid tempo melodic metal with a touch of symphonic via the keyboardist Alex. It was mixed and mastered by well known producer Sascha Paeth so you can be assured the quality of the recording sounds great. I could've done with a little more aggression to the music, hence the 4 star rating, but it makes for a pleasant listen for the band is very tight and Andrea's vocals are enchanting. I would recommend this if you like bands in the vein of Nightwish.
This band bears a striking resemblance to Nightwish as most people have pointed out, though at times Nightwish get a faster more aggressive sound going. I think that singer Andrea has a haunting angelic voice which is the strongest point of the band. The songs are mid tempo melodic metal with a touch of symphonic via the keyboardist Alex. It was mixed and mastered by well known producer Sascha Paeth so you can be assured the quality of the recording sounds great. I could've done with a little more aggression to the music, hence the 4 star rating, but it makes for a pleasant listen for the band is very tight and Andrea's vocals are enchanting. I would recommend this if you like bands in the vein of Nightwish.
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