OPERA

Gentle piano, with lovely use of the sustain pedal, leads us delicately into the clear soprano of Veronica Bordacchini as she commences the journey which could easily be the opening of an opera. Strings come in, and we sit back, relax, and bask in her wonderful vocals, so much so that when she hits the high notes and demonstrates her training we reach over and turn it up just a little more, so the music becomes all encompassing. It may be only just over two minutes long, but it is transformative, and then there is a slight gap, and the choir are back with Francesco Paoli singing the words "I Can Never Die", which leads us into the 10-act story inspired by the tragic mountain climbing accident which nearly killed him in 2021.

I actually think this album is a step up from the last two, which is not something I thought could happen as they have mixed the symphonic death with styles which are more classical and one can imagine fans of Nightwish or Epica enjoying how those bands have been joined together with Dimmu Borgir, and then influences from the likes of George Frideric Handel and Richard Wagner have combined to create something which musically is huge. A massive credit must go to Grammy-nominated producer Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Epica, Arch Enemy) who mixed and mastered this as he has managed to make the quiet sections just that, while the massively over the top joining together of choirs, death growls and metal is insane. It feels like the listener is in the eye of the hurricane with the maelstrom going on all around, sheer chaos yet there is also order and continuity as while we do not comprehend what is happening there is a clear direction with loads of contrast.

Francesco is often the lead, with the choir playing an important part, with Veronica coming in at just the right moments to cut through the carnage. All those involved have played a major part, but it would be very wrong indeed not to call out drummer Eugene Ryabchenko (Banisher, Afgrund) as he is everywhere at once with hands and feet driving this album forward by sheer force of will. It leaves the listener exhausted, such is its majesty and power, and the only way to really pay homage to a magnificent work is by playing it on headphones, and very loudly indeed. The class shines through this from beginning to end, and at 43 minutes is both perfect and way too short as when in the zone the return to the real world is somewhat jarring, so the only thing to do is play it again.