EMBRACE THE STORM

4.5 stars. This record reminded me of both "Nighttime Birds" and "Mandylion" by THE GATHERING, only this is better. Anneke and Marcela are my two favourite female vocalists, and I think what makes this record by STREAM OF PASSION stand above the two THE GATHERING records ( for me anyway) is the intense, powerful playing of all the musicians.Three guitarists will do that, especially a bass player who plays such a throbbing in your face bass line on most of the songs. I laughed when I saw written on the liner notes "no synths", i'm sure a reference to when QUEEN did the same thing on their record many years ago. The point being this is hard, raw rock and roll.

The record starts off with "Spellbound", opening with a cool drum intro, accompanied with piano.Then the beautiful, spellbinding vocals of Marcela greet our ears for the first time on this album. This is an intense and powerful song. "Passion" may be my favourite on this album, a heavy tune with crushing riffs and beautiful vocals, reminding me of the "Nighttime Birds" record . "Deceiver" features a deep rumbling bass line, giving a dark, ominous feel to the song. Powerful riffs, piano and violin each play their part in this standout track.

"Haunted' is an emotional, powerful song. Again the bass is throbbing away as a guitar solo tries to play over top of it, later the drums and bass create an intense undercurrent of sound. "Where Ever You Are" is another reminder for me of Anneke's vocals. As Marcela sings gently her vocals are crushed by an uncomprimising riff. Again killer bass playing and a scorching guitar solo. More great guitar solos on "Open Your Eyes", an emotional, uplifting tune, contrasting the heavy and light sounds. "Embrace The Storm" is a catchy song with Marcela's angelic vocals and incredible guitar melodies. "Nostalgia" is sung in Spanish and features a cello solo, this song is beautiful. The final song "Calliopeia" features piano, violin melodies, thunderous bass lines and some more scorching guitar.It's all good!

To sum it up, this is a great combination of beautiful vocals and powerful, heavy instrumental music.