SANCTUS IGNIS

Adagio's debut was a very promising album, filled with excellent musicianship, solid songwriting, and fairly good production. This album, along with the follow-up Underworld, are both excellent neo-classical progressive albums. Additionally, this album is the only one by Adagio that is completely devoid of death vocals (although Underworld had very, very few, and only on 2 songs).

The album starts strongly on Second Sight and flows very well. The classical influence is very prominent, yet not overwhelming and in fact perfectly mixed with the guitars, bass, and drums. Forte is a virtuoso-level guitarist, and his solos are both technical and captivating. However, Richard Andersson, while good as a keyboardist, does not provide the same experience as Kevin Codfert who would later replace him and be featured on all prior Adagio albums.

The album, overall, is a strong mix of classical music and metal. Forte composed all of the songs, and he did an excellent job.

Highlights: Inner Road, In Nomine, and above all Stringless Violin

Overall: 4.5