STARBORN, TOME I

"Starborn, Tome 1" is the debut full-length studio album by The Chronicles of Israfel. The album was released through Bridge of Hands Entertainment in 2007. The Chronicles of Israfel is a one-man project formed by Dominic Cifarelli. Dominic Cifarelli handles guitars, bass, vocals, samples and keyboards. He is helped out on the album by drummer Joey Bastone. The project was created in a turbulent period of Dominic Cifarelli´s life as his band Pulse Ultra was on the brink of splitting up. "Starborn, Tome 1" was born out the frustration of that situation.

"Starborn, Tome 1" is a sci-fi concept album and all tracks segue into each other to form one long concept listening experience. The album opens with a trio of instrumental tracks and I was beginning to wonder if this was an instrumental album, but "Burning Day" introduces pleasant and strong vocals (nice harmonies too). The music on the album is progressive metal. It´s mostly guitar and vocal driven but complimented by atmosphere enhancing keyboards. I think all elements succeed in bringing out the right atmosphere to compliment the sci-fi lyrics.

The sound production is of a relatively good quality, but a bit too compressed and digital sounding. The drums have an artificial sound that to my ears lacks a bit of power. The musicianship is generally strong. The drumming by Joey Bastone leaves a bit to be desired though and combined with the not so strong drum sound that part of the album is a slight weakness. Overall "Starborn, Tome 1" is still a pretty strong progressive metal album though and the few minor issues don´t overshadow that fact. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.