Mythodea - Mythodea review

Mythodea - S/t (Digital Release) 

Far beyond the pleasure of completing a work of art, a relief dominates above all. Its the relief that something worth listening reach its final destination: the audience. The release of the Mythodea , an inspirational work from guitarist Christos Nikolaou is finally out, featuring classy musicians such as Vitalij Kuprij, Mistheria on keyboards, bassist Steve DiGiorgio, Charlie Zeleny on drums and John West on vocals.

Christos worked under no time pressure and the symphonic Power Metal identity with quite a few Prog elements reached a top level. Wonderful and catchy melodies on guitars and keyboards, fine vocals lines that John highlights with his own delicate expression force my to consider Mythodea  a must for all fans of the genre.

Combining professionalism with passionate expression, Mythodea is a debut that deserves attention. Including songs like “In My Soul”, the ballad “Nostalgia”, “Mnemosyne”, "Asia" and my favorite “Ultimate Pain”, this album is wonderful. I also believe that Mythodea must already be considered as a bright example of how Symphonic Power/Prog Metal should be performed. And this is a comment that deserves to be stated in this work.

Check the band’s page: http://www.reverbnation.com/mythodea The album is available in the most known digital music stores, like iTunes, Amazon and 7 digital. Link for amazon  and Link for iTunes 

Dimitris Starakis

OSV - Evening Sky CD review

OSV - Evening Sky CD (Independent Release)

One of the most underrated instrumental projects returns with a new CD and at the same time makes a reviewer’s life harder. How is that? It is so difficult for one to be precise when in need of transforming his emotions into words, when the songs he listens can “speak” through notes. Drummer Gary Oppert and bassist Steve Sexton join again forces with guitarist Marcel Coenen and   Sergey Boykov and deliver us a wonderful album that I enjoy as much as their previous efforts.

“Evening Sky” includes 12 tunes, balancing on improvisational forms, while mixing guitar and keyboard leads from Coenen and Boykov. Since we all know how great guitarist Marcel is, I would like to stress again the great talent of Sergey Boykov. I think it is quite hard to find a keyboard player that can deliver strong melodies that play a strong role in a song, without just “filling” some gaps.  The listener can enjoy his important role in songs like “Presence Of Mind”, “Silent Ages” (maybe my favorite tune from the album!),  “Red Horizon” (what an opening riff!) and “Afterthoughts”. I must also add that Jonas Tamas delivers additional guitar parts on the song entitled “Valley Of Rephain”, another brilliant instrumental tune that OSV are always able to make us enjoy. 

I know that it is hard for an instrumental band to produce a constant surplus of musical enjoyment, but OSV have the Midas touch! Another highly recommended instrumental album full of creativity and musical brilliance! For further details on how to order their new and previous efforts, visit cdBaby. Band's Facebook page
Dimitris Starakis