By Jonny Bakes
After some pretty out-there curveballs in my recent reviews, it’s nice to get back well within my comfort zone with some good solid power metal. Anyone who knows me knows all too well that I have a massive soft spot for the genre, as it never fails to lift my spirits, so I’m quite happy to be getting stuck into the latest release from Italy’s From the Depth.
I’ve noticed in recent years that Italy has become a real power metal hot spot. I can only assume that there’s something in the water over there that is causing a surge of cheesy feel-good metal. Of the many Italian power metal bands I have come across, I must say that From the Depth are not one of them! So while this may be an all-important sophomore release for the band, it’s a first time experience for me – no pressure guys.
Keeping fans eagerly waiting since 2014s EP ‘Perseverance’, From the Depth have finally unleashed ‘Memories’, which serves as a series of accounts of personal events in the band members’ lives. It’s been a tumultuous few years for the band, which has probably driven this lengthy wait, but now the guys have found some solid ground with a stable line up and it’s time to get rocking. From the strength of this album, if this is the starting point for their stable line-up, then there’s a pretty good chance that we could see From the Depth rise out of obscurity and into the limelight.
This album immediately grabbed my attention with the way that it thunders out of the gate with the explosive ‘Immortal’. Now this is the kind of power metal I like to hear! There’s a slight hint of symphonic metal going on with the use of orchestral samples in the background but you might not notice that because you’re too busy being blown away by the high vocal range of Raffaele Albanese. Seriously, this guy has got a hell of a wail on him! I’d say he’s not too dissimilar to a young Rob Halford in his vocal ability, which is certainly not a bad similarity to have!
Like all good power metal albums, there’s some absolute anthemic belters on here, full of catchy riffs and choruses. The kind of anthems that are accompanied by galloping basslines and relentless double-bass beats. Then there’s some softer ballad-like numbers as well so that you don’t get all over excited! But I think a really important thing to note about ‘Memories’ is that it’s not overtly cheesy, which I know is often a factor that has been known to put people off from the genre altogether. That probably comes from the fact that this really comes across as a deeply personal album, as opposed to the stereotypical content of fire and dragons etc.
The standout tracks for me on this album have to be the polar opposites ‘Missed’ and ‘Hypnos’. ‘Missed’ is this bouncy number that’s full of energy to tell a passionate tale of loss that’s packing a hell of a guitar solo. Whereas ‘Hypnos’ entirely consists of a gentle piano and cello ballad that encourages you into a more sombre reflective state. That’s literally all this is though, it’s a gentle interlude in the middle of the album to break things up a little bit. It may only be short, but the stark contrast really made this stand out from the rest of the album.
All in all, this is a seriously good album and will certainly appeal to fans of Kamelot and just power metal in general really. My main hope is that From the Depth continue to produce albums of this calibre, because if they do they will be onto a real winner for sure! When the live circuit kicks off again, it’s well worth keeping an eye out for a potential tour from these guys, with any luck they’ll be able to grace the UK with their presence!
- ‘Moments’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
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