Independent Release/Ravenheart Records
Review by Tony Cannella
From Poland, Victorians – Aristocrats’ Symphony is their full name and their debut album is called “Revival”. Musically, they play symphonic metal and judging by some the pictures on their web site, they definitely offer a visual quality to their image. The image goes hand-in-hand with the music which is huge, orchestral, epic and theatrical.
The cinematic “Descent of Your Destiny” kicks things off as the song develop into a heavy, dramatic opener. Lead vocalist Eydis has a diverse voice as she goes from a clean singing style to an operatic delivery. The rest of the band are no slouches either, they are all musically proficient and add to the high quality of “Revival”. “In The End (Love Me Now)” has got definite potential to become a single/video. It has an accessible quality to it, without sounding too commercial. It is just an instantly memorable song and immediately became one of my favorites. “Voice of Eternal Love” has the same qualities as the previous song. One of the things that I loved about about Victorians is vocalist Eydis – while having the ability to sing operatically when she needs to – manages to keep that in check and basically stays within the framework of the music, whilst many singers sometimes get too enamored with the fact they can sing operatic, they sometimes go overboard. That is not the case Eydis, her vocals are perfect every step of the way. “Who Never Loved” is a huge symphony laced, dramatic song and another huge highlight. Next we have “Siren” which starts off with a slower tempo before speeding up and Eydis puts both of her styles on display – this also is my absolute favorite on “Revival” – it encompasses everything that is great about this band. If “Siren” is my favorite song, “Don’t Let Them Cut My Wings” is a very close second. The final two songs, “Juliet’s Tale” and the Vampire lyrically themed “Creed” are two excellent songs and a great way to end things.
Sometimes it can be a cool thing to add certain visuals to a bands image, but at the end of the day, it’s all about the music. Fortunately, the visuals do not detract from the music one bit. “Revival” can stand on its own musically and the songs on this debut are proof of that.
Rating – 90/100
Tracklist
- Descent of Your Destiny
- In the End (Love Me Now)
- Voice of Eternal Love
- Who Never Loved
- Siren
- Servants of Beauty
- Prince of Night
- Don’t Let Them Cut My Wings
- Juliet’s Tale
- Creed
Line Up
- Eydis – Vocals
- Utis – Guitars
- V. – Bass, double bass, orchestrations, programming
- Mr. Nice – Drums