Label : Irond LTD
Review by Tony Cannella
Andem (Meaning Angel and Demon in English) is a really good band. I don’t mean to oversimplify things, and it is only my opinion, but this female fronted power metal outfit is one of the best bands to emerge from Russia. Formed in 2005 Andem has thus far released two full-length albums and now return after two years with their new 4-song EP, “Graal” (English translation “Grail”). Their new EP features two brand new songs and two re-recorded versions of older songs. Like their previous albums all the lyrics are sung in Russian, not that it matters any, good music is good music and metal is universal anyway. The opening track – and one of the new ones – “Graal” opens somewhat subdued, before the galloping rhythms kick in as the band runs through this piece of melodic power metal effortlessly as the clean, soaring vocals of Yuliana Savchenko leads the charge. The heavy melodic power of the second new song “Ti Uvidish Svet” is next and the band proves to be just as hungry as on the first one track. New power and life are injected into the final two songs, re-recorded versions of “Bezumnity Angel” and “Iz Nichego”. In my book Andem continues to grow and prosper into a truly potent power metal band. “Graal” is good for what it is – which is hopefully a bridge to their next full-length.
Rating – 92/100
Tracklist
- Graal (Grail)
- Ti Uvidish Svet (You Will See The Light)
- Bezumnity Angel (Out of Nothing)
- Iz Nichego (Mad Angel)
Line Up
- Yuliana Savchenko – Vocals
- Sergey Polunin – Guitars
- Natalia Ryzhko – Keyboards
- Andrey Karalynas – Bass
- Denis Zolotov – Drums
Links
MySpace * ReverbNation * Facebook * Twitter