Elegy of Madness – “The Bridge of Sights” (2009)

Label : Sweet Poison Records

Review By Tony Cannella

Elegy of Madness are a Gothic/Progressive/Symphonic Metal band from Italy. They are fronted by the operatic vocals of Anja Irullo but also boast a very talented group of musicians that can be heard on the bands debut “The Bridge of Sighs” which is available now via Sweet Poison.From the outset with the intro track “Prelude”, you know that you are in for something big and cinematic sounding. As “Prelude” segues into the opener “Elegy of Madness”, the band truly highlight their stellar musicianship and the opera style vocals of Anja Irullo are definitely a high point. “Elegy of Madness” is a great opener that does a fantastic job in showing off the individual players’ styles. An excellent opener that is worth hearing again and again. The next track “Voices” starts off at a slower pace and does it’s job in showing off the diversity of the band, it quickly develops into a mid-tempo number and the vocal range shown by Anja is perfect for the track. This song also shows off the bands progressive metal influences as well. The band speeds up the pace a bit for the next track “Threshold” and this quickly turns into another favorite of mine.The overall strength of the material is on full display on the next few tracks: “No Names”, “Another Path” and “Agony Part I”. Although the final track “Agony Part II: Sad Wind” is listed at over 10-minutes long, beware – it features the dreaded hidden track which is really just a beautiful piano outro which you can hear at about the 7-minute and 41-second mark of the track. A pretty cool way to end things. “The Bridge of Sighs” is a cool debut by this band from Italy. This should appeal to fans who love operatic female vocals mixed with talented musicianship. Elegy of Madness are a band who have a lot going for them and should have what it takes to break out of the crowded Symphonic Metal field. Among the 9-songs and 51-minutes worth of playing time, there are very few weakness and a ton of strengths on display for this fine young band.

Rating – 90/100

Tracklist

1. Prelude
2. Elegy of Madness
3. Voices
4. Threshold
5. No Names
6. Another Path
7. Agony Part I
8. Whispers
9. Agony Part II: Sad Wind

Line Up

• Anja Irullo – Vocals
• Tony Tomasicchio – Guitar
• Marcello Lombardi – Keyboards
• Alex Martina – Bass
• Roberto Raio – Drums

Links

MySpace * Facebook * Site