Independent Release
Review By Tony Cannella
Introducing Russia’s Emerald Mind. On their 9-song 48-minute debut titled “Tales of Soveena”, you get a solid slice of Symphonic Power Metal that is full of elite musicianship and the wailing operatic vocals of Svetlana Vysotskaya, which are really quite impressive. Although Svetlana is the front person and her vocals help to carry “Tales of Soveena” you can not discount the contributions of the other musicians in Emerald Mind – they are all well accounted for to help give “Tales of Soveena” a complete feel. The opening track “The Ripper” gets things off and running in a big way and is a definite highlight. From there the band are only getting warmed up as you can hear on the following tracks “The Flying Dutchman”, “Winter” and “This Dying World”. Among the strong material present here, I would have to say that my favorite track is the 9-minute album closer “Lyric of My Soul”. Just a great epic number that features various tempo changes and the stellar musicianship that makes “Tales of Soveena” such an enjoyable and interesting listen. Overall, I would say that Emerald Mind have acquitted themselves quite well on their debut. Svetlana Vysotskaya could be one of the bright new stars to emerge from the Symphonic Power Metal world in 2010, but it is the cohesion and chemistry of the band that help to make “Tales of Soveena” such a good release. If you are missing the Tarja era Nightwish or if you just want to hear some great music than you should turn your attention to this great new Russian band.
Rating – 85/100
Tracklist
- The Ripper
- The Flying Dutchman
- Winter
- Gothmog
- This Dying World
- Sweet Poison
- Breathless Kiss
- Revenge of Princess Olga
- Lyric of My Soul
Line Up
- Svetlana Vysotskaya – Vocals
- Alexei Vaulin – Guitar
- Dmitry Trofimenko – Keyboard
- Alexander “Legion” Poltorak – Bass
- Vyacheslav Oleinik – Drums
Links