Label : Underground Symphony
Review by Tony Cannella
The veteran Italian Melodic power metal band Skylark returns with their ninth album. It is hard to believe that this band has been around this long, but since their inception Skylark has maintained a certain level of consistency that their fan base has come to love. Skylark also returns with a new singer. She is an American named Ashley Watson and she makes her debut on their new album “Twilights of Sand”. Skylark is primarily known for their conceptual “Divine Gates Trilogy”, and “Twilights of Sand” has some of the same traits that “Divine Gates” had. The new lead vocalist Ashley Watson fits in quite well with the rest of the band. She’s got a likeable voice and she would not sound out of place singing in a pop band, but she also handles the heavier material quite well. In addition to Ashley, there are also a number of male vocalists who takes part as well as some other female vocalists – it really would have been helpful to have a bio sheet, because it is hard to decipher who sings what but I am pretty sure Ashley Watson handles the bulk of the female vocals. The intro track “The Tears of Jupiter” kicks things off and leads us into “The Princess and Belzebú”. This is an ok song, but I am not sure if I like the male vocals here. The female vocals are good but the male seems a bit out of place. Other than that it is a pretty up-tempo song. “She” is next and has a pounding classic power metal vibe. The next track “Love Song” is really not a love song (in fact the chorus says “This is not a love song”) and it has a really fast tempo to it and is one of my favorites. There is some other pretty cool material on here like “Tears”, “Lions Are the World” and “The Wings of the Typhoon”. Another one of my favorites instantly became “Aitakatta” I have no idea what the title means, but it is such a departure from the rest of the album. It has a fast up-tempo, bouncy and happy vibe to it. The epic 10-minute track “Little Girl” concludes this album which clocks in at almost 80-minutes. “Little Girl” features the best of the male vocals on this album in my opinion and has a classic rock feel to it. The limited edition comes with a bonus CD featuring alternative, unreleased and different takes on some of the material. Skylark has already become a hit in Japan. Let’s hope that the rest of the world will give this band a chance too.
Rating – 78/100
Tracklist
Disc 1
- The Tears of Jupiter
- The Princess and Belzebú
- She
- Love Song
- Tears
- Lions Are The World
- The Wings of the Typhoon
- Sands of Time
- Mystery of the Night
- Road to Heaven
- Believe in Love
- Aitakatta
- Follow Your Dreams
- Eyes
- Little Girl
Disc 2 (Limited Edition)
- Aitakatta (2nd Version)
- Follow Your Dreams (Female Voice Version)
- Time (Remastered Version)
- Faded Fantasy (Remastered Version)
- Symbol of Freedom (Featuring David DeFeis)
- Follow Your Dreams (Male Voice Version)
- Song for a Day
- Aitakatta (Karaoke Version)
- Sands of Time (Demo Version)
- Symbol of Freedom (2nd Version)
- Night of Pain (Featuring Fabio Dozzo)
- Eyes (Video Version)
Line Up
- Ashley Watson – Vocals
- Fabrizio Romani – Guitars
- Eddy Antonini – Keyboards
- Roberto Potenti – Bass
- Federico Ria – Drums
Links