Independent Release
Review by Tony Cannella
The melodic Gothic Metal band Vespera was formed in 2005 and released their first demo in 2007. Now this band from Romania has just released their debut album titled “Desert of the Real”. The 2-minute intro “Overture (Cupid’s Birth)” opens the 43-minute which leads us into the Gothic Metal bliss of “Mary of Bethany”. This is a great melodic tune with an instantly memorable and likeable chorus that sticks in your head long after you’ve heard it for the first time. The duel male/female vocals provided by Dorin Panduru (he also plays guitar) and Teodora Barla are very well done and one of my favorite parts of “Desert of the Real”. Dorin’s vocals are pretty clear sounding, whilst Teodora has almost a Cristina Scabbia thing going with her style. The next track “Fame” is highlighted by its heavy stop/start guitar riffing and a cool main riff that permeates the entire song. This track turned out to be one of my favorites. “Behind My Smile” is next and has a dreamy vibe which sees Teodora taking the lead for the majority of the song. The vocals are split pretty evenly throughout the album. Other highlights includes: “Close to Madness”, “Point in the Circle” and the final number “Afterglow”. On “Desert of the Real”, Vespera delivers a pretty cool debut with both Gothic and Electronic influences present. There is undoubtedly a lot of potential to be heard within the walls of this debut, which I am sure will be delivered upon on future releases.
Rating – 78/100
Tracklist
- Overture (Cupid’s Birth)
- Mary of Bethany
- Fame
- Behind My Smile
- Close to Madness
- Through the Neon Lights
- Desert of the Real
- Your Weakness
- NDE
- Point in the Circle
- Afterglow
Line Up
- Teodora Barla – Vocals
- Dorin Panduru – Vocals & guitar
- Andrei Calbajos – Keyboards, synth & samples
- Vlad-Ioan Popovici – Bass
- Razvan Moca – Drums
Links