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Voices Of Destiny

From The Ashes

Written by: PP on 03/03/2010 00:52:57

On paper, Voices Of Destiny blend in with the hundreds (or thousands) of identikit gothic metal bands: they're from Germany, they have an operatic female singer fronting the group, they have dramatic, epic soundscapes, and a few growls contrasting here and there. I'll forgive you for rolling your eyes, but this bunch is actually quite a bit more interesting than is the norm from the genre. "From The Ashes" is just their debut album, but by the time you reach the end of it, you'll also be forgiven for thinking that they must be seasoned veterans of the genre, for so professional and well developed is their sound at such an early stage of their career.

With Meike Holzmann's sky high angelic vocals at the front, the band's symphonic metal will at first instance remind you very much of "Century Child" era Nightwish, Epica, and perhaps also Edenbridge as the promo sheet suggests. The guitars consist solely of huge, ballsy riffs to add a power metal base to their sound, which is contrasted nicely by the symphonic orchestral bits bringing every bit of the words grandiose and epic into the band's sound. Similar contrast can be found in the occasional melodeath growls and the supreme vocals of Holzmann, who has to be one of the best, most charismatic gothic metal vocalists I've heard in a while. Her range is breathtaking at times; her silky voice sounds like a classically trained opera singer at times, but she has no problem in descending to stronger clean singing either. When you couple that with good, varied instrumentation, you've suddenly got a gothic album that doesn't sound tired and cliché. Well that's a first from a German band in the genre, what do you know?

But it's not all bombastic symphonic power metal. "Icecold", for instance, starts off with a piano driven soft intro, before the symphonies make the listener feel like he's standing in the midst of a Lord Of The Rings battle scene. Similar lulls amid the storm can be found scattered all over the album, especially when the keyboards are left to the background, and it's contrasting moments like these that make "From The Ashes" such a rewarding listen. It's a very good debut album, and if you're into gothic / femme metal, these guys belong to the absolute elite already on their debut album, so don't miss out.

Download: Ray Of Hope, Return From The Ashes, Icecold
For the fans of: Nightwish, Epica, Edenbridge
Listen: Myspace

Release date 26.02.2010
Massacre Records