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This one came totally
out of the blue!!! I wasn't
expecting a new Martiria album so
soon and to tell you the truth I also
had no idea that Andy and his party
were working on new material, not
until the day I received an e-mail
from him telling me that the new album
is on its way. So here I am with "The
age…" stuck in my cd player
and my mouth forming a big "O"
in surprise. What an amazing successor
to "The Eternal Soul"
this is!!! Martiria's second
delivery is beyond all of my expectations
and a must for fans of 80's
metal, especially in the vein of Warlord
and the like.
I don't really
know what the debut album sold or
what the reasons were that forced
Martiria to sign a new contract with
the well-known Italian label Underground
Symphony, but it was a smart move
if you ask me, for many reasons (I
hope Andy will be kind enough to offer
us an interview in the near future
and answer all that). Let me explain…
Underground Symphony is a famous heavy/power
metal label, with its arsenal full
of powerful and extremely dangerous
firearms in the past, such as Doomsword,
hence they will surely get bigger
promotion and attract more attention.
In addition, and I'm not really
sure whose idea was this, the band's
or the label's I mean, they
took extra care of some minor details.
For example, this time the cd comes
in a digi-pack case, with excellent
cover art and booklet. Now, this isn't
exactly the right criterion that leads
to a buy, but it unquestionably creates
a good first impression. After all,
one of the basics laws of marketing
says that the wrapper plays a vital
role on the buyer's final decision.
So far so good and
Martiria won the battle of impressions.
But you can't fool a metal mind
just with a wrapper. You may catch
his eye for a while in a music store,
but in our times, with the gargantuan
growth of file sharing, it's
very difficult to convince a potential
customer, even though I have the strong
belief that metal community still
remains romantic. Anyhow, it's
music that counts and it seems that
Andy Menario knows that, no doubt.
"The Age of the Return"
is a classic heavy metal album that
will satisfy every 80's fan
and especially those of Warlord. Neglecting
the modern wave of overloaded power
metal, full of insipid choral symphonies
and syrupy melodies, Martiria deliver
an almost 63 minutes piece of "serious"
metal, with classical heavy riffing,
excellent melodic and acoustic passages,
a steady, and driving at times, rhythm
section and a very good voice behind
the mic. Rick Andersson (ex-Warlord)
did a great job on the vocals and
I believe he's mostly responsible
for Martiria sounding like Warlord
so much. I don't really care
though, simply because they aren't
copycats, but just influenced from
this great band. The use of Soprano
and Tennor voices and generally the
use of a choir, adds to the whole
project an extra symphonic touch,
but nothing like the so-called modern
symphonic metal. They have decided
not to follow the "safe"
Rhapsody road, just like many other
Italian bands, which have also the
"nerve" to ask for a good
review when they can't even
copy, although they want to think
they can produce. The majority of
the lyrics are inspired from the Bible,
but I don't really think this
is a concept album. Production-wise,
everything seems to be perfect, letting
the music expose its full potential.
Phew!!! I think that's
about it. I don't really have
anything else to add. Martiria have
done it this time and "The Age…"
is one of the biggest surprises of
2005. Just support a very good album,
and an honest band that still does
what the heart tells. |
