Lunatica- Fables and Dreams
I got into this band a little over a year ago. This was when I was very much getting into symphonic females fronted metal bands. I was into Nightwish, Evanesence, Lacuna Coil among many others that kept appearing from no where either online or recommendations to me from people I would see around the music store.
As I made my way through the doors of the local music store here, there was a very odd band playing through the speakers. The first things I took notice of were the great keyboards and vocals of the band. I asked the store clerk who it was and I was then introduced the Lunatica.
A week later I bought the album, played it right when I got back to my house and enjoyed the hell out of it. The vocals were clean and sounded great, they keyboards and guitars were great to hear, it wasn't all to refreshing, but still for what it is, I loved it. It's not exactly Nightwish, nor Lacuna Coil- The vocal style of the band is obviously a female singer, when I first listened to it, she reminded me of a singer from a completely different country trying to sing English, and it sounded good. They are very clean and easy to understand, the lyrics aren't the best, and a bit cheesy at times, but it's something I never paid attention to much when I first listened to it. I just enjoyed the music.
To describe the music of this band, it's very keyboard/guitar oriented which many bands of the genre are, listening to it all, reminds me of a dream type setting, The instruments fit in together very well with each other and the drums will get you headbanging if you are into that sort of mood. The guitars will pull you into the songs almost instantly, the solo's are great in almost every song they are in, just don't expect anything such as a Dream Theater epic solo, but for what they are, they are great and fit in with each song quite well.
Pro's
-Great keyboarding
-Unique vocalist
-Will sound good to Nightwish fans
Cons
- The singers voice to some, might be a lot to handle
Track by Track
1. The Search Goes On- I was not expecting an opening like this when I first heard the album. It start out with very different than guitar and drums as you would expect probably from reading this review so far. It starts out with a flute type instrument and a guy talking about a book, called Fables and Dreams. Which then leads into an epic sounding opener, which reminds me of a weird storybook being pulled into Heaven mixed in with the Lion King score of all things. It's a solid opener, but with the guy talking, I just think of it being very cheesy. 4/5 though because of how well it sounds. 3/5
2. Avalion- As the last song ends, it goes quickly into the next song where you get a taste of the female singer. I don't exactly know how to describe this song, but it has a lot of energy to it. The drums and guitar stand out the most, with the keyboard adding much to it all. Hell, it all stands out fine, no instrument outshines the other, because it's put together so well. The ending of the songs sounds a bit odd, but good, it just sounds like the singer is saying "I don't know" a bunch of times, which she could as well be, but that doesn't matter 5/5
3. Elements- Another good song from the album. Starts off a bit odd, but after a few seconds keyboards and guitar both go into a pretty interesting sounding riff until the singer kicks in. This song also has a lot of energy put into it, as it is really quick on the drums and the guitars just mesh very well and it's a pretty solid heavy riff. The middle of the song or towards the end is my favorite part, where the keyboards go off on there own and everything trails behind it, and the singers does a hum into the background which just sounds really dream like. The song then leads off into a guitar riff as the vocalist sings over it, then a slowly fading guitar solo ends the song. 4/5
4. Fable of Dreams - After 3 interesting songs, we are into are first slow ballad song of the album. Mostly with keyboards soaring everywhere in a very good sounding way. What I failed to notice when I first listened to this cd is this is the first song a guy joined in singing and although he isn't the most interesting singer you will ever hear and doesn't add much to the song, but sounds pretty good along with the lead female vocalist. I guess this isn't the most interesting song on the album, but for what it is, it's a good ballad with a very decent ending. 3/5
5. Still Believe - This song stuck out to me quite a bit after listening to it the first few times. It starts off with a powerful keyboard opening as the guitar solo's away leading into heavy riff which then the singer starts to sing. Her voice sounds very good on this song to me, and this was also the song I first heard while walking into the music store to hear it for the first time. The drums on this song are great, usually drums don't stick out to me much at all, but the sound of them just sound good, then again, after listening to St Anger, any drum sound would probably sound amazing. Lyrically this song is just laughable, but don't try to pay attention to them much. I think this is a pretty powerful song on the album, because like the first, everything fits together so well. For a symphonic female fronted band, their music doesn't seem dark as opposed to others. 4/5
6. Spell - The beginning of the songs reminds me of something EXACTLY from Nightwish. Very quick and pretty damn heavy. I love it. It slows down temporarily as the female sings, then quickly the guy and girl trade off sharing vocals. The chorus, reminds me of something very uplifting, but it sounds very much like an epic song with the keyboards and guitar going together so well. The middle of the song, it changes quite a bit, with a very heavy guy voice as the girl sounds like she is singing into some weird machine, which then the song completely slows down with a slow guitar solo as the keyboards echo behind it. 5/5
7. Neverending Story- The intro isn't anything special, and I think it's horrible I keep comparing it to something from Nightwish, but it sounds like an intro to a song off their Century Child album. I will try not to keep comparing it, but they have very similar music styles to me. After the intro, it gets heavy again with the guitar, and the sound effect in here that you can hear in the background is just...very odd. Ugh, crap, it sounds like a Nightwish song with just a different vocalist to me, I don't know what to add to it, but it's still a great song. 3/5
8. Hymn - I really enjoy this song, it starts out with the vocalist singing just with the keyboards and breaks into a heavy riff with a great drum beat. The chorus comes quickly in this song, where the vocalist sings a bit higher than usual, it's the way that she uses her voice in this song that makes it stand out much more than the last song. The solo in the middle of this song has always stuck out to me, it's NOTHING special, but I love it. It just has such an odd effect, and with the keyboards going on in the background sound very very unique to me.
*After this song, my cd is scratched a bit so sorry if I can't describe the songs to well-
9. Silent Scream- I love the chorus in this song, I love the breakdown from the into into the main song, the keyboards and just rhythm sounds good. The vocalist and how she uses her voice sounds great, it's another favorite song off of the album. Every time she says "Insomnia" in this song and continues with the line, it sound great to me. The guitar solo in this song, is also great, it sucks that mine is scratched to hell so I can't really explain much on it, other than I like it a lot, and the double kick drums sound great along with it.4/5
10. Little Moment of Desperation- Finally after ten minutes I get this song to work. This song is very catchy and it sounds great.the keyboard part in the middle sounds decent, but it's really the voice of the singer that brings this song to be as great as it is. The drums near the end and just the entire chorus sounds great. I wish I could explain more about it, but trust me when I say it's another great song on the album and a very good close of the album. 4/5
Closing- This is a great album, I loved pretty much the entire album. If you have an open mind to music and want to hear some symphonic metal with a female singer, I recommend Lunatica, they might not be the most accessible, but they are still a very interesting band. Thanks for reading.
