Shadowhispers – Mara

 And as far as I’m concerned, they are halfway there, as the vocals and orchestral arrangements are quite good, but they still need a bit more oomph in their approach to songwriting. And what I mean by that is a more diverse vocal approach as the operatic singing tends to be a bit tiresome on the ears after a while, and more dynamism from the guitars. I do like the keyboard parts quite a lot as I have always found the keyboard / piano to add so much melody to the music in general. And the gothic vibe of the overture “First shadows” really sets the mood and bleeds seamlessly into “Guardians of the threshold”. Really enjoy that ‘Phantom of the opera’ vibe that comes from the keyboard. The drum beats in “Monster” and “Dishonor” add some energy to the music which is otherwise quite homogenous, mostly in terms of tempo. The title track “Mara” wants to be the epic piece of the album but doesn’t quite manage to impress me.

 Nonetheless the album does offer some nice surprises along the way, and the piano backdrop on “Distant lovers” is among the highlights while power ballad “Poisonous lips” and “Fleeing from reality” offer nice dynamics between the vocals and the instruments. “Ghost inside” is catchier as it flirts with some power metal elements while “The reign” is pure symphonic epicness. The instrumental track “The last whisper” has a nice guitar melody to it and “Slow death” closes the album on a very ominous and dark tone. It’s perfectly clear that I like the second half of the album better than the first part.