ELINOIRE

Some bands start out with a five year rehearsal period followed by a tepid EP to attract some attention. Not the project of a young German lad Martin Schnella called Flaming Row. They were immediately designed for a massive scale 15-vocalist rock opera stretching the limits of a 80-minute CD format. The main method of stylistic expression is a cheesy 80s inspired metal/hard rock. With droplets of more rough metal vocal style, soft rock, country and a nod to jazzy brass and woodwinds. I like the sound - fat, guitar-centrered, no double drum overkill common to pompous power metal. Emphasis is more on listenability, although there are brief instances of shredding. Its very well composed for a beginners metal opera, kudos to Schnella, with songs forming a continuous while. For such a long record it could use more stylistic diversity (a problem solved on the follow-up, Mirage), but its still heads and shoulders above 95 percent of metal I've heard.