PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Russian band Spyon were formed in 2003 in Petrozavodsk. Since then they have undergone a number of lineup changes as well as playing plenty of gigs. In 2006 they recorded a 5 track demo – “Spies and dreamers” which attracted new fans and won them a place at the Vozduh music festival. They spent a year from 2010-2011 recording their debut album, “Sly tactics” which was released in Russia in 2011, and which is now being promoted and made more widely available outside Russia.
The music is best described as symphonic or gothic metal but without much use of keyboards or any noticeable orchestral elements it sits somewhere between those genres and straightforward metal. The keyboards really are used very sparingly – opening track “Lying beside me” uses them noticeably whereas tracks like “Crying for the moon” don’t seem to use keyboards at all. The music is very good. Despite the band being Russian, the vocals are sung in English – which does make sense as it makes it accessible to a wider market. The vocals aren’t the pure operatic type of vocals becoming increasingly common in symphonic metal bands but are more a metal singing style – Embassy of Silence is a comparable vocal sound.
It’s a very good album that’s going to appeal to plenty of fans of female fronted metal.
Rating: 7/10
Track listing:
1. Lying beside me
2. Crying for the moon
3. Honestly
4. Say goodbye
5. Serenade
6. Depression
7. Tomorrow’s gone
8. Merry sky
Spyon are:
Violetta Kharina – Vocals
Alexander Razhiev – Guitar
Alexey Bogushov – Guitar
Ilya Varlamov – Bass
Andrey Lukin – Drums
