PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Barcelona’s Kilmara have released their third full-length disc, Love Songs And Other Nightmares, an 11-song sojourn into melodic metal.
Very nicely recorded, mixed and mastered, the album doesn’t have a raw “demo” sound that many acts seem to foster lately.
Pleasant and paced well, the disc’s tunes don’t seem to lag nor race ahead.
The band lists both power metal and progressive as influences, but don’t let that scare you: it’s not a “prog” nor “power metal” album per se. They do slightly experiment with syncopation and ‘prog rock’ segments and solos.
What Kilmara does really well is write melodic hooks that are woven into both verses and choruses.
That ‘European’ approach is very pleasing to ears that have become accustomed to (and weary of) dissonance and guttural screaming.
Vocals are both nicely sung and (rarely) growled. Songs seem to be vocal-heavy, leaving few breaks for instrumentation.
Instrumental breaks are tasteful and played “to serve the song”.
That said, the tunes tend to sound “comfort zone” – while quite enjoyable to listen to, they’re not very provocative.
Kilmara upholds the genre well, and it’s easy to appreciate why their previous effort charted in their homeland.
Track Listing:
Fantasy
Devil’s Eye
The Break Up
Cold Rain
Believe
Nothing To Me
Usual Strangers
Alpha
Insomnia
Play To Win
Time Flies
Band Lineup:
Christian Wolfgang Kohl – vocals
Jonathan Portilo – guitar
Enrique Torres – guitar
Raul Ruiz – bass guitar
Javi Morillo – drums
