Sound Storm – Immortalia

Sound Storm are a symphonic heavy metal band formed in 2002 in Turin, Italy.  Having released various E.P’s, 2008 saw them release their first full length album “Twilight Opera” celebrating it’s release at the “Ilha Do Ermal” festival in Portugal alongside the likes of Sepultura and Firewind.  The band toured extensively since then including eleven well received shows in Mexico.  So far, this year (2012)  has seen the band sign a worldwide distribution deal with Scarlet Records, and are set to release their concept album Immortalia on August 28^th.

As you might have guessed from the title, Immortalia’s concept is the quest for eternal life, with all songs linked together by the idea of an immortal soul.
What strikes me first about the album is the cover art.  It immediately put me in mind of a scene in a horror movie where an older woman showers in the blood of a teenage girl in order to “capture her youth”, this idea is continued on the album it’s self with the track Blood Maiden whose delicate piano outro almost seems to reflect the death of the innocent.

The band really like to investigate the darker side of immortality on tracks like Curse Of The  Moon, which explores the mythology of the Werewolf and also Call Me Devil which deals with selling your soul.  As you can imagine these songs have dark subject matter and this is reflected in the music, making it darker and heavier in places than the rest of the album.

It’s not all shredding guitars and blasting drums however.  Watching You Fade is a bitter sweet semi acoustic song about the death of someone close, told either from the point of view of an immortal or about wishing immortality on that person. (I cant tell for sure, but that in no way stopped me enjoying the song).  Whilst closing track The Portrait is as close to a ballad as you can get in power metal terms.  It is a nine minute epic that takes the listener on a rollercoaster journey of highs and lows.

It’s probably fairly obvious that I’m not a power metal fan and am not up to speed on my immortality myths, but that hasn’t stopped me enjoying parts of this album a great deal.  The production is outstanding, giving the whole album an absolutely massive sound.  It’s not an album to be played at low volume on your laptop, this should be heard live to be fully appreciated in my opinion and wouldn’t be out of place on the next Bloodstock or Wacken line up.
The quality of the musicianship is also outstanding.  The guitar work throughout is blisteringly good, the drums thunder along relentlessly, both of which come together with the driving bass to give a solid platform for the soaring commanding vocals, not just of the lead singer, but also the guest Soprano as well.
I know for sure that i have missed out on what are probably really obvious points on this album and please if you are a fan of this band don’t be offended, just quietly pity me.  As such, I can only score on what I see so will be rating this album a 7/10.

Sound Storm have recently been announced as main support for Norwegian goth metal veterans Tristania on their European tour starting September 13^th, with one UK date in London on the 17^th.

Immortalia will be released through Scarlet Records on 28^th of August see www.scarletrecords.it for more information.

Track Listing

1. Immortalia
2. Back To Life
3. The Curse Of The Moon
4. Blood Of Maiden
5. Faraway
6. Promises
7. Call Me Devil
8. Seven Veils
9. Watching You Fading
10. Wrath Of The Storm
11. The Portrait

Sound Storm are:

Philippe D’Orange – Vocals
Valerio Sbriglione – Guitars
Federico Brignolo – Drums
Massimiliano Flak – Bass
Davide Cristofolio – Keyboards & Piano

Special Guest and Live Performer:
Ilaria Lucille De Santis – Soprano

http://www.powerofsoundstorm.com
http://www.myspace.com/powerofsoundstorm
http://www.youtube.com/powerofsoundstorm
http://www.twitter.com/sstormofficial
http://www.reverbnation.com/powerofsound…
http://www.lastfm.it/music/Sound+Storm
http://soundcloud.com/powerofsoundstorm
http://metalnation.org/sound-storm/