Poetica

After releasing a pile of singles through 2020, melodic metal newcomers Stranger Vision have released their first LP, the kind of album I'd normally expect to be female-fronted: Smooth, slickly produced, and hovering between very melodic heavy metal and the slower side of power metal. It's easy on the ears, the songs are well-written, and the band brings in an army of fellow Italian guest musicians to help them out. Rhythm-wise, we get chugging mid-tempo riffs with long, driving basslines on the choruses. The opening track to be a bit forgettable, but Human Change's bright guitar harmonics and double-kick drumming sound great, like something from Scanner's ill-fated Scantropolis album, which I always had a soft spot for. Sometimes the band's technical ability outstrips their capacity for writing a heavy melody, but they can always at least write a catchy one. Vocalist Ivan Adami has just a bit of grit in his mostly clean vocals, and his delivery keeps the slower sections interesting. I didn't recognize most of the guest vocalists, with the exception of Zak Stevens, who'd sung for Savatage, but Trick or Treat's vocalist and guitarist Allesandro Conti and Guido Benedetti help out with Rage, which has a nice soaring chorus. The Stevens track, Before the Law, is quite bombastic with his operatic delivery, but melody-wise it isn't quite as good. Where Stranger Vision shines is usually on their mid-tempo tracks, like Defying Gravity, where their drawn-out choruses have a solid beat to stretch out in and room for soloing. Though some of the songs lose a bit of their edge with the smooth production, overall this is a decent first album and very listenable. Fans of the mid-tier European heavy metal bands will find this near the top. Bandcamp: https://strangervisionband.bandcamp.com/.