Review: Wind Rose “Shadows Over Lothadruin” (2012)

Reviewed by Loris Bergagna

Artist: Wind Rose
Album: Shadows Over Lothadruin
Label: Bakerteam Records
Release Date: 28 August 2012
Country: Italy

Tracklist:

1. Prelude
2. Endless Prophecy
3. (The Tournament)
4. Siderion
5. (The Grand March)
6. Son of a Thousand Nights
7. The Fourth Vanguard
8. (Dark Horizon)
9. Majesty
10. (The Havoc)
11. Oath to Betray
12. Led by Light
13. (Sacred Fount)
14. Moontear Sanctuary
15. (Vererath)
16. Close to the End

Wind Rose are an Italian Progressive-Power-Symphonic Metal combo that started in 2007 as a cover band (Dream Theater, Symphony X, Blind Guardian etc ).

This is their first full lenght album, after a self-released Ep in 2010. This is a concept album about a fantasy land called Lothadruin and the beautiful artwork was handled by Felipe Machado Franco (Blind Guardian, Rhapsody of Fire). The huge and great production of Cristiano Bertocchi (Labyrinth, Vision Divine) gives the album the right atmosphere.
Along with the songs there are some narrative tracks that bind the different scenes together. The whole idea behind this platter is quite similar to Rhapsody of Fire‘s concept albums.
When you listen to a Symphonic-Power Metal work you already know what you are going to hear: fast riffing, heavy guitars, haunting atmospheres, vocal harmonies, fantasy lyrics and so on……luckily, the Progressive element inside Wind Rose‘s music give us something more interesting to hear. Not just the Classic Power sound, to be precise.
Tracks like “The Fourth Vanguard”, “Oath to Betray”, “Majesty” are good examples of this.
The guitar work is very good and the “solo duels” with the keyboards are very Dream Theater-ish and the technical level of the band is quite high.
Vocal harmonies are interesting and well arranged.
The Epic/Symphonic element mixed with the Prog side flows always very fluently.
A “Celtic” taste in some songs is a nice and catchy idea because it gives different flavours to the work, as you can hear in “Moontear Sanctuary”, a great track.
In the end, if you are a Prog/Power fan – or a Symphony X die-hard fan – you will really enjoy “Shadows over Lothadruin”.