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Genre: Progressive/Symphonic Power Metal Release Date: 2009 Label: Unsigned Band Web Site: http://www.desdemon.com
At the same time, another New York-based metal band named Metadox had also disbanded, so Metadox axeman Lord Metadox decided to hook up with Mistress Tina and Rhodus’s project. Soon after, they were joined by bassist Ronald “Pelagius” Porcelli. The new quartet, born from the ashes of two very talented bands, decided to christen themselves DesDemon. In late 2009, the band played at the Halloween Metal Meeting festival in Belgium. At the same time, the band unleashed their debut EP, entitled The Awakening.
The Awakening is what you might call a “concept EP” in that the five bombastic symphonic metal tracks contained on the plastic confines of this CD reveal a dark and compelling story to the listener. I’ll let lead vocalist Mistress Tina describe it in her own words: “Basically it's the story of a woman's [Desdemon(a)] revenge for being murdered under false accusations. In her afterlife she becomes a demon queen and her followers are women and men who have endured the same fates. They torment their accusers, slowly killing them. Fate has other things in store for her. She was an innocent young woman who was simply angered but didn't see what it was doing to her and it was turning her into something different.”
Bottom line: The old saying “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” is alive and well on this EP. How does that message translate through your speakers though? That is the question so press the play button and let The Awakening begin!
You are ushered into the proceedings with a thunderous flourish of drums, strings and riffs followed by a darkly whispered intro. So begins the opening song “Acquiescence Of Illusion.” The furious attack of the guitars and drums set the perfect background for Mistress Tina to lay down her siren’s wail, which shifts from gentle to furious without a warning. There is an excellent keyboard solo by special guest Nickolas Main from the band Aspera. Everything is tightly constructed and well-orchestrated, although at times it seems that the vocals are a bit far back in the mix. Nonetheless, it is still a fantastic opening track in the five-track saga.
Things take a turn for the gentle on “A Soul In Exile.” The sensuous vocals of Mistress Tina will hypnotize you and the gentle acoustic serenade just adds to the lush sonicscape before the riffs explode in true symphonic power metal power ballad fashion. You can feel the anguish and longing in the vocal delivery, and the guitar solo is just awesome. A track like this could easily see some radio airplay. It’s just a killer ballad…’nuff said!
Symphonically somber dirges sound the arrival of the epic “Iago” as the mood shifts back from the gentle and the darkly serene to the fast and the furious once again. “Your soul is mine…there’s no escape,” wails Mistress Tina over the chugging locomotive of riffs and Danyael’s machine-like drumming before a keyboard-tinged breakdown and the appearance of yet another facet of Tina’s vocal aresenal…some blood-curdling demonic snarls that would make Angela Gossow green with envy. This is one extremely powerful epic!
I really dig the riffing that begins “The Burning Martyr.” Lord Metadox makes me bow down with his old-school chord shredding that starts everything off. This track is just one hell of a kick-ass classic power metal number that would make bands like Helloween very proud. With a voice that can deliver passionate longing and harpy-like fury all in one song, Mistress Tina has to truly be considered among the rising stars in the operatic metal vocal realm. On this track she just decides to kick ass with a very straightforward delivery. Nothing wrong with going back to the roots!
I love the jazz-flavored stick work that begins “In The Absence of Light,” another epic that takes the listener on a harrowing journey of dark acoustic beauty, to a rolling crashing ocean that is controlled by the tides of Lord Metadox’s frenzied riffing, Danyael’s precise drumming, Pelagius’s meaty bass work and more excellent vocals from Mistress Tina. Aspera’s Nickolas Main proves himself to be a worthy choice to tickle the ivories on this EP as his keyboard work is fluid and well-suited to every situation that DesDemon can throw at him. At the end of this massive epic you may need a few minutes to catch your breath!
The musical performances from the members of DesDemon on this disc are all top-drawer and show form that could easily put them in league with heavy hitters in the symphonic metal universe like Nightwish. Honestly, there is really nothing I can find fault with on The Awakening…well, OK, maybe there is one thing. The production is very solid for the most part and it is a very fine effort for a self-produced disc. However, in some cases Mistress Tina’s voice is a bit too low in the mix for my liking, which sadly keeps me from giving this outstanding debut disc a perfect rating.
But really, I am nitpicking here. I have to! I’m a reviewer and it is my job! Seriously, folks, other than that one minor issue The Awakening by DesDemon is one hell of a tour-de-force of a debut of which the guys and gal in the band should most definitely be proud. Four years ago I was blown away by the skill of a phenomenal band that was lead by a phenomenal vocalist, and I must say, even though some of the faces and the name have changed…I am still blown away!
Review written by: Matt Bankes |
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