The second album by Rhapsody Of Fire and Labyrinth singer Fabio Leone’s new outfit Eternal Idol – a name obviously picked up from the classic and oh so underrated Black Sabbath album of the same name – is now in stores. The line-up that appeared on the debut album, The Unrevealed Secret (2016), has changed with guitarist and keyboard player Nick Savio and bassist Andrea Burratto (Secret Sphere, Hell In The Club) remaining and this time co-lead vocalist Claudia Layline replaces Giorgia Collelouri with drummer Enrico Fabris completing the line-up. Never a big fan of European Power Metal, Eternal Idol’s debut album was better than expected and even though I really haven’t given that album much attention for some years now, it still felt interesting to see what they had come up with this time.
The band decided to go for broke and put all three singles in a row to open the album. Opening with the leading one, “Into The Darkness”, they bring us an upbeat, symphonic rocker with some beefy riffing where operatic female vocals blends with more standard male dito. With a sound that gets bigger and bigger, the orchestral arrangements contrasts fine with the somewhat progressive elements and the sharp Power Metal melodies. The big chorus is effective and direct while the rest of the song might take a spin or two to grasp fully. The uptempo and bombastic “Black Star” is the latest single and with the Melodic Rock laden and catchy chorus it should do its job as such. A bit gothic, symphonic, bombastic and straight-forward, the dual female/male vocals is closer to each other here and while it’s a bit on the theatrical side, it’s also more direct and grabs a hold directly. Good one.
The mid-paced, laid-back and mellow gothic rocker “Dark Eclipse” was chosen as the second taster and with it’s upbeat rhythms and effective melodies it’s not hard to understand why. It’s a dark, 80’s flirting and symphonic tune that holds both a Sisters Of Mercy vibe, a nice little nod to Ozzy’s “No More Tears” in the bass line and a punchier and more Hard Rock laden passage. It’s a pretty good number with a catchy and slightly AOR-ish refrain. “Without Fear” opens with a synth-tinged and symphonic intro, quite dramatic but carries on more uptempo and bombastic with a big soundscape where it takes on a Nightwish borrowed drama. However, this Euro-Metal piece holds a chorus that never really lifts and kinda disappears. It’s not a bad song, though.
It’s ballad-time when “Away From Heaven” shows up. It’s slow, down-beat, stripped down and mellow and contains a mountain of synth-strings in its large soundscape. With a bit of music-theatre vibe which makes it quite grandiose, this epic number also delivers a touch of late 80’s power balladry with memorable melodies and a quite sticky chorus. It’s a decent track albeit somewhat cheesy. More drama arrives with yet another ballad, in this case “Not The Same”. However, this one is heavier and punchier with the guitars in a rawer mood and a hard-hitting rhythm-section. It’s slightly theatrical with an ominous ambience onboard ass well. Again, it’s an ok song but the refrain doesn’t hold enough hooks and it stays on the ground without making much of a fuss at all.
“The Edge” takes Eternal Idol’s Euro-Metal and transfers it into a symphonic and gothic Melodic Rock piece with a darkening yet uplifting atmosphere. It’s straight-forward, upbeat and in-your-face, very direct with strong melodies and hooks. The instant chorus grabs a hold right off the bat and I’m thinking hit-potential here. Good one. “Flying Over You” takes Eternal Idol even further away from their Power Metal roots and even though it holds symphonic arrangements, the track is more of a pop-rocker with down-beat verses that holds a chunky beat. The song gets more powerful and upbeat as it goes along and even though it might be a bit overblown because of its musical theatre twists at times, the colorful chorus is catchy as damn with shitloads of hooks. Good one.
“Lord Without Soul” is more of a crunchy, straight ahead Hard Rock stomper with symphonic undertones. Claudia’s vocals are both dramatic, cinematic and on the operatic side which brings a cool contrast to the more in-your-face and crunchy rhythms. The chorus is quite effective while listening and the same goes for the tune but it just won’t stick with me. The album closes in an epic way with the ten minute plus title-track. Opening with a symphonic twist in a medieval way, kinda like a symphonic Blackmore’s Night, it gets heavier and more uptempo with gritty, full-on Metal riffing. It’s operatic and theatrical with a clear Nightwish influence within the vocal melodies but we also get some proggy moments. A saturnine, mellow and musical theatre like intermission finds its way in before the song goes back to being heavy, bombastic and striking. It’s overblown and enormous but also quite easy-listened which makes it kind of impressive. The best song on the album by far.
While I certainly enjoy listening to the record – I actually think it’s a good effort without any bad songs – it also stands clear pretty fast that I have a hard time holding on to the music every time I finished listening which makes it forgettable. I found that a bit weird. Why? Well, because the songs are catchy and direct, the production is both slick and smooth but also quite heavy and rough and the musicians are really good – Layline is a most impressive singer with a broad range, feel, personality and structure. This lot comes from Power Metal of course but the inserts of Melodic Rock, Heavy Metal, Hard Rock and AOR keep lots of the most – for me – annoying Power Metal elements at bay. I should like this. At least more than I do. The music really should linger but it doesn’t. It’s to good for the chainsaw but not memorable enough for a high score.
5/10
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Tracklist:
1. Into The Darkness
2. Black Star
3. Dark Eclipse
4. Without Fear
5. Away From Heaven
6. Not The Same
7. The Edge
8. Flying Over You
9. Lord Without Soul
10. Renaissance
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