NEVERLAND - review added 26th March 2010
Album Review: Ophidia (2010)
For fans of: Symphonic Metal... and giant snake things
Greek/Turkish symphonic metallers Neverland - or to give them their proper name...Dreamtone & Iris Mavraki´s Neverland - return for a second bite of the cherry with Ophidia, the follow up to their debut Reversing Time.
Ophidia apparently tells the story of evil lurking within society and the evil within mankind. Recorded at Garaj Studios, again with engineer Erim Arkman, the album features Oganalp Canatan and Iris Mavraki on vocals, Emrecan Sevdin on drums, Onur Ozkoc and, Burak Kahraman on guitars, Can Dedekarginoglu on bass, and Guney Ozsan keyboards. Guests include Jon Oliva (Savatage, Jon Oliva´s Pain), Edu Falschi (Angra/Almah) and Urban Breed (Tad Morose, Bloodbound).
The sound is symphonic, melodious, reassuringly folksy and, in places, progressively heavy. Neverland recall Blind Guardian, Iced Earth, Turisas, Within Temptation, the lighter side of Emperor, and more. It's a busy album with a truck-load of sounds spread thickly across innumerable layers. Hell, there's even something approaching reggae on 'Speak To Me'.
The problem is that, because of the excessive layering, the album really is ridiculously busy. Ophidia boasts a towering wall of noise and effects. There is so much going on at any one moment it's impossible to know which part to listen to. It's all incredibly impressive, but it simply isn't that enjoyable. As a whole the album kind of works; every song has a snippet of catchiness or a hint of brilliance - be it the progressions in 'The Voice Inside', the chants of "Lie" in the title track, or the rhythms of 'Final Odyssey' - but none of the songs actually stands out as memorable. Put 'em together and they make more sense, but only just. It still isn't approaching excellence from a listening point of view, even if it does for musicianship.
I've listened through Ophidia several times and the end result is still the same; "Wow, these guys really can play!" However, I can't wait to put something else on. If you like Blind Guardian et al I recommend you check this out and make up your own mind. However I doubt I'll be bothering again.
Check out... all of it...with care
Track List:
01. This Voice Inside
02. Silence The Wolves
03. Ophidia
04. Will Of God
05. Invisible War
06. Places Unknown
07. No One Leaves The Hive
08. Speak To Me
09. Ashes To Fall
10. Final Odyssey
11. Into The Horizon
Label: AFM Records
Artist's website(s): Neverland , MySpace
