Adamanter – The Shadow Mirror
Hands down, this is one of the worst power metal albums I’ve ever heard. First off, the recording is muddy and sounds like a demo. This sucks the “power” and clarity out of Adamanter’s sails, 2 elements that NEED to be in the mix for a band in this genre to make any waves. This coupled with the glaring fact that their singer shouldn’t be singing out of a mid-ranged register and you have an album full of wince-tastic crap sure to sour ones taste for this genre. Mario Mosca pushes his pitch singing to the limits and beyond as he struggles to hit the high notes… a problem that happens all the time since this is the laughably soaring level he tries to sing in all the time. He’s out of key and warbling as he detracts even more attention away from the synth dominant metal (in the Lost Horizon mindset) Adamanter strives to emulate. It’s there in theory, but execution and musicianship is seriously lacking. If this were a bands demo, then one could appreciate some of “The Shadow Mirror’s” shortcomings, but it’s not. The paper thin production is a reflection of the sloppy and uninteresting power metal Italy’s Adamanter is struggling to produce. Man, those vocals have got to go if this band wants to reach out of the pit to catch their idols coattails. Trust me on this one… “The Shadow Mirror” is really miserable. – Marty
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