Magica-Wolves and witches

AFM
2008



Magica oftentimes get the label of symphonc metal, but I think symphonic power metal might be more appropriate. They have a female vocalist and a lot keyboards, but this act really have their feet firmly entrenched in power metal basics. That's good because that helps balance the vocals and keyboards. Inevitably the sounds do compliment each other. My first exposure to this band was 2007's "Hereafter" which I enjoyed, but felt that they sounded not unlike gothic metal from almost a decade ago. Not a whole lot has changed since that album as far as the band moving ahead. However they are solid at what they do which is piece together a brand of metal that's both heavy and melodic without either side swallowng the other. The production plays a major part in that undertaking. The guitars are heavy enough to give their sound an edge and the keys and vocals add depth and atmosphere. The only aspect of this disc that bothered me was that don't always have a handle on the song structure. They know how to start and they know how to vary the sounds early on. Where they fall short is somewhere around the middle they seem to lose site of where to go. On several songs they just wonder along for longer than they really needed to. I mean there are still some decent sounds coming out, but the direction seems to have veered off. That caused my attention to veer off which is not something any band should want to have happen. Still they have a lot going for them they do a fine juggling act while managing to pull a great fown from their various talents.