UMUR "One" is the debut full-length studio album by Brazilian power metal act Vandroya. The album was released through Inner Wound Records in December 2012/January 2013. The band already formed in 2001 where they initially started as a cover band. They released a demo in 2005, but it wasn´t until late 2010 that they started recording "One". Obviously getting the album recorded and released have been a long process, as it´s taken almost 2 years.

Vandroya play "classic" Euro power metal with the occasional progressive section (the faster paced tracks are not completely unlike early Sonata Arctica). The musicianship is incredibly tight and the music is delivered with great passion. The basic instruments are bass, drums, two guitars. Keyboards are present on most tracks, but are generally used tastefully and not placed high in the mix. So while the music is still rather polished as it´s custom in the genre, the more secondary role of the keyboards do provide "One" with a slightly more raw edge than you´ll usually hear on a Euro power metal release. It´s on the lead vocalist spot that Vandroya really stand out though. First of all because Daísa Munhoz is a woman singing in a power metal band, but also because she is not the "angelic" type female vocalist. Her voice has a lot of character and her delivery is slightly hoarse, even though she can also hit the high notes. Her choir and harmony vocals are also rather spectacular. She´s a rather unique vocalist and provides Vandroya´s music with a slight bit of originality.

"One" is both well played, well produced and well written, and features just enough original ideas to stand out from the pack and to be a success to my ears. Yes all the usual Euro power metal elements are there are accounted for (Neo-classical leanings, double pedal drumming, galloping rythms, uplifting anthemic choruses and so forth), but Vandroya are one of those few acts that fuse all those well known elements into something that doesn´t sound generic. Their high energy level and passionate delivery are of course also great assets, that help "One" be the great album it is. A 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is deserved.

Kev Rowland Brazilian act Vandroya started life as a covers band, but as they became more involved in the metal scene they started writing their own material, which led to the ‘Within Shadows’ EP which was released in 2005. It took until 2010 for them to start work on their debut album, and until 2013 for it to be released. So, although it has taken a while to get to this point, now they have let’s all hope that they get the recognition they deserve. As is my preference, I played the album the first few times before I had read the press release and to my ears they sounded like a cross between Angra and Helloween with some Stratovarius thrown in for good measure. So, when I saw that they are countrymates of Angra then it started to make some sort of sense.

This is power metal, with elements of symphonic (and even some prog metal to be honest), and the guys are musicians of the top order and seem to be at their happiest when they can storm through a song in the manner of Dragonforce. Mind you, the break in the middle of “Within Shadows” is way more laid back with a great bass line and funky piano. But, what takes this band to the next level are the powerful vocals of Daisa who is an incredible singer. She has no problem standing loud and proud in front of a metal band, knowing that she is always totally in control of the situation and can handle whatever they are throwing into the mix. No matter if they are running along as if they are Helloween reborn, or if it is something slower, she is always there taking centre stage. But, this is very much a band effort with singer and musicians in perfect harmony creating some incredible metal.

It is hard to realise that this is just a debut album, as it rarely gets much better than this. For more details visit www.vandroya.com

J-Man Hailing from Brazil, Vandroya is a progressive-edged power metal act that has received a fair amount of praise for their 2013 debut entitled One. A well-composed and professional effort indeed, One features the tremendous vocals of Daisa Munhoz (a name I recognize from her contributions to Soulspell releases) alongside strong musicianship and arrangements. Vandroya's sound doesn't come across as revolutionary to these ears, but their fine mix between various power and prog metal styles makes for an enjoyable listen from start to finish.

Most of the music on One bears a strong resemblance to European power metal, with its massive choruses and speedy riffs not sounding too dissimilar from Helloween or Stratovarious. Vandroya also incorporates touches of progressive metal into their sound, usually by way of proggy keyboard arrangements and riff structures unconventional by power metal standards. This side of the band can be heard on tracks like “No Oblivion For Eternity”, “Anthem (For the Sun)”, and “Solar Night”, but there are also plenty of more straightforward power metal tunes like “The Last Free Land” and “Change the Tide” to keep things varied. There's even a power ballad in the form of “Why Should We Say Goodbye?”, which is admittedly a somewhat cheesy track, but still manages to sound effective within the album's context.

I don't see most of the songwriting here as anything terribly remarkable, but the vocals Daisa Munhoz really bring this album up above the 'average' mark - I sense a rising star in the power metal world judging by her dynamic performance here! Though most other aspects of One are more promising than masterful, the end result is still a very solid debut from this Brazilian power metal outfit. Vandroya is an act to keep an eye on!

Warthur Fronted by Daísa Munhoz, Vandroya offer up a style of power metal which shows the potential to challenge the likes of Stratovarius or Gamma Ray at their own game. Indeed, although the band hail from Brazil, to my ears they don't offer much of a departure from the usual power metal fare, though I will readily concede that Daísa's vocals are a highlight of the release. Power metal fans will do well to keep an eye on Munhoz, because she's easily the star performer on this release, and I think Vandroya could reach even greater heights in the future with her at the helm provided that the instrumentalists up their game to match.

Time Signature The last free land...

Genre: progressive power metal

I have been known to be critical towards power metal, but that does not mean that I do not like power metal. I suppose I am just picky when it comes to this genre - I prefer power metal of a certain quality.

And the Brazilian power metallers in Vandroya's first album "One" definitely has the level of quality that I appreciate. Drawing primarily on the upbeat and energetic drive as well as the big and catchy choruses of European power metal, their music is nonetheless almost free of the cheesiness that otherwise characterizes European power metal.

Instead, the band treats us to inspirations from Helloween and Annihilator wrapped in a decidedly progressive approach. The songs on the album have dynamic song structures, and Vandroya are not afraid to make use of odd time signatures. In a very bold move, they even insert Latin beats into "Within Shadows" - and, hell, they pull it off brilliantly.

The Brazilians are both brilliant songwriters and excellent musicians, and Daísa Munhoz's powerful voice suits the music perfectly. She sings with both power and clarity and completely avoids the annoying operatic style that many female power metal vocalists tend to adopt.

Any self-respecting fan of power metal is simply compelled to check out this fine debut-album by one of the most sensational Brazilian power metal acts ever.

adg211288 One is the debut full-length album by Brazilian progressive power metal act Vandroya. Seeing its worldwide release in 2013 (Japan will get it a little earlier in December 2012), it’s been quite some time since the band’s only prior release, the two track demo Within Shadows (2005). Both the songs from the demo reappear on One. Vandroya’s vocalist Daisa Munhoz hasn’t been any stranger to the power metal scene in that time though, having been a regular contributor to the Brazilian metal opera project Soulspell, most recently on 2012’s Hollow's Gathering.

After the introductory track All Becomes One, the album will hit you with The Last Free Land, and Vandroya will set the standard for the release to follow. Mixing equal parts of power metal’s token speedy riffs, with progressive creativity, and topped off with Daisa’s amazing voice, it’s a standard that the band doesn’t seem to have any problem keeping up with, as they deliver track after track which keeps up with the high quality attention grabber that is The Last Free Land. There really isn’t a track here which lowers the standard in any way and the band’s blend of prog and power metal is actually one of the best fusions of the two styles I’ve yet heard. I often find that a lot of the so called progressive power metal bands end up being either just plain power metal with a few progressive tendencies, or progressive metal with a few speedier sections which end up getting it labelled prog-power, but Vandroya have produced a power metal album in One that truly is a completely progressive take on the genre, not just one that borrows bits of the other.

Despite use of keyboards, Vandroya’s music never properly falls into symphonic metal territory, although the intro uses a symphonic part outside of a metal context and there a few split seconds worth to be heard in a progressive context during When Heaven Decides To Call. The keyboards are used in the way one would expect in a more traditional progressive metal band such as Dream Theater, which allows the guitars to take a dominate role in the music which sets Vandroya apart from the hordes of keyboard driven power metal acts. There are plenty of great riffs on offer that thanks to the progressive nature of the music do a bit more than pummel your ears with speed.

So basically the album is musically pretty fantastic, and even slowing things down for the ballad Why Should We Say Goodbye? doesn’t do anything to harm the impact of the album, and it features some emotive lead guitar playing to boot, which fits in well with the nature of the song itself. If all you’re interested in is speed then it may feel like one of those obligatory ballads that power metal releases tend to have, but the song is the first one in many power metal albums I’ve heard and reviewed where the ballad hasn’t disrupted the album for me, or at least required time to grow, as was even the case with my 2012 album of the year, The Fire is Mine by US act Seven Kingdoms. That band is probably a good reference point for Vandroya actually, as both are female fronted power metal acts with dominate guitars, but Vandroya can be seen as a progressive take on what the other band does.

While it’s made pretty clear early on what the Vandroya sound is about, I’m impressed at how easy it is to tell the songs apart, especially for a debut full-length. You have that ballad I mentioned in Why Should We Say Goodbye?, the more power metal dominate tracks like The Last Free Land as well as tracks which take the music very close to a more traditional progressive metal sound such as the closing Solar Night, which is also the longest track on the album. There’s also a duet with Leandro Cacoilo (ex- Eterna, Seventh Seal) during Change the Tide which adds further flavour to the album.

As praiseworthy as Vandroya’s music is though Daisa’s vocals and the role they play in the band’s sound are most certainly not to be understated. She has a clear, melodic voice, which is powerful but not in the same operatic range that you hear a lot of female metal singers with, and also lacking the rougher edge that some of the female fronted heavy and power metal band’s have taken. This allows her vocal lines to come across as a lot more emotive, without lacking for the sort of directness of the performance that you’d expect from a metal singer. I’ve been singing the praises of female vocalists in metal for years now, and I like all the different directions I mentioned above, as well as those who use the growling style, but it’s singers of Daisa Munhoz’s calibre that I rate the most because they do everything those with a operatic voice do, without ending up the sort of acquired taste that like it or not, operatic vocals in metal are for many, while also sounding like they’re singing metal without resorting to the so called banshee vocals that bands like Huntress have used (to effect for their style, mind) in recent years, which can sound awesome but forced. Daisa on the other hand has a natural approach which works like a charm.

One is an early album highlight for 2013 and most definitely one that I’d readily recommend to all prog and power metal fans, as well as bands with a more classic metal sound. For me this was a perfect album to kick the new year off on a high and for their ability to produce one of those albums that delivers highlight after highlight without any loss in quality Vandroya deserve no less than a top tier rating for One. As strange as it may be to say it, the very first album I reviewed from 2013 may end up being my album of the year.

99/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven (http://metaltube.freeforums.org/vandroya-one-t2706.html))