J-Man Best known as a vocalist for bands like Narnia, Divinefire, and Mind's Eye, Germán Pascual is a name that should grab the attention of power metal fans. Originally born in Uruguay and raised in Brazil, Pascual later moved to Sweden and gained some notoriety in the country's Christian power metal scene; his manly timbre and powerful singing style makes him a vocalist comparable to people like Russell Allen or Ralf Scheepers, and his first solo outing further proves his relevance in the Swedish metal scene. A New Beginning is a solid melodic metal album through and through, and those who enjoy their music with lots of melodic hooks while still remaining complex and heavy should find plenty to love here!

A New Beginning is a melodic power metal album at its core, but there's actually a bit more to it than that. While every song is dominated by catchy melodies and strong choruses, the riffs are surprisingly heavy and the instrumental arrangements are pretty progressive. The guitars have a thick, almost thrash-oriented, sound to them, and the omnipresent synthesizers give the entire album a unique atmosphere. A New Beginning may not be a completely progressive metal observation, but some of the instrumental portions of the album - check out the second half of "Misty Dreams" for something really killer! - bear more resemblance to Dream Theater or Fates Warning than they do to a power metal ditto. Though this album may be the product of a vocalist, all of the instrumentalists are given plenty of room to shine and never feel like a mere vehicle for vocal acrobatics. The production is also thick and powerful, and though it may sound too over-produced to some listeners, I think it suits the music perfectly.

While the album may not be without flaws - the harsh vocals on "The Wrath of GOD" are pretty weak, the lack of an actual 'human drummer' will probably bother some, the Christian lyrics are an acquired taste, and a few of the songs fall into a formulaic rut - I still think that A New Beginning is a highly recommendable purchase to fans of melodic power metal with touches of prog, thrash, and traditional heavy metal. Germán Pascual's first solo outing is one that is about as professional as they come, and fans of melodic metal should definitely check it out.

Time Signature The wrath of metal...

Genre: modern power metal

Germán Pascual is perhaps best known in power metal circles for his work on the Swedish Christian power scene with bands like Divine Fire, Mind's Eye and Narnia, and now fans can enjoy his first solo album "A New Beginning".

Stylistically, we are dealing with modern power metal which draws both on epic melodies and crushing grooves, combining these with more traditional power metal elements. Musically, the album is happily free from the cheese and kitsch which otherwise characterizes the power metal genre. As a bonus, many of the tracks on the album have a slightly progressive twist in the form of either Tony Banks-inspired, or generally spacey, keyboards or slightly challenging time signatures.

Although a solo album by a very talented and skilled singer with an extremely powerful voice (let us not talk about the harsh vocals in 'The Wrath of God', which are a bit of an embarrassment), the instrumental aspect of the album is given just as much attention as the vocals. Thus, the listener is treated to virtuosic guitar solos, crunchy riffs and the whole kit and kaboodle. Indeed, it sounds like an album recorded by a band (plus a drum machine, sadly). But, overall, the collective musical experience provided by this album as a very positive one, I think.

The lyrics are, not surprisingly, oriented towards Christianity, and that is okay, which is not always popular in metal. Still, Pascual has the right to praise God just as much as Venom have the right to praise Satan. And, unlike an act like Golden Resurrection, Pascual's lyrics do not fall under the rubric of embarrassingly stupid Christian lyrics.

Fans of modern power metal, who are not afraid of a Christian touch, should definitely check out this massively powerful solo debut from Germán Pascual.

adg211288 Germán Pascual has already started to build up an impressive CV of band’s he’s sang with or done guest work for. Previously vocalist with both progressive metal act Mind’s Eye and heavy/power metallers Narnia, and currently of symphonic power metallers DivineFire, Germán also notable sang a role on Soulspell’s The Labyrinth of Truths also with a host of other guest vocalists. 2012 sees him release his first solo album, entitled A New Beginning. For the album Germán has gathered a sizeable host of guest musicians (eight, plus an additional three for a bonus track), including some current/former bandmates such as Carl-Johan Grimmark (Narnia) and Jani Stefanovic (DivineFire).

Despite the title, A New Beginning isn’t Germán taking his music down an entirely different road to the bands he’s sung with as it may suggest. However given that background, title aside, it’s no surprise that the direction Germán has taken on his debut solo album draws on all the genres of the bands he’s already worked with. This is melodic metal music at heart, often sitting comfortably in either the traditional metal (Seek The Truth, The Wrath of GOD) or power metal (If The Sky Would Fall, Open Your Eyes) genres, but with influences of both progressive and symphonic metal thrown in for good measure, especially the former, something that becomes more apparent to me the more time I spend listening to the album.

As perhaps can be expected from the solo album of a vocalist the biggest appeal of Germán’s music is his excellent vocals. The man has a great voice for this sort of music and he proves equally strong whether he’s singing over the faster power metal tracks or the more mid-paced heavy metal. Mostly sticking to clean vocals (naturally, for the genre), there are some rare instances of growling vocals to stir things up. The growls aren’t as good but do work in context of the album, making for an even more varied experience than the multi-facetted music already allows for.

The music behind the vocals is also pretty powerful. The album is at its best when it’s delivering the progressively inclined power metal songs but I honestly don’t dislike the direction taken on any of the ten tracks. The most surprising inclusion is the closing Canción con todos, written by Armando Tejada Gómez and César Isella, which for those unaware is regarded as the Latin American national anthem. Germán handles the song as well as his original material although as a cover it is my least favourite track from the album. Germán has included many tracks which can be deemed highlights however, such as If The Sky Would Fall, Misty Dreams, Open Your Eyes and Fate of the Blind.

The end result of A New Beginning is a very good debut album. Of course being no stranger to the scene there was never any doubt in my mind that Germán’s debut solo outing would be good. However it is also certainly a grower. While it didn’t take more than one listen for me to take note of his exceptionally gifted vocals and well written, performed, and produced material, it was only on my second listen that I truly began to appreciate A New Beginning for what it is, and that’s a very focused and powerful metal album that never fails to leave a good impression. Even taking A New Beginning in consecutive listens hasn’t been an issue for me and it’s not many albums that I can honestly say that about, even some personal favourites. I think that’s because of the variety within the release which works so well because it always maintains what appears to be the main focus here; to be melodic. An exceptional grade rating is easily deserved.

9.0/10

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven (http://metaltube.freeforums.org))

dtguitarfan Germán Pascual was born in Uruguay, raised in Brazil, and has lived in Stockholm, Sweden, since his early teens. He was the voice for Progressive Metal band Narnia and Divinefire. His voice has that manly rasp, that tough quality to it and can be compared to metal vocalists Jorn Lande, Ronny James Dio, and Russell Allen. His debut solo album, A New Beginning, shows a maturity in the song writing and production that can only be a result in his years of work with bands Narnia and Divinefire. There is a catchiness to the tunes that does not become simplistic, a multi-layered aspect to the instrumental backgrounds, and a good flow to the songs that keeps the listener engaged. One of the first things you might notice is the driving heavy force behind the songs, and the second observations I made was the nice use of electronic synthesizer – not just for playing fancy solos, but adding to the layered sound with electronica and orchestral sounds. The album doesn't come off in the way you'd expect a solo album to sound, but has more of the feeling that you might expect from something that was composed by a band as a group effort. The tunes are very melodic, and had a memorable, accessible quality it seemed. All this adds up to a very mature effort, and an enjoyable album with Classic, Power, and Progressive Metal elements.

Originally written for www.seaoftranquility.org