SOULSPELL — Hollow's Gathering (review)

SOULSPELL — Hollow's Gathering album cover Album · 2012 · Power Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Time Signature
To crawl or to fly...

Genre: power metal

Brazil-based Soulspell is one of those prog power metal acts who specialize in epic power metal operas, and this type of music - the power metal opera - is often a volatile affair: things can turn out really well, or the album can explode in a fatal cloud of cheese. On this album, Soulspell really balance on the razor's edge, but, at the end of the day, "Hollow's Gathering" is definitely a positive experience to listen to - even to me, who admittedly can't stand cheesy power metal.

The music on the album ranges from super epic and pompous symphonic power metal (as in the album's title track) to more straight-forward metal-rock (as in 'Adrian's Call'), but with the center point being Euro Power metal in all its glory. Balancing solid heavy metal riffs, rocky guitar solos, and twin guitar leads on the one hand with epic keyboards, neoclassicisms, and grandiose choruslines, Soulspell might be too over the top for some fans of more traditional metal, but at the same time this fan group is still guaranteed a lot of good old fashioned metal stuff. The catalyst of this blend is progressive keyboards, by the way, although the core style cannot be said to be progressive metal.

Take a look at the line-up on this album, and you will see that it is pretty much an all-star project. As is typical of modern day power metal operas, a plethora of vocalists appear on "Hollow's Gathering", and - to be honest - the initial impression I had upon having to take in all those different singing styles was that of bewilderment. But using so many vocalists also ensures variation, and, although I still find the title track to be over the top in this department, I do think that each and every vocalist does a good job - and I especially like Ripper Owens' and Blaze Bayley's performances.

If you dig prog power metal operas, then you must not miss out on the experience of pure epicness that is "Hollow's Gathering".
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

The Goblin Sessions Heavy Metal
THEM
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tormenta De Arena Metalcore
VORAGO
Buy this album from MMA partners
Infinite Metalcore
FUTURE GHOST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Heretic Melodic Death Metal
SUNCINDER
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Skull Burned Wearing Hell Like A Life Vest As The Night Wept Mathcore
FRONTIERER
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Future Ghost - Wolves (Official Music Video)
FUTURE GHOST
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Future Ghost - Nemesis Game (Official Music Video)
FUTURE GHOST
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Harrowed TwentyTenVideo
HARROWED
Bosh66· 3 days ago
Sunmancer - Realms of Dilemma (Official Visualizer)
SUNMANCER
Bosh66· 8 days ago
Sunmancer - Lower Cavalier (Official Visualizer)
SUNMANCER
Bosh66· 8 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed