DERDIAN — Limbo (review)

Album · 2013 · Power Metal

4.5/5 · 2013-03-20
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Limbo (2013) is the fourth full-length album by Italian power metal act Derdian. Derdian has seen some changes since their last album New Era Pt. 3 - The Apocalypse (2010), not least being that Limbo is their first album not to bear the New Era title, they’ve also spilt from their label and released Limbo off their own backs, and the album also debuts a couple of new members including a new vocalist in Ivan Giannini. It not being a New Era album speaks a lot of irony to me, all of the above taken into account.

While on the surface Limbo may seem to be a typical power metal release, it is very faithful to the template in many respects after all, on closer inspection you’ll find that Derdian have crafted an album with quite the multi-faceted take on the genre. While the most common form of power metal you’ll hear here is symphonic power metal Limbo isn’t as such a symphonic power metal release. There are also progressive metal sections within the album, as well as neo-classical metal flurries. The end result is a power metal album that jumps between symphonic power metal, progressive power metal and neo-classical power metal and sometimes just good old melodic power metal. And Derdian prove equally adept at them all.

The album reminds me a bit of Derdian’s countrymen Rhapsody of Fire but they’re perhaps a little more restrained where the cheese factor is concerned. Limbo is still quite high end on power metal’s infamous cheese-o-metre but the good thing is that it is nicely balanced out with strong musicianship. And I’m sure for the most diehard of power metal fans the cheese factor is part of the charm of the music. Their varied approach makes for an interesting album right across the board, and it seems as if it’s ready to throw a curveball right at the key moment, removing any chance of monotony settling in. It has the fast rhythms, the infectious choruses, the uplifting vibe, but just when you think it might be getting stale they’ll have something to make you sit up and pay attention.

If there’s a fault to be found it’s that Limbo does have quite a mammoth length at close to sixty-eight minutes, so it may be a bit much in one go unless you’re the most massive power metal fan going. There’s no such thing as a short, to the point, style song to be found here with the average track time exceeding the five minute mark. For the most part Derdian don’t waste that running time, but there are a couple of songs, like Heal my Soul or Kingdom of Your Heart, that outstay their welcome a bit. But even tracks like this remain praiseworthy material even if they fail to stand up to album highlights like Dragon Life, Forever in the Dark, Life of Hate or the title track, which is one of the very best on the album along with the closing Silent Hope. I especially enjoyed the later for its use of very classical sounding piano. It threw in a nice touch to end the album on.

I have a few minor misgivings to be fair, but all the same Limbo looks set to be regarded as one of 2013’s finest power metal releases. I wasn’t actually familiar with the band prior to this album and it seems I’ve been missing out on an underrated gem. Derdian know their craft well and prove in here time after time. An exceptional grade rating is deserved.

88/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven (http://metaltube.freeforums.org/derdian-limbo-t2829.html))