SKYLARK — The Princess' Day (review)

Album · 2002 · Power Metal

1.5/5 · 2021-12-05
lukretion

Skylark occupy a special place in my CD collection because they have been my gateway band to power metal when I was a kid back in the mid-1990s. They were one of the first bands I ever listened to in the genre, probably because they were on heavy rotation on one of the ultra-rare Italian metal radio stations I used to listen to at the time (RockFM). As a result, their 1995 debut LP The Horizon & the Storm was perhaps the first CD I ever bought in the power metal genre (and maybe even overall). Other purchases followed, including The Princess’ Day, Skylark’s 5th full-length album, released in 2001 via Underground Symphony.

Skylark may have managed to impress the 15 years-old version of this writer enough to convince him to buy several of their albums over the course of a decade. However, listened 20 years later, with somewhat less impressionable ears and various dozens of other power metal albums under my belt, The Princess’ Day (and nearly all the rest of Skylark’s catalogue) is terribly disappointing. I can summarize the album’s most obvious shortcomings under three headings: unoriginal and repetitive songwriting, awful production, and shaky vocals. Let’s examine them in turn.

Stylistically, Skylark do not depart much from the tropes of the neoclassical/epic/symphonic power metal genre that was so much in vogue in those years. If you can imagine a mix between Rhapsody (of Fire), Stratovarius and Helloween, you have pretty much nailed down the record’s key coordinates. Now, to their credit, Skylark were among the first to pursue this subgenre in Italy, but in the end that does not mean much when your songwriting is so blatantly rooted in the classic sound of a zillion other similar bands. Perhaps this lack of originality may not be a capital sin in the power metal subgenre, where innovative songwriting is rarely a priority. However, it does become bothersome in the context of this album, because all songs end up sounding almost identical to one another. Seriously, while listening to this CD, there have been times when I did not even realize a new track had started, because of how similar all the songs sound, in almost all aspects: tempo, structure, the way melodies are constructed, and even the lyrics.

Adding to the detriment of the repetitive songwriting, the production is terribly amateurish. Carlos Cantatore’s frantic, relentless double-bass drumming often drowns out all other instruments, especially the rhythmic guitar and the bass. Eddy Antonini’s keyboards have somewhat more prominence in the mix, taking further space from the guitars. At times, all one can hear are keyboard chords barely emerging from a double-bass drum drone. There are also mad swings in the levels of the lead instruments, for example in “Journey through the fire” when Antonini’s harpsichord is suddenly pushed upfront in the mix in a way that makes it feel completely detached from the rest of the instruments. The same occurs with Roberto Potenti’s bass in “Another Life”. The end result is a very odd-sounding album, lacking power and depth, and with glaring inconsistencies in the mix.

Fabio Dozzo’s vocals are another issue here. He has improved quite a bit compared to the days of the band’s earlier albums. Nevertheless, his performance is still tentative, mostly because he just does not have the range to hit those crazy-high, Kiske-sque notes that Eddy Antonini insists in writing for him. Fabio’s singing is OK as long as he stays in the mid-range, but his high-pitched vocals are really poor. At best, he sounds incredibly strained, at worst he is just out of tune. This is a pity, because the other musicians’ performances are actually decent. I especially enjoyed the guitar solos, which may not be particularly innovative with their standard, high-speed neoclassical metal phrasing, but are well constructed and performed. Eddy Antonini’s keyboard solos and arrangements are also quite good, and Roberto Potenti’s bass solo in “Another Life” is interesting too. Carlos Cantatore’s drumming is much tighter compared to Skylar’s original drummer Francesco Meles, although the drum sound is still quite poor overall.

These small redeeming qualities save The Princess’ Day from total disaster. They are not enough, however, to allow me to recommend this record to anyone other than die-hard Skylark aficionados and collectors. As to the 15-year old me who first got hooked on this band, what can I say? Youthfulness and all that comes with it, I guess.