METALWINGS are a Symphonic Metal band from Bulgaria who are a bit different from the majority of bands of the genre in that they don’t sound like they are TRYING to sound like they’re from Finland. It probably comes off as a weird thing to say but that was the first thing I thought when I heard this for the first time, and I must stress that I love Finnish Symphonic Metal, (and Finnish Melodic Death Metal too, but that is another story altogether and not relevant here). It seemed to just sort of set METALWINGS apart from the pack a bit, which is good.
Back to the important stuff, the new METALWINGS album, ‘A Whole New World’ certainly was a pleasant surprise for me when I put it on. It flows well. Singer Stela Antanasova is ‘fluent in operatic vocals’, nothing too over the top though which is good. She is also fluent with the viola which is used magnificently to complement the songs in a beautiful, yet slightly dark way. ‘Like a Willow Without Tears’, and the ballad, ‘Still Believe In Us’, are perfect examples of this, listen and you will see what I mean. The best thing is that the viola, as great as it sounds, is not simply thrown in at every opportunity like some bands I could mention, but won’t (and no, those bands in question aren’t from Finland). This means that the rest of the band are given plenty of room to shine. The band sound on form throughout the album, production is excellent, a fantastic clear sound without TOO MUCH polish, just the right amount in my opinion. You certainly get value for money, it’s a long album at over 1 hour 9 minutes, with 5 songs over 7 minutes, and another just under 7 minutes, so you can see there’s a lot to like. Check them out below.
Verdict – pleasantly surprised.
Fave tracks – ‘Like A Willow Without Tears’, ‘Still Believe In Us’, ‘Second Chance’.
For fans of – Nightwish, Epica, Sirenia.
Release date – OUT NOW.