A brilliant debut that demands attention from just about every corner of the Melodic Rock/Metal community.
Conceived by a song-writing duo who also happen to be identical twins, Mark and Steve Owers (guitar and bass respectively) have unveiled their latest project, Danze Macabre, which represents the fourth such endeavour in their careers since starting out as Fury with Jet Records. Having never previously recruited a female for the vocal chair, it was a challenge they seemed over prepared for, and they've hit a solid home run with this self-titled debut.
Although the band label themselves as Gothic Metal, their songs largely ignore the melodrama associated with that genre. What they deliver instead is a brilliant album simmering with fantastic vocals, huge choruses and lush arrangements, something easily exemplified by the song 'Connected.'
The fanfare continues with 'Nothing Can Last Forever' which should rank as one of the best Melodic Rock songs of 2018. The track is host to guitar harmonies that are reminiscent of Brian May (Queen) with the chorus being both joyful and anthemic. 'Midnight' is a swanky, grooving and bluesy ditty that further distances themselves from that "Gothic" moniker, but on the flip side of things, 'Mistletoe Bride' does much more to buttress that Gothic Metal definition.
While the song-writing is simply excellent, it is singer Nell Montague-Rendall who brings those melodies to life. Her voice is equal parts grace and power with her sublime diction delivering the lyrics with stunning clarity. She is undoubtedly one of the most impressive talents to appear on the scene in the last few years and I cannot wait to hear more from her.
Taken as a whole, the production is well executed with the only criticism being that the guitar solos are a little too dominant in the mix. This leads to a slight imbalance when they arrive, but overall, the sonics are quite good and the vocals are mixed really well. Danze Macabre are able to deliver heavy and melodic music with class where the orchestration is balanced, yet the resulting material retains a significant heft. I opine once more that Gothic Metal is a misnomer for Danze Macabre and petition in favour of something else more descriptive like "Opulent Power Metal".
Regardless of genre tag, this is a brilliant debut that demands attention from just about every corner of the Melodic Rock/Metal community.
Brent Rusche
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