Solisia
Ordinary Fate
2011
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I wonder if the title of this album betrays some kind of open self-awareness by its creators, for, and I'm not trying to be witty here, this is really quite ordinary. The problem is: this type of female fronted band grows on trees by now and unless you're Nightwish, and you invented the genre, or you have a more-than-average-looking singer, you have to be innovative or you will go by unnoticed. Epica and Edenbridge are doing it, Visions Of Atlantis and Amaranthe are failing at it.
Yet I can't in all fairness trash Solisia completely, because they do meet the minimum requirements of the genre: moderately heavy riffing, multiple layers of keyboards and orchestration, and a thirteen-to-the-dozen vocalist cranking out one poppy melody after another. But that's it: there's no extra flavour whatsoever. Solisia's music is like a gentle rain, offering temporary refreshment before gliding off you and splashing apart on the ground. There's no rise or fall in the quality of the songs, the album just plods along carefully, as if afraid of sticking out too much. While they should've been aiming for exactly that.
In the past I've talked a big deal about the importance of originality and how a healthy dose of charm can make something you've obviously heard before still sound appealing. I've given Bloodbound and Wizard an edge in that regard, but Solisia lands on the other side of the fence for me. However, if you're like our very own Mr. Protagonist a fan of this genre, your opinion may differ. In retrospect I wasn't the best person to review this album, and that's why I want to make this distinction clear. If you're like me and expect something more from your female fronted power metal, avoid this. But if you've read all of this with a frown on your face and a fist in the air shaken angrily towards me, go ahead and give it a try. And please don't hit me.
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Arno Callens' rating: 6.0 out of 10