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Metal Souls

    
       
       
       
     
             
Destinia are a heavy metal & hard rock project formed by Japanese guitarist and composer Nozomu Wakai in 2014, releasing its debut album the same year. 'Requiem For A Scream' was quickly followed the year after by 'Anecdote Of The Queens' E.P. with a live performance video 'A Live For A Scream' released in 2016. In 2017, Nozomu began production for a new album, recruiting Lords Of Black/Rainbow singer Ronnie Romero, Whitesnake drummer Tommy Aldridge, and Marco Mendoza, bass player for The Dead Daisies. 'Metal Souls' was released in 2018.    
             
With the calibre of the musicians Nozomu has amassed for 'Metal Souls', he has got some serious respect in the music industry, and for someone who only burst on to the scene nearly five years ago, it is a great achievement. 'Metal Souls' (the song) opens the album in bombastic style with infectious guitar hooks and a great vocal performance. Destinia is a project, however, for my review I will refer to Destinia as a band, just makes it easier... The album has exploded into life, "foot on the monitor" style heavy metal galloping along at a fast pace, head bangingly addictive and an immediate like. A more melodic vibe comes forth with the heavy mid tempo thumper 'Rain'. A pulsating rhythm gives 'Rain' a party anthem feel as it swaggers on its way, a sing a long style chorus a joy to listen to, and err, sing along to! After just two songs, 'Metal Souls' (the album) is exciting, and a "volume turner upper". 'The End Of Love' may have a title more associated with ballad territory, but is actually a million miles away from it...faster paced than the opening two songs, 'The End Of Love' is a bruiser as it rockets on its way, invoking vigorous head banging from start to finish. Traditional heavy metal at its best, 'The End Of Love' is superb.    
             
At fifty five minutes in length with eleven songs on offer, 'Metal Souls' is weighty, and definitely worth its weight. With no let up in pace, the album powers on with the hard hitting and punchy 'Promised Land'. The four piece are international musicians, and together have forged a sound that incorporates the genres of power, hard rock and traditional heavy metal. 'Promised Land' delivers in all three of these genres in blistering style, infectious, catchy and a fucking great song. Stepping on the brakes, 'Take Me Home' is a hard rock power ballad straight out of the top drawer. Melodic and more rock than anything heard so far, 'Take Me Home' bristles with emotion. Anthemic and a call to arms, 'Raise Your Fist' opens with a crowd engulfing "whoa yea" style chant and proceeds to majestically foot stomp on its way, in a similar musical vein to American icons Manowar. 'Raise Your Fist' is a crowd pleaser, and will have every member of a live audience repeatedly yelling "whoa yea" at the tops of their voices. Superb stuff. Picking up the energy and tempo, 'Be A Hero' is an electrifying fast paced romp of "foot on the monitor" style traditional heavy metal. Power metal meets melodic metal meets hard rock, classify Destinia how you wish, 'Metal Souls' is a cracking album, full to the brim with some of the best catchy and infectious heavy metal you will hear this year. A candidate for Album Of The Year most definitely...    
             
As with many guitarists who create bands, their music is normally very much guitar led, overloaded with guitar solos and often just a vehicle for their own egos, whoops, talents, but that is definitely and one hundred percent not the case here. Nozomu, Ronnie, Tommy and Marco are together as one unit, and have produced a heavy metal album of cracking tunes, mesmeric, addictive and infectious. The mighty 'Metamorphosis' is a furious flurry of raucous riffs and galloping rhythms with a sing a long style chorus and memorable for all the right reasons. It is damn near impossible to choose a favourite song off the album as they are all bloody great songs, however 'Metamorphosis' may just be leading the way. Mid tempo melodic hard rock emphatically raises its head once again as 'Cross The Line' powers in and thunders on. Addictiveness has new meaning as every song on offer here is an immediate like and an instant hit. 'Metal Souls' (the album) will be on my playlist for some time to come. One of the fastest paced songs on the album 'Judgement Day' touches the boundaries of the speed metal genre as it rockets along. A furious flurry, a head bangers dream, raise your fists high and punch the air in delight as 'Judgement Day' over takes 'Metamorphosis' as, potentially, the best song on offer. The album is brought to a close with another anthemic call to arms style song. 'Ready For Rock', from the bands 2014 debut release 'Requiem For A Scream', is another crowd pleaser, with crowd participation at the highest level through the sing a long chant style chorus. 'Ready For Rock' is top notch stuff and brings the curtain down on a fabulous album.    
             
Overall, a majestic and quite frankly superb album of "foot on the monitor" style heavy metal, blending in elements of power metal and melodic metal to perfection.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metal Gods TV    
             
             
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