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Act I - Origins In Darkness

    
       
       
       
     
             
Esperfall are a melodic metal band from Hungary formed in 2016, releasing two E.P.'s - 'A Leap Of Faith' (2018) and 'The Leaf Legacy' (2019) - and their debut album 'Act I - Origins In Darkness' in 2022.    
             
Never hearing Esperfall before, it was the bands first single 'Tempest In Paradise (The First Advent)' that gave me my first taste of the band - and the taste was delicious! I was instantly taken aback by the angelic symphonic vocal performance of lead singer Nora "Nonee Darkling" Sima - her voice perfectly suited to the fast paced power metal pomp of 'Tempest In Paradise (The First Advent)'. And I thought to myself, "this is a symphonic power metal band I wanna hear more of". So with great anticipation, I obtained the bands album, their debut 'Act I - Origins In Darkness', and prepared myself to listen - headphones on and volume up! The single I'd already heard was first up, but preceded by the short atmospheric and crescendo building intro 'A Gift From The Gods'. A perfect set up for 'Tempest In Paradise (The First Advent)' to follow - and I was once again taken aback by Sima's voice, and the sheer pace, purpose and intent of the classic sounding European power metal gallop - a sound that is one of my favourite styles of metal. So imagine my surprise when song number two 'Retreat Into Dreamland' exploded into life with a harsh vocal performance - by Sima...! Yes, Nora Sima is adept at both harsh and clean vocals! To say I was amazed would be a fucking understatement - but I was amazed even more, when later on in the song, I was greeted with complimenting male harsh vocals! Courtesy of the bands bass player Peter Wachal. Jeez I thought, this is gonna be one helluva ear bashing! The good kind of course...    
             
...with 'Retreat Into Dreamland' powering on at a much faster pace than the previous song - the bands music sounding like a cross between symphonic power metal and melodic death metal. An intriguing blend that somehow works! The opening double is a definite head turning, sit up and take notice moment for sure. Mesmerised by what I've heard over the last ten minutes, my mind is now wide open to what else the band has to offer. So try and surprise me now Esperfall - I'm ready for ya. 'Plato's Cave' takes the symphonic power metal direction, with a sparkling clean vocal performance from Sima, spliced with short snappy harsh vocals. What an incredible opening treble, and a threesome to excite, delight, tingle and pleasure the ears of many listeners the world over - especially fans of bands such as Angel Nation, Catalyst Crime and Moonlight Haze, as well as Arch Enemy and Lutharo. Yes readers, you read that right - for Esperfall stand proudly on the bridge between the genres of symphonic power metal and melodic death metal. The pace of the album increases with the blistering 'Nature Of The Disease (The Second Advent)', portraying a much more aggressive feel than heard so far. The harsh vocals growl with added bite, the music roars with thrash nuances, and we find ourselves in some kind of symphonic power, melodic death, thrash metal three-way!    
             
Moving into the realms of melodic metal, 'Don't Leave Me Behind' is a majestic mid tempo swagger of mild serenity - not the serenity of a ballad, but serenity from the brash barrage of the album so far. With only a slight hint of harsh vocals, 'Don't Leave Me Behind' is a calming cacophony of hymn-like symphonic metal - with 'No Tomorrow (The Third Advent)' the complete opposite! An immediate upturn in oomph, sees 'No Tomorrow (The Third Advent)' race off at high speed, only to adopt the calming pace of the previous song. And then with a change of gears and a switch to harsh vocals - the adrenalin rushing, blood pumping barrage of symphonic power/melodic death metal takes over, and the band literally blow me away with their insane ability to seamlessly shift between different metal styles. What is fuelling Esperfall I have no idea - but I want some! Maybe it's the water in Lake Balaton, or the country's world famous Goulash, or even just the magical inspiration of Hungarian born master of illusion Harry Houdini - there's definitely something special fuelling the band!    
             
Entering the traditional metal genre at a feisty gallop, 'Futures & Options' is straight forward heavy metal with a symphonic vocal performance, complimented by male harsh vocals. Esperfall continue to mix up the vocal activity with each song - not one resembles the vocal path of another, And that is what's great about this album - not knowing which direction it'll go in next. Up a level is where it goes next - 'Black Flag' a soaring symphonic stomp, until a change of gear and Sima's harsh vocals hit hard like a fucking tsunami! Her range is absolutely phenomenal, and continues to shift all the way to 'Black Flag's end. The final song on offer is the ballistic 'Cortex Breakdown', the buzzing guitar sound of the intro so synonymous with the legendary NWOBHM evolution. 'Cortex Breakdown' features all the vocal styles previously heard, all the different metal influences of the band, and will leave you in no fucking doubt, that Esperfall are one amazing band - with an incredible debut album.    
             
Overall, a mesmerising and magical blend of symphonic power metal, featuring both clean and harsh vocals.    
             
             
Review by Iron Mathew Collins    
             
Reviewed for Metal Gods TV    
             
             
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