ANCIENT BARDS – A New Dawn Ending (2014)

I almost raped the replay button of In My Arms. This one itself speaks how successful is the sequel of the Black Crystal Saga A New Dawn Ending. The album is quality only – memorable melodies, palpable vigor, well overthought concept. And the harmony between Sandra Squadrani and Fabio Lione almost made me cry.

But those are far not the only values of the new Ancient Bards recording. Twelve songs, each one of them an independent epopee, build an almost two-hour long symphony. The choirs prop up the production and make it even more massive than it already is. The only word that comes to my mind while I’m listening to this effort is… well, there is none. I am breathless and can’t stop replaying the songs no matter shuffled or in their original order.

Most of my attention, of course, is got by The Last Resort. If I had to chose a favourite, it would definately be it. I’ve already mentioned how melodic, harmonic, epic and much more adjectives the collaboration with Fabio Lione is. But this is just the begining. The spoken intro Before the Storm is the shortest part of an album, full of ten-minute patterns of sonority.

Among the other remarkable compositions stand the fairly short Spiriti Liberi alogside the particularly vivacious A Greater Purpose. A New Dawn Ending and Showdown distinguish themselves with lenght – respectively 13 аnd 17 minutes. I don’t know about you, but for me this looks a little bit too much. Until the moment when the songs are over and I start off with them again.
In Across This Life and Flaming Heart one can find peace. Not that their tempo is slower, it’s just the melancholic base they lie on.

After an hour and a half music from the highest level I don’t want my journey through the land of crystal swords to end but, unfortunately, this much has been given me to hear. Thereupon I replay – for a hunderth time.

9/10