Highlight Kenosis hail from the unlikely metal playground of Romania – well Bucharest to be exact. These days they make their home in Cologne, Germany, which is probably more in the thick of things with regard to heavy music. Founded in 2007 by Matei Damien-Ulmu, the band has released three albums, with their most recent Shield Of Faith unleashed on the world in 2013.
Like their previous albums, Shield Of Faith runs with the themes of spirituality, love, and life, and so you could (rightly) assume that the overall concept is more uplifting than your usual metal offering. Marina La Torraca (vocals) makes her debut with the band on this album, and she has big shoes to fill. Loyal H.K. fans were wary about whether Torraca could pull off the ‘gig’ so to speak, but from all accounts, she has done so admirably.
There are eight tracks on Shield Of Faith, one of which is a very convincing instrumental called “Fight The Evil”. This track holds powerful guitar riffs and strong all-around instrumental sounds. This track is the winner, being unsullied by distractions the musicianship has an opportunity to shine through and convert the unconverted.
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Torraca’s vocals are gentle as they sweep the listener through the musical landscape. To these ears, they are a little too gentle, and it would have been good to hear some grunt and gristle, or at least a male vocal contrast. Maybe as she settles into the band and finds her feet and some creative license, Torraca will really let loose the gates of hell and make her mark. Listening to the vocals, one can hear Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom Of The Opera” and this can be somewhat off-putting. This is not to say that Torraca can’t sing, because she certainly can.
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The musical prowess of Florian Mathes (drums), Marius ‘Roje’ Varvaroi (keyboards), Viaceslav ‘Slava’ Svedov (guitars), and founding member Damien-Ulmu makes listeners want to hear more of the music composition, but we have to strain to hear the instruments beyond the words. Once the balance between them is found then we may find the music of Highlight Kenosis on more metal playlists.
Highlight Kenosis: Facebook
Release Year: 2013
Label: Ravenheart Music
Category: Album
Country: Germany
Reviewed by Sharon Brookes
