| Cydonia Metal Blade, 2001 Tyrant: Cydonia are an Italian power metal band who combine mid paced melodic riffing with a light dash of synth and an admirably upbeat percussion courtesy of Rhapsody's sticksman. Cydonia's lyrics are about a martian colony and an interplanetary battle for resources, a seemly good lyrical concept let down significantly by the bands poor grasp of the English language. The only other significant problem is the female narrative of the storyline which is in poor English and sounds crap. These gripes aside there are some damn catchy songs on offer the best being 'Slave To Dream' and 'Last Prayers'. Cydonia's music is fairly straightforward with a fairly obvious verse/bridge/chorus style structure to most of their songs but this saves them from falling into the unneccesary bouts of noodling that overly complex music of this type usually encounter. Main songwriter Dan Keying's vocals are clean, high pitched, accented and original but nothing spectacular that would elevate the band to greater heights. I think hte band missed a great opportunity to add some sci fi flavour to their music to assist the lyrical concept which would have been an original and unique sound. Overall if you're a power metal enthusist and your favourite bands are between albums that you could do worse then Cydonia for an entertaining distraction. Favorite tracks - Last Prayers ; Slave To Dream ; Great Soul of Steel Mark - 7/10 Cydonia 'The Dark Flower' Metal Blade, 2003 Tyrant: I'm a little confused here, The Dark Flower has a more sci-fi musical and artistic approach than it's predeccesor did which was what let the debut album down somewhat, but The Dark Flowers lyrics no longer have a sci-fi theme instead focusing on stuff like faith, battles, and emotions. Strange buch these Italians. The Dark Flower is a very different sounding ( though still slightly cheesy ) album than the self titled debut with a few exceptions like Dan Keyings accented vocals and a similar synth sound. The guitars are sharper, heavier, and less melodic this time around however ( at first listen a little nu metalish ) constrasting better with the vocals. The song writing is familair but more progressive and less 'power metal' with a more varied and less aggressive percussion. The musicianship and vocals are of a decent standard but never groundbreaking but despite this there is something about Cydonia that makes them a satisying ( but not brilliant ) listen. Cydonia are never going to be a band that will demand your attention or be on your wanted list but The Dark Flower suceeds like its predeccesor did at being an entertaining distraction between albums you'd rather be listening to. Favourite Tracks - Dark Flower ; Midnight Man ; Master Shadow Mark - 7/10 |
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