Dusterlust
Dusterlust
This is the first album of this German female fronted symphonic/progressive metal band. The beautiful detailed artwork is an eye-catcher. The digipack contains the lyrics, which is always useful and unfortunately not done enough in the current download mp3 era. What immediately stands out is the very high and classically trained voice of Regina Rumpel. It takes some time before you get used to it. On Spaceflight we hear a beautiful chorus that can serve as an anthem with some delicate rhythms. The song has a spacey atmosphere. Kaleidoscope is slightly heavier in terms of guitar work. It includes grunts by Philip Seibert and Michl Greul. The drum and bass captivate me. This is very professionally done. Beast of War contains epic elements: the intro sounds like a medieval battlefield. The guitars and vocal harmonies in the choruses reinforce this feeling. The middle part shows again the abilities of the bandmembers. Next Level Racism starts a little laid back, but it rocks during the second half. A very well written and original song. Regina's voice sounds less well in slow and subdued pieces. Finally, the epic and eight-minute long Day In Hell is very impressive: the song goes in all directions and includes beautiful vocals, harmonie and sharp guitars. The three bonus tracks are no fillers but songs of equal quality, which brings the total at 13 tracks. Musicianship of a high quality, just like the songs. Whether you like Regina's voice or not is a matter of taste, but her vocals are definitely special. A band with a specific sound and an impressive debut album.