The Pureheart's Breed

Spanish Gothic/Power Metal band Scandelion formed in 2002. The band experienced quite some line-up changes since then, so it is no wonder it took them quite some time to release their debut album “The Pureheart's Breed” in 2008. But that might have been a good thing, because the release sounds highly accomplished, especially when keeping into mind that this is their debut release.

As is the case with a lot of Gothic and Power Metal bands, the music is highly symphonic. To give you an idea: a wild guess would be that the keyboard is present in 90% of the albums playing time. But the guitar and rhythm section play an equally important role, with most of the songs underlining their Power Metal genre tag. The first songs of the album prove that the band seems to have a talent for writing songs which are somehow quite uplifting and have a somewhat positive feel to them. Quite an exceptional thing in the metal world, with most band aiming for a depressive, melancholic or [insert other random negative emotion] feel to their music. This uplifting feel diminishes during the course of the album, as the melodies gradually take on a somewhat darker form, luckily without losing their musical beauty.

Lead vocalist is Sonia. She has a great voice, capable of both clean and operatic parts. Additional vocals are handled by keyboard player Jorge, although his role is rather limited.

Although I really enjoyed the musical content of the album, there are some issues with the production. The overall sound is somewhat muffled, which is a shame, because this type of music really requires a crystal clear production to be fully appreciated. I hope the band will have the opportunity to re-master the tracks sometime in the future, because the songs certainly deserve a perfect production.

I need to complement the band on the great artwork and the professional packaging. Amazing work! Seeing the amount of work and love that went into that aspect of the release, I am quite amazed that the band does not seem to have a real website except for a Windows Live and Myspace profile. Perhaps they should consider putting some effort into that too.

All in all a great debut release from a talented band.