Dark Diary

If there's one thing I surmised from hearing this album for the first time, it's that Magica likes their metal. They don't distort their guitars and dress in leather in order to jump headlong into a scene, reap some kind of pre-established benefits, and play numerous "Women Who Rock" or "Queens of Metal" festivals. They play metal because they get that adrenaline rush from the crunchy tones, meaty riffs, and general bombast soaring out of their amps like a bunch of ghostly raised fists, at least going by Dark Diary, my first foray into the band and one I've played enough times since to get a full handle on.

Unequivocally, the most distinctive element regarding my impression of this album is not, in fact, the lead singer's vocals, but rather the guitar rhythms. Boasting melodies that generously evoke the NWOBHM movement as much as the more familiar gothic and power metal genres concerning female-fronted acts, there's a headbanging thrust to the chord progressions highlighted by a mixing job that clearly favors the guitars over the keyboards, which are reduced to a supporting role. The vocals, though clearly heard, are not emphasized concerning the production, giving the album an overall heavier vibe, backed by organic drum tracks. There's a weird sheen to the vocal tracks, maybe a bit too much treble, but other than that Dark Diary is presented with one of the better mixing jobs I've heard from an album rooted within the more melodic side of heavy metal.

Embracing its musical properties and jamming it up the unsuspecting ass with locomotive gusto, the opening track is a scorcher, propelled by a speed metal tempo and busy guitar licks. An excellent way to launch the album, I was almost stunned by its bravado and lack of any commercial aspirations. The band is talented on all fronts, including the singer despite her thick accent that can jar due to occasional verses that seem borderline gibberish. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind her vocals at all, but they aren't exactly the main attraction to my enjoyment of this album. In fact, early on during the mellower sections of the second tune, her delivery sort of comes across as if she had just finished sucking on an immense lemon. The tone and phrasing basically seems awkward and somehow uncomfortable. "Tonight" does re-establish itself once the chorus arrives as a fairly competent number, yet I found myself concerned that I was subjecting myself to one of those albums in which the strong opener belies the mediocrity of the entire release.

That minor anxiety was soon quashed by "Never Like You", a metal stomper brandishing one of those riffs that infuses in me the urge to grasp the nearest broadsword or tennis racket and swing wildly with a sense of misguided conviction. It's actually become my 'go-to' track if I'm in the mood for a Dark Diary 'quick-fix'. Everything here works, including vocals in that I prefer her belting out her lines as opposed to crooning them. Other strong tracks would include "Release My Demons" and "We Are Horde", which brings back the speed of "Anywhere But Home" in glorious fashion. The lone pure ballad, "Dear Diary" ends the album with an approach more akin to an epilogue than a standalone cut, but Ana's accent is actually endearing here, and the keyboardist with the smirk-inducing moniker of 6fingers gets to show off his admittedly considerable skills, which doesn't occur too often elsewhere during these compositions.

There's a bit of a gothic tone to this album due to the nature of the lyrics and packaging (the album cover captures the spirit of some vampiric graphic novel), but the general perception to my ears leans towards a more bombastic power-infused heavy metal approach musically speaking. I'm not a hater of gothic metal at all, but in this case I liked the way the band focused on their technical prowess and occasional majestic passages rather than aiming for a straight-up haunting atmosphere. Not every track offers the same level of enthusiasm and zest, but for the most part Dark Diary is engaging enough to warrant frequent re-visitations, especially if I'm in the mood for a serious East-European accent to get off on, so to speak.

Ever since bands like Nightwish and Within Temptation, countless female-fronted metal bands followed in their wake. One of those bands is the Romanian based Magica. They play a style very similar to Nightwish, which is melodic power metal with a female vocalist. The differences are that Magica plays more towards a traditional heavy metal riffing style and doesn't rely on symphonic sounds or classically styled vocals like former vocalist Tarja Turunen.

Magica is led by vocalist Ana Mladinovici, who provides some fairly decent vocals for this group. My biggest problem with her is that she comes across as a little too generic sounding for a female-fronted metal band and her voice sometimes sounds too nasally at times, especially on the song "Tonight". That is probably the only real complaint about this band as a whole. Magica really have some talented musicians, especially 6Fingers on the keyboards. When called upon, he can compete with the best out there in power metal. His contributions on this album are a little limited though, but that is a minor issue. Prior to this release, I was not impressed with this band's style or their songs. But this album really proved me wrong as the band has noticeably matured over time.

One of the reasons this album is their best is the fact that they have gotten away from the cliché of power metal in the fantasy department and have developed a darker style. Magica used to be very cliché in their lyrical themes but now it seems that they are going more toward an emotional style in the genre much like Sonata Arctica for example. Their songwriting is also much stronger as well with more interesting songs and riffs. "Anywhere But Home" is an excellent opener to the album with great guitar and keyboard work and is a pure fist pumper from beginning to end. "Never Like You" has a great guitar riff in the beginning and the chorus has a great male vocal section that backs up Ana to give it more substance. Definitely another cool song to head bang too!

"Release My Demons" is another song that I find very powerful and quick paced. It is also a very dark song and leans towards a goth metal approach. "On the Side of Evil" has an 80's feel to it in the opening guitar riff as well as the chorus. The chorus in this song is also helped by male vocals and works well which gives it the catchiness it needs. "Need" is another song with a great guitar riff intro that has plenty of heavy metal power behind it. The energetic and fun "We Are Horde" makes you want to raise your axe and go to battle somewhere in the Middle-Ages. The chorus in this song is once again backed by male vocals and has a nice guitar solo. The song "Used To Be My Angel" has a powerful lead melody which keeps you cheerful and in a good mood throughout the song.

As many good tracks as this album has, there are a few on Dark Diary that I find a little boring and not as well thought out as the others. The track "Dead Diary" is a pretty sounding piano ballad with some nice melodies to it, but the song is too short and doesn't have enough substance to it. As I mentioned above, "Tonight" is an okay song but Ana sounds too nasally on this track, plus the song is not as interesting as others on the album. "Wait For Me" is a decent song too, but it feels a little too cliché for female-fronted metal and it isn’t that strong of a song. So besides those tracks, this is a very good album.

I feel that this band has really come into their own of this release. This album is recommended for anyone who is looking for a good female-fronted metal album with plenty of power metal fun equipped with nice guitar and keyboard work. This band isn't too original or unique of course, but they are good at what they do and that is what counts.

If you ask me, what would help the power metal world in this day and age is to add a much-needed darkness to their bouncy two-step musical proclivities. Not that I’m against happy-go-lucky performances…it’s all good if that’s what you’re about, but to me, taking a more night-clad approach to things would only serve to benefit. Simply put, I’d take to the moonlit dramatics of “Nightfall in Middle-Earth” over the sugar-coatedness of “Power of the Dragonflame”, as the former lets loose with a malevolence that’s truly not for the faint of heart (plus, there’s no obsession with dragons…w00t on their end!). All this makes sense for this here MAGICA outfit, as the cover art makes me think that something sinister and stormy is on the horizon, but with the power metal fluff to keep it from suffocating the listener.

And with that in mind, I stepped ahead into this shadowy unknown…

Right off the bat, a good portion of tragedy is present within the group’s playing. Mirroring the dismal euphony of the cover art rather than the band of the same namesake, MAGICA’s "Dark Diary" bursts out as an 11-track evocation of the better and more tolerable of the symphonic/operatic metal world, reminding this listener of an energetic little sister of NIGHTWISH during their Tarja Turunin period (read: back when they were GOOD and had something going for themselves); a dramatic combination of well-written and performed symphonic keyboard interludes, background-based but still necessary guitar and bass riffs, galloping drum work and powerfully emotive female choir vocals in a rush of fantastically catchy and heavy material that can’t, dammit, CAN’T be ignored or relegated to background muzak (glad to hear a lady-type behind the mic; your regular male metal warbler would’ve hindered the process, I fear). As mentioned in my little intro, darkness in power metal can only make things nicer on my end, and these guys (and gal) are able to convey that shadowy feel naturally, with nary a sensation of upbeatness or sunshiney days amidst the ever-thickening mist surrounding the riffs and orchestral movements. Truly good for what ails you if you want your melodic metal ridden with strong and long-lasting appeal, as songs like “Anywhere From Home”, “Wait For Me”, and “On the Side of Evil” serve up a satisfying platter that demands seconds on the listeners’ end.

So in the end my first foray into the MAGICA way of things is successful and I found myself enjoying this to resolute ends. Truly something I’ll come back to again and again should that itch for all that is heavy and symphonic become too much to bear. Very very VERY recommended.