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Aethra > Tales from Distant Skies and Far Beyond > Reviews
Aethra - Tales from Distant Skies and Far Beyond

Glorious! - 98%

Oakenson, April 12th, 2009

Wow, this demo destroyed me! - I will openly admit that I wasn't expecting much from this Aethra demo; I mean, I liked the cover artwork and the color scheme and, of course, it's underground power metal, which essentially can mean two things: it's either a rare gem amidst the many not-so-good bands of the genre or, aye, it's just that, a very average and uninspired recording. Well, needless to say, as my near-perfect score implies, this is one of the best, most inspired and just all-around completely awesome power metal recordings I have heard, EVER!

The medieval/fantasy atmosphere throughout the demo is ever-present, and it's used in such a manner that could be applied to the earlier albums of bands like Rhapsody, Highlord and Fairyland although, despite those comparisons, this album does sound different, still, possessing its own unique sound and aura. Hmm? - how to describe it? - well, it's a very lush and warm recording, with a strong uplifting atmosphere, sprinkled generously with completely magical keyboards that, if you weren't listening too closely, you could swear came from the older Final Fantasy game soundtracks! - yup, that good! ;) Apart from the keyboards, the guitars have a reverby, almost atmospheric tone, and they mesh together very well with the backdrop of the aforementioned synth, drums, bass and the epic, clean and powerful vocals (which are great, by the way, truly far better than average). Overally, the demo sounds fantastic, I can find no complaints or qualms with the production or ability of the players!

I am not going to bother with a song-by-song analysis of any kind, since Tales From Distant Skies And Far Beyond is definitely something to be experienced as a full recording rather than just going to highlights (since every song here IS a highlight) and, although I am not sure how much traffic this band gets via Metal Archives, due to their rather underground nature, however, I can only hope that my review will persuade some viewers/readers to check out this lost gem that, without a doubt, should NOT be lost amidst the underground! - this band should be sharing the stage with the likes of Dark Moor and Heavenly, so, in a nutshell, if power metal is your bag, you'd be a complete fool not to seek this out!

Best Mexican power metal band ever? - YES!