Fables & Dreams

Artist: Lunatica
Label: Seoul Record
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
EAN: 8804775018947
ASIN: B00069JA4M

Release Date: 2004-10-28

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Listmania:

My Female-Fronted Metal Collection, Vol. 3
"A Gothic Experience - Best Albums by Female-fronted Bands"

Tracks:

Search Goes On
Avalon
Elements
Fable Of Dreams
Still Believe
Spell
Neverending Story
Hymn
Silent Scream (2004)
Little Moment Of Desperation
Flame Of Dreams (Bonus Track) (Remix)

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Customer Reviews:

Excellent Symphonic Metal in the style of Nightwish.......2006-01-22

When I want to find this CD, I know exactly where to find it; in my five disc, CD player. While other CDs in my player have come and gone, Lunatica has occupied the coveted number one disc position for at least two months.

Honestly, there isn't anything particularly outstanding about this Swiss Symphonic, Femme Metal sextet or there music for that matter. Their attraction, for me at least, seems to be that their music is just so pleasant to listen too. In fact the opening song, "The search goes on," bears a remarkable resemblance to the opening theme song from The Fellowship of the Rings and the last song, "A little moment of desperation" reminds me of Blackmore's Night's "Fires at Midnight."

I'm not accusing Lunatica of plagiarism. I'm sure at least the melody for "Fire at Midnight" and probably the theme from The Fellowship of the Rings has been floating around Europe for hundreds of years. What I am accusing Lunatica of is poor judgment in their choice for a band name. Maybe it means something else in whichever of the three languages they speak in Switzerland but still the lyrics are in English so you'd think they'd come up with a catchy name that didn't make them sound like a group of lunatics. Seriously, with the name Lunatica, wouldn't you suspect it was a Death Metal Band. Well, they could,'t be farther from Death Metal.

Speaking of Blackmore's Night, Lunitica's excellent lead singer, Andrea sounds a little like Blackmore's Night, his wife, Candice Night that is. If you have heard Candice, you know that is a big plus. Another big plus is these guys sound an awful lot like Nightwish, sans Tarja, which happens to be the way Nightwish is now. Honestly, I'm not particularly sorry to see Tarja go. Her vocals were a tad too stiff and formal, too operatic for me.

Conclusion

As I mentioned, Lunatica's music is similar to Nightwish. It's also a lot like Visions of Atlantis, who I've compared to Nightwish. Coincidently Lunatica's debut album was simply titled Atlantis and this follow-up is a concept album of the continuing story of, you guessed it - Atlantis. I guess Atlantis is big in this genre.

Now if you're wondering, other than comparisons to other bands what Lunatica sounds like, I will try to tell you. The music is highly melodic and structured. It's hard to tell in this day and age of layering but many of the songs if not all are backed by an orchestra. The leadoff song, "The search goes on"starts with one of the male band members reciting a dialogue, telling the story, while an orchestral intro continues in the background, morphing into a grandiose finish. This leads into an uptempo version of the same melody, "Avalon"with Andrea at the mic.

All the songs except track one and track four are up tempo rock sounding. Track four, the title track is a ballad that was released in Europe as a single. Track six, "The Spell" is a little different because one of the men in the band keeps repeating - "I can't stop now, I'm losing my brain," while a dog barks. It's similar to what Evanescence and Lacuna Coil have done, Nightwish too, come to think of it but it's just different enough to be cute. The last track, while still a rock number, has a medieval folk feel to it. If Fables and Dreams has a weakness, it's that the recording is fairly homogenous. There isn't a lot of variety. Obviously, it doesn't bother me because it's still in my CD player but it would have been nice to have more variety. Best songs: "The Spell" and "Silent Scream." Final rating 4 ý stars

(...)

Great debut album by Lunatica.......2005-10-19

I truly found this symphonic metal album excellent. What can I say? I highly recommend it for those who are not quite familiar with this type of music and are exploring with curiosity. For those who are very familiar with this genre - I say its a MUST!
There are several symphonic metal bands out there which are between good and mediocre, but this one offers some mysticism in terms of lyrics, voice, and of course, sound. Everything is fine with this one as it will transport you to a new level of quality music. The songs are as following:
1)The search goes on - I won't be reviewing this track because is a mere intro with cool sound at least.
2)Avalon - a good song with mild velocity and fantasy in it (A)
3)Elements - interesting lyrics and sound. A little bit slower than the first track, but amusing (B)
4)Fable of dreams - this is more a symphonic metal sound falling into a ballad, but it won't dissapoint a bit. The interaction between both singers in this one is awesome (B)
5)Still believe - this one ascends from ballad to symphonic metal, and it is quite enchanting as the previous track (B)
6)The spell - this one follows the same pattern as Avalon, it is fantastic to resume (A)
7)The neverending story - don't be confused with the movie (just a slight joke there). This one is perhaps a fusion of tracks 4 and 5, the mixture of velocity and smoothness is excellent (A)
8)Hymn - this one has like a glorious sound into it, but still it is great to listen (A)
9)Silent scream - my favorite track. This one is just mesmerizing to resume. Great performance and lyrics (A)
10)A little moment of desperation - another favorite track right here. It comes close in sound and performance as the previous track. I found this one repetitive to listen (A)
I give this album a solid A (A is 4, so that explains the 4 star rating). The band's performance, Andrea's sweet yet cunning voice, the fantastic yet mysterious lyrics - its all well organized for an opening album, I'm impressed. Finally, if you want to hear something different, don't hesitate, the album is breathtaking. Buy it if you have the chance.

Fantastic.......2005-07-04

I love this album! I was hooked on it starting with the first song, which is a symphonic intro to the rest of the album. Andrea, the lead singer, sings the rest of the songs and her voice is gorgeous. On "The Spell" she gets vocal support from one of her band members. No grunts on this album. The music great, too, the way symphonic metal should be.
My favorites on this album are "Avalon", "Still Believe", and "A Little Moment of Desperation". Heck, I like them all, lol! I can't wait to get more from this band!! For a debut this is pristine! I would advise you to buy it.

Music CD:

Music CD

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