Scelerata is a Brazilian band that got it's start in 2002. After building a strong following in their homeland, they put all their efforts into the recording of their debut album Darkness And Light. They have opened for bands such as Gamma Ray, Masterplan, Shaaman and more recently Deep Purple. During the last several years, the band has also developed a close bond with fellow countrymen Angra by not only opening for them but by also helping out in a promotional role. Angra vocalist Edu Falaschi even makes a guest appearance on this album. Originally released in Brazil, Japan and Europe only, the band has been picked up by Nightmare Records for distribution to the North American markets. Playing a brand of Helloween / Edguy / Gamma Ray style of power metal with some progressive influences, Scelerata doesn't really offer anything new to the genre but affirms just how popular power metal is in Brazil. Heavyweights like Helloween and Gamma Ray regularly draw large crowds and always include Brazilian dates on their tours.

Much of this album falls into the Helloween influenced power metal yet some of the big bombastic chorus styles of Vain Glory Opera / Theater Of Salvation era Edguy are also key elements to the band's sound. The tried and true speedy power metal style is infused with a stronger, riff-oriented and heavier sound than a band like Angra. Instead of the muted riff style, this band actually plays solid and catchy riffs, lots of shredding lead breaks and a touch of a neo-classical edge with a top-notch sound and production. They have a firm grasp on the musical ideals of quality power metal yet a few tracks are all over the place and are complicated for the sake of being complicated. All the pieces of the puzzle are here; it's just that they just haven't quite figured out how to fit it all together yet. Tracks like The Spell Of Time and the title track Darkness And Light offer the listener more dynamics with thundering heaviness; galloping rhythms and a heavy/quiet mix of passages. The Spell Of Time features a vocal duet between Angra's Edu Falaschi and Scelerata vocalist Carl Casagrande with further Angra influences coming through with the chorus section. Darkness And Light also has the emotional and feel of Andi Deris era Helloween with some subtle progressive elements. Wings To Fly also throws the horns to Helloween as well with it's wild and speedy style.

Although the elements for a great power metal band are all here, Scelerata is plagued by what usually plagues new bands namely weaknesses in both song writing and vocal performances. Carl Casagrande has a good voice but he needs to work on strengthening his voice to handle the demands of singing in such a higher pitched Michael Kiske style. He strains way too much on this album and he is sometimes horribly off-key. The vocal melodies and choruses also need work in order to be on par with others in the power metal genre. Although many of the tracks on this album feature lots of riffing and riff breaks, what is missing is a common thread or "glue" that ties all of this together. There is so much potential here with the talent of this band and a killer sound and I suspect that they will overcome the 'growing pains" of any band's first album and improve with their second release. Scelerata is currently on track to release an album in 2008 and if they can bring a little more coherence, a stronger melodic sense and better vocals to the table with their next album, they just might be able to fill the void left when Edguy bailed and took the "Rocket Ride" to becoming just another melodic heavy metal band.