Tales From WWII

Haunting sounds of the battlefield starts the debut from Italy's Nexus Opera. The disc starts with a Doom Metal like atmosphere before the pace quickens. An opening track(Ardene) that draws you into the next track, Return Of A Hero. With a longer intro the song builds itself up from soft keyboard(harpsichord like sound) to a lead solo that builds on that melody. When the pace quickens and the vocals come in, the sound has a very classic metal feel. From bands like Manilla Road to John Arch era Fates Warning. These guys can obviously play and the retro sounding production gives the disc a raw feeling, that actually works really well. Katyn(Death In The Forest) starts with soft piano before the song builds up. A solid mid-paced song that is followed by the better and longer, Wolfpack. Laconia features a very cool synth lead intro that is preceded by the sound of morse code. The song for the most part is faster, with a nice melodic section midway through the song.

Nacht Hexen has probably my favorite intro of any of the songs, even with its almost eighties feel. A lead guitar melody can be heard repeated throughout the song. There is also some technical flourishes here and there that shows the band's musical talent. Freedom Fighters has a neoclassical feel in its intro and the guitar/keyboard playing is top-notch. The rest of the song is very familiar from what has come before it. I really like the lead guitar playing heard throughout this song. The ballad, For A Thousand Cranes is a well written song that exposes a weakness(if you can call it that), The singer's diction when it comes to the English language can be jarring. That is not to say he does not have a good singing voice, because he really does. The End Of War closes out the disc with a mid-paced march.

Tales From WWII is a solid debut, that is not breaking any new ground musically. That being said the band does enough to not make it sound like a carbon copy of anyone else. Nexus Opera creates a debut that is ambitious, well thought out and performed. The music and the lyrical themes show a band that is passionate about metal and history, and strives to unite the two with their music. I look forward to hearing from this band, as I hope their evolution only grows.