Dark Nova
Sivilla
5.7
It always suggests something when an album just ends up sitting around at our site, far past its release date, but not far enough away to discard and forget about. Often times, just forgetting about it is the best thing for both the band and the reviewer, yet, sometimes it can inspire genius, like the Edguy review written by myself and Dave Fonseca. My curiosities got the best of me it seems, as before I knew it, I'm sitting here at 4 AM, lamenting my decision to review a relatively average album when I should be asleep. Relying on their ability to share the gift of progressive power metal to the world, Greece's Dark Nova just barely tread water to prevent from sinking themselves with Sivilla, proving that some things are just best left unsaid.
For being a band that's been together for over 18 years, what Dark Nova have to offer is surprisingly very little. The bass has a rigid feel and clunky tone that doesn't lend itself too well and becomes distracting, but aside from that, things sound alright. The progressive parts like the beginning of "Desperate Act" are the band's high point, while the power metal writing just isn't quite up to par for me. It lacks the same driving energy that the stalwarts of the genre possess, and instead of triumphant, the vocals just seem melodramatic. To their credit, the backing female vocals are solid. I have no idea what's going on when suddenly the drumming seems to be incredibly off-beat once the 2:45 mark rolls around on the early track, "Come Into My Nightmare". It's definitely not the most spectacular drumming I've ever heard, but I'm upset that such an error would even make it to CD. I suppose they could always say it's intentional, but then instead of being untalented, they'd be regarded as sloppy. On its own, if you were to just hear the solo on "In A Crevasse Of Time", you'd be floored, but amongst a mid-paced and sort of basic song with bad keyboards, it's hard to even care how crafty their guitarwork is.
Unfortunately, I can't recommend a band based on good solos alone. That's the only real saving point and appeal for owning Sivilla. If they'd hone their skills and dedicate themselves entirely to playing prog, within a few years, Dark Nova could create something substantial. I'm afraid that on their current path though, I'm going to have to pass.
