Operatika
Dreamworld
8.3
One would never know by listening to power metal quintet Operatika’s first demo, Dreamworld, that the group hails from the antithesis of most of its genre’s lyrical backdrop, but these Jersey boys and girls produce a highly professional and surprisingly clean European sound, keyboards and all. What Operatika proves most immediately on Dreamworld is the competency of its guitarist, Bill Visser. Visser plays with the confidence of a virtuoso. Blazingly fast at times, it’s fun just to wait in anticipation, wondering where the hell he’s going to take the piece next. I say piece because the three songs and one interlude found on this demo are so beautifully and precisely constructed as to render them nothing less. Unfortunately, most demos that come in for review, while produced with great zeal, fall short in selling the band’s ability to take into consideration every facet necessary to handle a professional contract, but with Dreamworld the listener is supplied with a classy cover, an overachieving production job, and great musicianship. After Visser comes singer Slava Popova, whose silky smooth voice, capable of reaching an impressive number of pitches, compliments both Visser on guitar and Anna on keyboards. Popova is no poser. She truly has a unique enough voice to find company in any genre she wishes, but I think she has found stellar company in her Operatika co-horts. Together the three produce a sound that flirts with more operatic elements while maintaining a more pummeling rhythm throughout, and with Stan on bass and Yuri Liakhovitch on drums, they have plenty of support. She never reaches annoyingly high pitches that one might hear in an actual opera performance, so there’s no need to worry about those influences overshadowing the power of Visser’s licks. Rather, she pipes in where she sees fit, and there are long stretches where the band seems to let Visser have fun. Some might argue that the group could benefit from tightening up the song structures and letting Visser have just a bit less fun, but the playful looseness of compositions like “The Calling” keep Operatika from teetering into formulaic territory. Fans of female-fronted power and heavy metal bands, admirers of hot keyboardists, riff-mad metalheads, and supporters of good music should steer their ears toward New Jersey in hope of hearing refreshing heavy metal from five hungry Americans. While I hope this isn’t the last, this demo is certainly the first metal surprise of ’06 for yours truly.
