Almah
Edu Falashi
6.4
Angra frontman Edu Falaschi has basically assembled a who's who of the kind of metal that attracts the limp-wristed bastard cousins of The 40 Year Old Virgin who still don't quite understand how the vagina works but know how to make bombs from cereal boxes and chicken wire (i.e. symphonic power metal), and the result is less than stellar.
Whether these names really mean anything to you or not is irrelevant, because the musicians involved don't necessarily wear their influences on their sleeves. Emppu Vuorinen (Nightwish) handles the guitar work, Laurri Porra (Stratovarius) holds it down on bass and Casey Grillo (Kamelot) plays the drums. In case you're wondering what that kind of lineup amounts to, it doesn't amount to much (anybody care for watered down, ballad-heavy trad-power metal?). In some ways I am reminded a bit of Vanden Plas' softer moments. Admittedly, aside from the first few songs, this album is about as boring as sitting through the entirety of Gerry (Gus Van Sant, 2002). There's very little to sink your teeth into before you start biting your lip in frustration. The talent is there, yet the songwriting falls pretty flat. That's an easy observation to make when the album tails off like a downward curved penis at half-mast.
Mr. Falaschi himself must be given credit for not just throwing a bunch of names together and hoping it gels well though. Despite a lack of killer tracks, there's a consistent feel to Almah that lends it some credibility. It's pretty obvious that he was looking to go in a more traditional direction than what he's limited to in Angra. Unfortunately, the album is just too sappy and saccharine for my taste. I know this can't be right, but even after the fourth or fifth listen it still felt like at least a third of the album was crappy ballads. 'Nuff said.
