Visions of Atlantis – Delta (2011)

As one of our most anticipated releases from Napalm Records in 2011, today we have Visions of Atlantis with their fourth full-length album “Delta”. As an habitual reader of Infernal Masquerade, you should know that we have a weak spot for Symphonic/Gothic Metal releases and “Delta” is hands-down the most impressive one we have listened in the last few months.

After a few line-up changes drummer Thomas Caser brought back Werner Fiedler on guitars and added Mario Lochert (Emergency Gate) on bass guitar and on vocals we have the sweet voice of Maxi Nil (ex-Elysium) from Greece. This vocalist change is probably what makes this release be even better than their previous ones since her voice contrasts amazingly with Mario Plank’s clean vocals.

The band immediately makes a statement with the majestic opening track “Black River Delta”. The song reminded us of Nightwish’s “Stargazers” song due to the dominant keyboards at the beginning, but it quickly explodes into a full on symphonic attack with impressive orchestrations and vocal lines that will get stuck in your head for days. The guitars and overall pace of this song is very energetic and set the tone for this impressive release.

In a more dramatic tone we have “Memento” and the majestic arrangements of melodic sections and melodramatic male and female vocal sections. The choir-like arrangements are particularly impressive and sound excellent. “New Dawn” sounds again a bit Nightwish-esque (“Nemo” era), and fully delivers another great song.

The music of the band is very rich and all songs have very memorable moments, being the guitar solos, keyboard arrangements or the tight drumming, everything works in perfect harmony to create the ultimate listening experience for fans of Symphonic Metal.

In terms of vocals, we have to say that “Twist of Fate” is one of our favorite songs (also features a very Nightwish sounding passage, you will easily pick it up), here Maxi Nil’s sweet voice is greatly used to create a very dramatic feeling. If you are looking for great solos, just hear the end of “Elegy of Existence” where Werner Fiedler greatly shines. Looking for ballads? Check “Reflection” out.

Almost 40 minutes have flown by and the band closes the album with our favorite song of Visions of Atlantis (and they have great songs in their previous releases): “Gravitate Towards Fatality”. In this track, the vocal duet of Mario and Maxi is just majestic and the chorus section will resonate in your head for weeks.

We have to say that we are pleasantly surprised that “Delta” was this good. The band did a great job in crafting very catchy and monumental songs that will please even the most demanding fans of the genre. Great songwriting combined with sublime vocals from both Mario and Maxi, this release is just too good to be true. If you are a fan of Symphonic Metal, drop everything you are doing and get this amazing album, you will never regret it.

Release: February 25th, 2011 (Europe) / March 15th, 2011 (USA)

Country: Austria