Clairvoyants – The Shape of Things to Come (2012)

Led by Luca Princiotta of Doro fame, today we have Clairvoyants and their excellent Power/Heavy Metal release titled “The Shape of Things to Come”. Delivering eleven tracks of brilliantly crafted old-school Power/Heavy Metal, this is one hell of a catchy and enjoyable release. With 10 our 11 tracks composed by Luca, we have a very solid Power/Heavy Metal foundation that can compare to any big-name band in the scene.

With a very catchy chorus section, “No Need to Surrender” opens this release showcasing the band’s firepower. The guitars are very solid, the drumming is well crafted, and the singing is pretty ok for a Power/Heavy Metal band. Luca clearly knows how to open and album and with this epic anthem, “The Shape of Things to Come” is off to a great start. “Endure and Survive” is the next super catchy song in this release thanks to some meaty riffs and, again, a very catchy chorus section. This track also reminds us more of older Heavy Metal songs than any Power Metal we have heard in the last few years.

Featuring a more melancholic tone the track “The Shape of Things to Come” showcases the band’s guitar wizardry and their skills to compose a very different song. The vocals start to surface a bit weak since they seem somewhat linear, showing that Gabriele Bernasconi does not have as much range as some people would expect. The incisive riffing of “Prometheus” makes this song a nice ‘shape shifting’ track between Heavy and Power Metal. The typical ‘power ballad’ comes in this release under the name of “Sinner’s Tale”, this is the only track where Gabriele vocals sound a bit different from the rest, making you thing that is actually a different singer belting this one out.

The hard-rocking “The Heaven and Back” and “Here Today Gone Tomorrow” nicely round up this release with their super catchiness and excellent drumming. However, the best song in this release is saved for last: “Horizon Calling”. This 8 minute epic has a very solid build-up (with a excellent bass guitar line) and nicely culminates in a dramatic fashion with excellent keyboards and everything.

Overall, “The Shape of Things to Come” is actually an excellent release that features over 55 minutes of well-composed and well-executed music. There mixture of Power Metal and Heavy Metal elements is pretty solid, and the way the band is confident enough not to overcompensate with ridiculous guitar/keyboard sections is the best thing about them. In a time when everybody wants to be the fastest, the most complex, etc., it is very refreshing to hear Clairvoyants and their simple but effective approach to the genres they play.

Release: February 27th, 2012

Genre: Power/Heavy Metal

Country: Italy