Derdian – Human Reset (2014)

Out of the hundreds of releases we receive at Infernal Masquerade every month, it is always refreshing to find some extremely well produced self-released albums that sound better than some more popular and well-established bands. Luckily for us, Derdian’s 5th full-length release is one of them with their well-refined Power Metal that reminds us of bands like Rhapsody of Fire, Blind Guardian, Stratovarius, etc.

After the typical atmospheric opener, “Human Reset” kicks off with the album title track delivering excellent vocal melodies and a very healthy pace. The band’s sound is clearly very well refined and everything sounds just right, making the songs flow like water. As the album keeps providing us with gems like “In Everything” and the melancholic “Mafia”, we are greatly impressed with the perfect union of crafty drumming, playful keyboards and soaring vocals.

Things turn to more classically inspired songs like “These Rails Will Bleed” that nicely showcase the band’s diverse sound and serious musical skills. If you have a knack for epic tunes, “Write Your Epitaph” and “Gods Don’t Give A Damn” are filled with guitar solos, majestic vocal melodies, and a very mellow pace, similar to earlier Stratovarius stuff.

If you like your Power Metal with some progressive elements thrown in the mix, you will surely appreciate songs like “Alone” and “Music is Life”. Ivan Giannini delivers a very solid performance through this release thanks to his versatile and approachable style, making songs like “My Life Back” be a complete delight to listen to. Another standout instrument is Marco Garau’s keyboards that are never abused and perfectly mixed to provide a very epic back drop to the music.

As a whole, “Human Reset” is one of those releases that is very versatile and never gets old. The band delivers 13 tracks that rival any big name band while still imprinting their own unique style in all of them. We can’t recommend this album enough for any fans of Power Metal and Progressive Metal that don’t like over the top releases and want to focus more on the core elements of the genre.

Label: Self-Released

Release: July 23rd, 2014

Genre: Power Metal

Country: Italy