Legenda Aurea专辑介绍：I wasn't overly impressed with their first album, but their second album really shows some improvement. The first album sounded too much like a Nightwish clone at their utter cheesiest. The music was overbearing in its use of synthesizers, the guitars were drowned out and low in the mix, and the vocalist was trying too hard to sing in an operatic style. And while Nightwish is cheesy, Tarja's vocals are quite impressive and hard to duplicate. Well, what a difference a year and a half makes. Legenda Aurea bring in a new vocalist and ditch the Nightwish model altogether. Ellipsis is a monumental improvement over Sedna. First off, the mixing and the production is top notch. This feels like a big budget production where everything is well balanced, clear, and full of impact. The drums and bass sound huge with an amazing amount of bottem end heft. Most gothic metal doesn't contain enough to give my subwoofer a good workout, but Legenda Aurea make me happy with my investement in a big dual 15 sub. The band has also shed the Nightwish approach to gothic metal and have focussed on better guitar and keyboard elements. Gone are the cheesy synthesizers, replaced by a more tasteful use of keyboards and piano that you'd find in most prog-metal bands. The keyboards just add texture to most of the songs with the occasional (but rare) well placed solo. Often, piano is used instead of synthesizers to give the music a bit of a neo-classical flavor. Where the album really shines is with the guitar work. The guitars are very thick and distorted. There are a good many popular power metal bands that don't sound this heavy or fast. Some of the riffing borders on speed metal! Check out the start of Parasomnia, this is faster than Metallica or Megadeth have played in 15 years. But the riffing isn't all speed metal, F44.8 has a great doom metal sound. And the song Superbia? Well, it's just freakin' heavier than any other gothic metal band I've heard yet. Despite the heaviness of the instrumentation, the mix is so perfect that new lead singer Simone Christinat floats effortlessly above the musical fray. She doesn't force an operatic voice nor does she go for the angelic method. She just sings with a style that is close to operatic without ever sounding cheesy or misplaced. She has an incredibly beautiful voice with excellent range and delivery. She is a huge step up for this band. I cannot stress enough how impressed I am with this release. After such a derrivative and lackluster debut, I would never have expected this gem of an album. Legenda Aurea have stepped up to the plate and hit a grand slam. This album is nothing short of a benchmark for other gothic metal acts to work towards. This is a great album for gothic metal fans that want less cheese and more heavy mineral content in their music.