Band's List Melodic Heavy Almah Almah

Here’s the new name on power metal scene – Almah, but the vocalist's name Edu Falaschi can be familiar: he is the vocalist of popular Brazilian band Angra.
And good for the new project thing - the debut album has thick blue booklet with detailed information about creating album, you’ll find there a lot of ”star” names (like Emppu Vuorinen (Nightwish), Laurri Porra (Stratovarius), Casey Grillo (Kamelot)), many «thanx», photos and of course lyrics.

Album itself begins with two drive songs in the very best power metal traditions, and you can hear very traditional vocal lines... All the time it seemed that I’ve heard it already sometimes somewhere... Maybe Edguy, maybe Helloween?.. But ok, vocal is good, lyrics fit the genre, music is "alive" and drive.
Number three is (a bit suddenly and unexpectable) ballad – again in classic veins till the last note, but at the same time in the very Angra’s style, I think (album contains 2 ballads in a whole). Then – again songs of the same traditional kind.
In general album has quite interesting structure – it begins with more "classical power metal" drive fast songs, in the middle there is more interesting stuff, and in the end – more calm and midtempo songs. Ah, «traditional» doesn’t mean that these songs are simple and straight – Almah has its interesting riffs, solos, breaks, some amazing catchy stuff that attracts, - nobody would deny it.
But behind many moments “hm-I-ve-heard-it-already” these interesting moments whiten and get lost. There's a talent in this music, but nothing fresh, it lacks inspiration.
Let’s hope that this album is not the limit of Edu’s talent, and his highlits are in the future.
Production of the album is done really well, musicianship is also great, and each musician of the project (band?) is good musician (of course!), so you can be sure that sound won't disappoint you.

It’s quite boring to write about this CD. It can be described in 5 words: pretty nice heavy power metal. And everything is clear.

If our name is Edu Falaschi, we can have the occasion of meeting loads of artists of every kind and often not the least. So when we have the idea of creating a small and nice album, it’s easy to find mates to play. And so, it’s with a late arrival that this Almah is coming. The line-up makes us dream: Emppu (Nightwish) for the guitar, Lauri (Stratovarius) at the bass ans Casy (Kamelot) at drums. The little cherry on the cake is the presence of guest like our friend Mike Stone of Queensrÿche. If with that, we haven’t something good…

This album comes out late in our beautiful land but it remains marvellous. Entirely composed by the front man of Angra, Almah astonishes, because this album strikes where we didn’t expect. More dynamic than my expectation, it gives several heavy groups their cue without shivering. Those that have pleasantly caught me are Edu and Emppu. The first sings simpler and less high-pitched than in Angra (although it’s less true if we consider the last production…) and the second is developing into a stronger heavier register than what he could have done in Nightwish. The friend Emppu stretches his fingers admirably. Harmonics whistled devastating, solos well settled, that’s chic!
Compositions in themselves are on the whole varied enough but this is not really a good advantage. Let’s say to avoid political doublespeak that the last four titles are rather useless. Why?????? This is largely simple in this album: riffs are catchy and very heavy and at the end we have honeyed and muffled titles that aren’t getting along with the beginning. In this case, they are in the end. Too bad, because these are the titles where Edu is the most present because he has undertaken acoustic guitar entirely.
The production is faultless. We have to say that Edu has become attached to the favours of a Emmy Award winner in 2005. I know, we don’t care about it, but it just was for anecdote.

Very good surprise in this beginning of 2007! Without shaking the genre up, it offers a good disk in the middle of heavy.

Bravo Edu for this beautiful demonstration of power!!!!


English translation by Alexiel.