交響金屬源起於70年代末期前衛搖滾與巴洛克古典樂兩個看似無交集的派別，經過E.L.P、P.F.M的撮合運用將神話與文學納入其中，並於80年代由Yngwie Malmsteen正式將其發揚光大，最後在Angra、Blind Guardian、Rhapsody以及Dark Moor等團步步發展帶領下成為了21世紀最重要的金屬支流。
有著南歐金屬新勢力龍頭之稱的西班牙Symphonic Metal名宿Dark Moor成員包含女主唱Elisa C. Martin、吉他Albert Maroto與Enrik Garcia、貝斯Anan Kaddouri、鍵盤Robert P.C.和鼓手Jorge Saez；創團來以極賦水準的演奏技巧融合磅礡古典之手法塑造出「Shadowland(1999)」、「The Hall Of The Olden Dreams(2000)」與「The Gates Of Oblivion(2002)」等膾炙人口的作品。期間雖然歷經樂手相互理念不合導致Elisa、Albert和Jorge相繼退出另闢新陣線，但剩餘團員卻沒有因被打倒反而更加堅強，並透過多次徵選決定讓音域遼闊的Alfred Romero接下主唱職位。重獲新生後Dark Moor在2003年靠著同名專輯再度取回事業高峰，同時粉碎了解散的傳言蜚語！接著發表「Beyond The Sea(2005)」和深入解析每張塔羅牌所影射人生反鏡的「Tarot(2007)」紛紛創下佳績，令Dark Moor聲勢不斷持續壯大。
邁入成軍第16個年頭，告別老戰友Dani改換上新任貝斯手Mario Garcia的Dark Moor交出了第七張全新專輯「Autumnal」，依舊由靈魂人物Enrik和Luigi Stefanini(Rhapsody、Labirynth、Vision Divine)共同操盤，封面則請來Yaga Kielb繪製，將作品主題藉由視覺藝術完美傳達。開場8分鐘史詩鉅作"Swan Lake"是改編自柴可夫斯基的天鵝湖，濃郁古典氣息與重金屬相互碰撞出燦爛火花；首支單曲"On the Hill of Dreams"不時穿插著耳熟能詳的歌劇魅影片段，直叫人驚呼連連；"Phantom Queen"內涵大量民謠元素增添了樂句之延展性；而"Faustus"則在敘述巫師浮士德如何將靈魂出賣給惡魔來換取知識，繼許多歌劇、電影加以改編後，首度以Symphonic Metal方式來呈現；吉他、鍵盤與弦樂緊密交織，"The Enchanted Forest"、"The Sphinx"讓樂團淺力極致發揮。「Autumnal」不愧為Dark Moor成軍以來最具文藝氣息的樂章！

Sweden's Draconian return with their second release, Arcane Rain Fell. This is pure Gothic/Doom Metal: gentle and pleasing, bittersweet and cutting. Melancholic female vocals harmoniously compliment heavy guitars and atmospheric keyboard lines, with aggressive male vocals giving the tracks an added edge. Draconian perfectly balances heaviness and melody, and will charm fans of both the gothic and doom genre.

The Burning Halo shows the Swedish Doom Metal masters in perfect form, having developed into one of the scene's top acts. Heavy guitars and intense growls meet romantic female vocals, head-splitting drumming, and sorrowful piano arrangements. Draconian immaculately unite these elements to create a perfect symbiosis of Gothic Metal and Doom.

这支来自白俄罗斯的乐团的首张专辑就像万绿丛中的一抹红，显得分外妖娆多姿。如果除开别的不论，光从好听程度来看，这张旋死无疑是今年最让人满意的一张。听旋死不就求个感官刺激嘛！其它什么说太多也是废话。这张专辑听得很是让人兴奋，虽然没有主流旋死中恢宏大气的交响背景，但从头到尾毫无拖沓的流畅旋律却非常入耳。整张作品在编曲上处理得十分精致，女声点缀妖柔缠绵，吉他Solo柔情似水，键盘铺陈绵上添花。特别是键盘的完美运用，把整张专辑装点得绚烂无比。在细细听完整张作品之后，竟发现有几分似曾相识的味道。这黑嗓、这键盘、明明就像在什么曲子中听过似的。回想了半天，发现Amenti的音乐和丹麦旋死团Illnath有几些神似。
I hear potential in this band out of Belarus. I like the melodic songwriting, although they interestingly throw in non metal elements from time to time. The overall sound is a bit weak, probably due to them being unsigned. Although they are sung in tune, I am just not a big fan of the male death vox. It has a little bit of Angela Gassow to it. I do not like the couple of songs with the female clean vox. They just aren't good. There are few songs worth listening to, but the songwriting is way too inconsistent and the vox are just not my style.

中文介绍：

这是一张描述死亡的冰冷而美丽的专集，四处白雪皑皑的世界，森林中躺着一只死去的小鹿，封面预示了死亡的内涵。从头至尾充斥着冰冷、凄美、令人感觉凋谢的音符，一阵阵的伤感随着略微庄严的音乐从后背袭来，远处鸟儿的叫声似乎还预示了一丝丝生的气息。键盘是这个乐队惯用表达情感的乐器，使情感串联起来，大自然的美丽诱人，包裹着暗暗的杀气不经意地卷走毫无防备的生灵，有人说专集与MDB的风格相近，莫要以此为衡量，仅需安静地坐在窗前听完，自会感觉即使是死亡也可以有如此惊人的美，自成为陷阱。

第五首”The Fall of Nakkiel”原声吉他与长笛奏出一曲凄凉、委婉、绝美的曲子，如地狱般的男子之声，如天籁般的女子之音，其实这样的曲子在非金属的音乐中经常听到，只是此时此刻，在如是多的铺垫之后，一曲The Fall of Nakkiel即催人泪下，呼吸的停止是如此简单的一剎那，如果是死亡也要选择在蓝天、丛林、白雪包容的世界中，才能安详地离去。

“Astral Dawn”的音乐形式还是多了一些模仿的元素在内，但是也融入了自己的个性，整张专集的旋律主线依旧没有脱离，他们的鼓并不非常重但停顿恰倒好处，音乐的立体感很强，围绕着冰天雪地这一环境，演绎出一曲曲壮观的悲曲，不似MDB更加注重个人情绪，独立于阴暗的空间。

从整张专集的歌词来看，SATURNUS是一支追求理想生活，无社会庞杂因素烦扰的乐队，梦想与现实的差距让人产生一种期待原始的幻觉，也许正是因为这个矛盾点，在与听众的心灵碰撞后，产生了极度抑郁的共鸣。
这是一张值得欣赏的专集，特别是在寒冷的冬季，开车在笼罩着雪的山坡上顿足，天地的灵气与音乐共同注入你的头脑中，如死去般。


"听了之后才知道真正的绝望是什么东西,9首可让你幻想到哪种在死亡边缘的情景..."

Japanese edition of 2003 release for the Spanish power metal virtuosos features 13 tracks including 1 bonus track, 'The Mysterious Maiden'. Arise Records.

*Artist: Cardiant
*Album: Tomorrow’s Daylight
*Year: 2009
*Genre: Power Metal
*Country: Finland

专辑介绍：西班牙民谣力量金属乐队，乐队前身是Saurom Lamderth，1996年建队，偏重民谣金属，曾出过三张风情俱佳的民谣金属全长。乐队在06年初简化了队名，就是现在使用的Saurom，于同年2月出了改名后的第一张专辑《JuglarMetal》，这是乐队在08年初出的第2张专辑，其实改名后，乐队阵容并没有多大变化。唯一变化的是乐队已经走出了原来立下的民谣金属丰碑。融汇了无比激昂的力量金属。整张唱片上半部分偏力量下半部分重旋律，开头曲的女声与结尾曲的男声遥相呼应。经过几年的历练，乐队已经稳坐了西班牙金属的前几把交椅。
还是那一拨人，依然秉承着大家喜闻乐见的“金属歌谣”风格。尽管比起04年的Legado de Juglares，音乐中曾让人印象深刻的风笛长笛等一干民乐的成分有所减少，不过这丝毫没有妨碍Saurom制造出一如既往的优美旋律，比如第4首Lejos del Mar de Rosas和第6首Romance de la luna, luna。直听到倒数第二首Mas Alla de la Tierra Prometida时，熟悉的笛声悠扬翩翩来迟，重温了听Legado de Juglares时候的美妙感觉，这又是首不可多得的好歌。第11首Carnero Asado是最出彩的一首，上来先是一阵淅沥的雨声，然后在雨中迎来铿锵的旋律，然后大伙各显神通把拿手的招数全捣鼓进去了，近9分半的一首歌，错落有秩，安排的很紧凑，没有拖沓之感。整张唱片上半部分偏力量下半部分重旋律，开头曲的女声与结尾曲的男声遥相呼应，很出色的一张专辑。

Japanese pressing CD + DVD incvludes bonus material. Victor. 2008.

The album was recorded at Giuseppe Orlando抯 Outer Sound Studios (Necrodeath,
Novembre, Klimt 1918 and many more) and mastered at Finnvox Studios by the well
known Finnish engineer Mika Jussila (HIM, Children of Bodom, Nightwish,
Sentenced etc.)
The entire artwork was made by the Hungarian artist, Gyula Havancs醟
(Annihilator, Destruction, Benedictum, Elvenking, Grave Digger, Wisdom, Sin Of
Kain and more).

The beauticians strike again, this time with an EP. The perdition EP is almost 22 minutes long, It is a very interesting piece of work, where the tracks are related musically, and at the same time, they are very dependant; meaning, if you listen to the whole thing in continuum, you will feel that it is meant to be together, yet if you listen to the tracks individually, they still stand alone on a very solid ground and all of them have their special moods that blend together perfectly and makes perfect sense.
Tracks breakdown:
Using "A Kodak Kiss" to open up this EP couldn't be more of a wiser choice. the track is an instrumental one, haunting synths are all over the place, with overlaying keyboards, it acts as a "Mood-setter" for the rest of the EP, a very good one indeed, what I can only criticize here is its short length, spanning only 1 minute and six seconds, if it could've been a bit longer, that definitely would've been pleasurable. "I Treasure The Sadness" then starts with a very catchy riff which evolves as the song goes on. The band is definitely progressing and trying to explore new musical directions and lyrical themes. The addition of female vocals, and changing their lyrical style is also very noticeable in their latest album, Mere Contemplations, and it continues here as well. "Lush" starts violently with heavy guitars and keyboards. Its worthy to mention that this song also have a professionally-produced video clip, the band's first ever. Female vocals are still here as well, also some nice solos here and there. "Severely Flawed" starts off a very nice melody, and then it just advances to reveal the true gym it really is. very emotional track, lyrics are very interesting, and easily accessible. Music is just amazing, one of my favorites, alongside with the next track "Mirror Souls" and the second track "I Treasure The Sadness". The way this song is performed, the hidden solos and meanings are astounding. the beauty of it that it's like a candy (the music and solos) wrapped up very nicely (the overlayed keyboards). "Mirror Souls" is my absolute favorite from this EP. Brilliantly composed, amazingly played. This is perfectionism as far as it gets. this track takes you deeply in enslavement of beauty's majestic realms. It is a very good track to introduce the band to someone who have never heard any of their earlier works, since the simplicity of melody and the quality of performance will just speak of itself, and it is a very accessible track for any seasoned listener of their genre. The vocal line is also edited in a very interesting way that only makes it better. Sometimes when you listen to some amazing track you might just feel if this was done there it would've sounded better, but in this track I truly couldn't wish for more, and I truly couldn't think of any better way to produce it. "I Descend To Perdition" is the final track, not one of their best tracks, to my ears at least. Maybe in the future, near or far, it will grow on me though. The track is featuring a nice intro and a general happy mood. Using some words that are not widely, or even used in that genre at all (I'm coming down baby?), the lyrics also sounds a bit weird, but that's the beauty of mood swings this record will bring you. It introduces the band in a different mood than their ordinary; yet staying very melodic.
Lyrical theme:
Lyrics are way more simpler, no more old English, and doomy gloomy meanings, the lyrics are still deep but in a different way. Of course the actual meanings behind these yet-still-catchy words will not be unlocked except for the writer, but generally as I said, the lyrics are very different than Traces 'O Red and Megalomania. They do have the same feeling of Mere Contemplations though. It is noticeable that some words are being repeated, in different songs, to reveal different meanings perhaps? like "high road, verge of tears, Kodak kiss". Female vocals are used on all the tracks, except the instrumental one, it is very nice, and what I actually like about it, that it was not over-used, because if it was, it would've definitely ruined this EP's beauty.
Musical performance:
Top notch. couldn't be any better, Tony's compositions are brilliant as always, and Ole's vocals are performed perfectly. Both seem to have really progressed lately, and together they produce one of- if not THE- ultimate melodic black metal around.

Album lineup:
Zagan - Vocals, Violin, Guitar
Garm - Bass
Zoran - Lead Guitar
Meldric - Guitar
Agnar - Keys, Synths
Bröh - Drums
著名Symphonic Black/Folk/Viking Metal，依然的旋律，依然的FOLK十足！今年TOP20候选专集。