The Californian band EDGE OF PARADISE plays Melodic Heavy Metal in the old fashioned way; with a slight circus of freaks tip, they enlisted the services of the legendary producer/mixer Michael Wagener (SKID ROW/DOKKEN) for their first full length “Immortal Waltz” with the very active German label Pure Steel/Pure Rock becoming the official publisher of the new album. Updated with a new cover-art and a dense Promo campaign everything seems set for a triumph!
But I'm afraid that the credibility of the album will be laborious to defend in an overcrowded and overly talented scene, and I think to establish EDGE OF PARADISE and its first album differently as a gimmick item would be a hard task. Sure the pretty face of their redheaded frontwoman Margarita Monet is an asset but sadly the vocals are merely OK and nothing more i’m afraid; a little thin, lacking of edge, conviction and grid!
Their music is as well a little generic and not really inventive but I should admit that the focus is tagged in the best way, enhanced with some predictable but catchy hooks and some attractive melody lines. Really a mixed bag of sensations as far as i’m concerned!
As far as songs go all I can say is “Perfect Shade of Black” offer an interesting appetizer but it fails to persuade, and the title track gave another Epic/Symphonic/Weird twist with a SAVATAGE-meets-HUNTRESS quirky kind of atmosphere. Maybe that it's the right stylistic protocol to take this band up to a next level! Then there's the cover of the DIO-era SABBATH classic “Children of the Sea” which positions itself in the danger zone of attempting to both reinvent while also recapture in a respectful angle the essence of this classic among the classics.
1 Perfect Shade of Black
2 It's My Show
3 Immortal Waltz
4 In A Dream
5 Rise For The Fallen
6 Ghost
7 Break Away
8 Goodbye
9 Children of the Sea
Margarita Monet - vocals
Dave Bates - guitars
John Chominsky - drums
Nick Ericson - bass
Edge Of Paradise – IMMORTAL WALTZ 2015
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