On Tuesday, April the 9th, we dropped by Devasoundz Studios in order to listen for the very first time the upcoming, sophomore effort by Greek metallers Diviner. So far, our initial impression was more than impressive as the video clip for the song “Heaven Falls” has received rave reviews and comments all over the social media. Naturally our expectations were high and the only question was: did those expectations meet? The answer is an emphatic “Yes”!
For starters, let’s say that the album will be released on the 7th of June and the production will be handled by Fotis Benardo while the mastering was done by Henrik Udd (Powerwolf, Hammerfall etc.). We must underline that a proper review will be done around the release date so this just a first taste; a first presentation of the things to come. The ten songs that are included here are all really well-crafted and leave you under the impression that they have so much more to offer as it is evident that the potential listener will discover things upon each listening session.
Without getting into a scrutiny examination of the album, “Realms of Time” is clearly superior to its predecessor (“Fallen Empires”) and in this writer’s ears it is like a crossroad of sounds where the traditional metal genre (especially in the melodic vocal lines of Yiannis Papanikolaou) meets the modern and sharper sonic approach (especially in the overall guitar sound and the bombastic production). Judas Priest’s influence throughout the album is evident as the same goes to a 90s US sound (eg. Nevermore’s legacy is more than obvious in the song “The Voice From Within”). Also, Fragiskos Samoilis is a total beast behind the drums thus adding a power metal aesthetic to the final result due to the double bass style of drumming/
The absolute highlights are: a) “The Earth, The Moon, The Sun”, kinda a hit as it is catchy as hell and dwells in the classic metal realm of sound and b) the closing track “Stargate”, a majestic piece of art, a type of ballad that reminds a lot of Primal Fear (the song “Seven Seals” comes immediately to mind) while the…Blackmore-esque guitar of George Maroulis add that’s pecial sonic ingredient to the song.
All in all, “Realms Of Time” is a great album and we can’t wait to listen to these new songs live on stage. Until the 7th of June…
Sakis Nikas
