Genre : Symphonic Epic Metal
Label : Independent
Origin : Germany in the way of Greece
Official site : > - here - <
Phobos Corp is a symphonic metal project mainly fueled by the similar spiritual calibration you will find yourself being the witness of whenever you soak ears into the earthy and ethereal machinations of such mainstream epic/goth ensembles as Nightwish or Within Temptation. (Did you notice yet how the Within Temptation song "Faster" is a blatant ripoff of Chris Isaak's evergreen "Wicked Game"?)
The Felicity EP comes to you with a covert art that brings to mind the highly disturbing movie Martyrs, while the music on this 16 +- few secs EP is a riskless-, easily approachable and easily accessible symphonic metal build with both less intimidating and less beefed up production values than the latest Nightwish contribution weighs in as, for example. Read on to find out more about this.
With four tracks on it, the extended play has just enough occasion and showtime to give you a relevant idea of the shape of music a full length could be exhibiting from this enthusiastic squad. The compositional strategy is not at all in the efforts of hiding its straightforward intents, as the name of the game always is the trusty-steady chord progression that reigns at the core of each respective declaration with an Iron Fist and an Adamantium Dragon, so, the flow of music does not really have a chance to go sour, because it is kept in constant obedience to the current chord progression, while the deliverance of mid-frequency ornamentics AND the female singing are both primordial tools to carve out the sonic landscapes around the chord progressions with. As you may suspect already, - courtesy of the notion of the chord progressions that simply won't submit to cease - the flow of things is easily predictable, but it is more of a beneficial thing than a hindrance. Here is why : the disc does not want to abandon a comfort zone that it paints up via the intro, and, while it showcases a readiness to offer variation, it remains super-easy to see that the premiere intent is to go for the hook all the time. Not a problem, because the tracks exhibit solid hooks. Not hilarious "overkill-hooks" like Nightwish's "Storytime" that turns the listener into a pink comet with fireworks and black holes as backing vocals, but solid hooks, nevertheless.
The instrument choices sometimes are odd in my opinion, - like "La Bull De La Diaaaaaablo" Desperado-trumpet solo interrupting a high fantasy build. Give me back my spell book! Thanks. YES, better.
The disc sounds to be a super-tame variant of the "Sauron On Steroids" music of Italian Ancient Bards, with one additional heavy duty exception, and that is the singing itself. If you have read my highly enthusiastic and not at all pessimistic Ancient Bards review already, - a stupendous read! - then you know how baffled I am by the lead singer chick's tremendous she-warrior performance on that particular album, whereas I have the impression that the lead singer lady of Phobos Corp is not currently comfortable with exhibiting her lung capacity 101%, though I'm pretty sure the disc would weigh in even more efficient on its own merits if she'd do that. Show us the animal!
Granted : you'd need more "angry"-, or, at least, a tad more "epically determined" composition fabrics to be able to accomplish that with a legitimate function, since the modal settings of these tracks are not particularly aggressive, with lyrics like "I believe in fairy tales". I know, you don't have to say it.
To wrap this review up, I'm going to say this : it is pretty safe to check out Phobos Corp's high fantasy symphonic epic metal package in this EP form, as it gives you an insight on a disciplined-, cautious inner vision of its favorite style, though this vision is yet to emerge comfortable with waging a war against silence by sonic weapons silence cares to raise a brow at. Expect the timeless charisma of the plastic orchestra, and expect the relief when the distorted rhythm guitar finally "rebelliously submits" to the Cause and emerges to save the day from bedtime book epicness by its own sheer unique power .
Check out Phobos Corp's Felicity EP here.
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