Angtoria means also effective choral parts, beautiful melodies, some few, well placed spacy touches here and there – and, well, Sarah´s vocals. Speaking of Sarah: Even her vocals doesn’t remind much of her work for Therion or CoF, since Sarah doesn’t use an operatic-style much on this release. Hearing Sarah singing non-operatic is like discovering a new Sarah, and it is a very pleasant discovery. Making it short: Sarah does a very good job, from balladesque to rock/metal style, she managed it all. Angtoria has a very good sense for expressing dramatic moments as well as balladesque atmosphere, like on the beautiful song “The addiction”. Other strengths are the varied song structures that keep the listener busy. An example is the song “Original sin”, starting with majestic orchestration like a soundtrack, slow parts, some spoken words, metal guitar riffs, growlings by Master Aaron himself and a heavy metallish ending. The song “Confide in me” is a cover version of a Kylie Minogue song, believe it or not. I don’t know the original song, therefore I can´t judge by comparison, but the song fits well to the other songs. “God has a plan for us all” is no commercialised product, you will surely need more than one carefull listening to discover the richness of finenesses within the songs. Take some time to explore this release, it is every minute worth. Among the standout tracks: The awakening, the title track, The addiction, Original sin.

written by Blake

Playing time: 49.09