Neoclassical metal-This album surprisingly is mainly written by the guitarist, a 21 year old shredder. They play music in line with Yngwie Malmsteen and Impellitteri. Kind of a hybrid of hard rock/metal. A form that will either be loved or disliked. Well for me, I like it...in fact I love it. I've loved this form of metal since I got Malmsteen's The Seventh Sign but due to my lack of exposure to this genre of music, I have limited bands to listen to. But now Narnia has widened my music circle.
"Break The Chains" a slow opening (which is usual for such genre) and then it immediately speeds up with fast guitar riffing and 1 thing about this genre is that there are only clean vocals, no other form of vocals. I don't know who to compare the vocalist to. But the trademark for neoclassical albums are the solos and the fast riffing with lots of beat changes. This album is full of them. "No More Shadows From The Past" is 1 such track. A fast solo at the middle of the song with the time change to mid-paced before kicking back into into the original beat...a 2nd solo which is really fast comes in near the end of the song...wow this guy is fast with his fingers.
"The Return of Aslan" a instrumental piece full of "showing off" on guitar skills. I wonder whether this band is being pushed as a guitar hero kind of band. Soothing acoustic guitars on "Heavenly Love" gets you into the mood. Slow metal/rock with emotional vocals telling us to let go in the presence of God.
"Time of Changes" - great guitar effects and keyboards on this track...making it sound like Kitaro (in the beginning). Then it becomes a mid-paced track, which is usual in this genre, with a great solo towards the end. Again the vocalist has a lot of emotion on this song. The chorus makes you want to tap to the rhythm of the song.
The title track "The Awakening" a slow masterpiece of neoclassical metal. There are powerful and emotional vocals with the mid-paced drums and the slow riffs. The solo unlike the ones on the other tracks, goes together hand in hand with the mid-paced drumming, more like complementing the drums rather than letting the fingers run wild. "Touch From You" is a faster piece, the solos come in at the start of the song rather than in the middle or the end. "Sign of The Time" is a track which relies heavily on keyboards to create the soothing effect. Chugga chugga guitars are in this piece..
8.5/10
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