Evil Masquerade - Third Act Escape Music

“Here's metal more attractive,” announces Prince Hamlet to his mother Gertrude long before he is slain by a poisoned blade. Shakespeare's doomed prince of Denmark could have easily been foretelling the coming of Evil Masquerade, a Danish power metal band that uses the aid of Apollo and Thor to create the thunderous and theatrical third album, Third Act. Still maintaining the Broadway-esque themes from their previous albums Welcome to the Show and Theatrical Madness, Evil Masquerade has faced more line up changes than R&B group Destiny's Child. With the 2005 recruitment of singer Apollo Papathanasio and bassist Thor Jeppesen, Evil Masquerade's Third Act has the dark and brooding musical influences of film composer Danny Elfman, booming vocals reminiscent of rock veteran Ronnie Dio, along with a neo-classical orchestration made fit for a Shakespearian tragedy.     Third Act frightens with its beating heart introduction, releasing a monstrous guitar riff by Henrik Flyman in “Black Ravens Cry” that alone could serve as an epic guitar solo. Of course Flyman, who wrote and produced Third Act, wouldn't reveal anything less than remarkable to his audience. What comes next isn't the guttural, abdomen slashing growls one would expect from a metal album, but instead, the operatic, classically trained voice of Papathanasio. Listeners are no longer inside a torture chamber tied to an operating table, dreading the rusty scalpel about to slice their chests. Instead, Papathanasio sings as if he was performing in a grand, candle-lit theater, serenading a skull. It's not that his vocals are terrible. It just doesn't seem like an ideal fit for a menacing sound that promises to cause “horrible death” as it proclaims.     “Final Goodbye” is where Evil Masquerade's magic lies, enchanting listeners with a powerful rock opera rarely heard since Queen's “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The song slows down with only a piano playing in the background, leading to an orchestra harmonizing with the band. With Papathanasio's urgency in bidding farewell, listeners can actually feel him clutching onto dear life on his deathbed. “Descended From The Grave” immediately strikes with intense energy cause by more brilliant guitar riffs worth head banging to. Papathanasio's vocals become deeper, even ferocious without ever straining himself to a death growl. Sadly, “Bozo The Clown” is 70s horror flick cheesy. The track is overly melodic for metal, the lyrics predictable and hasn't Insane Clown Posse already proven that carnival acts plus music does not equal talent?     Evil Masquerade's Third Act is a musical tale of tempted demons, angels of death and drowned victims that can be sung along to. In Hamlet's kingdom, everyone drops dead in the end, but in Evil Masquerade's Third Act, death is where the story begins. -STEPHANIE NOLASCO

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Published on: 2008-02-22 (471 reads)