
In relation to steel, there’s not anything rather so groan-inducing because the phrase “pirates”, however for Visions Of Atlantis, spinning stories of journey at the prime seas is not any mere schtick; it’s the way through which they ship cinematic wayfaring anthems. The Dutch symphonic steel outfit have thrown the entirety they’ve on the follow-up to 2022’s Pirates, and it’s paid off. The Land of the Unfastened and This night I’m Alive have air-punchingly just right choruses worthy of Nightwish, whilst the bombastic The Useless of the Sea is the album’s blockbuster.
What’s obvious on Pirates II is that, after a quite absurd collection of line-up adjustments, the band have hit a candy spot with Clémentine Delauney on the helm, who undoubtedly glints in this file. Switching seamlessly between well-controlled belting and delectable operatics, she’s were given the variety and tool of Anette Olzon and Simone Simons mixed. Male vocalist Michele Guaitoli can greater than cling his personal along the mezzo soprano, however either one of them know when to turn restraint and when to bounce, making for some extremely enjoyable moments. That is true on each side: on Pirates II, the songwriting is, for essentially the most phase, dynamic and impactful, swinging between prime drama, hard-hitting heaviness and mild, spine-tingling attractiveness.
Like its predecessor, Pirates II does be afflicted by being only a hair overlong. After the improbable Hellfire, with its addicting chorus of “Burn! Burn! Burn!” and the magnificently understated Collide, the tracks that persist with, like Underwater, appear a little bit superfluous and pedestrian. The album’s seven-minute-long nearer, The place the Sky and Ocean Mix doesn’t rather reside as much as its personal ambition of being a Ghost Love Ranking-esque ‘epic’ observe, paling compared to The Useless of the Sea. Having mentioned that, Visions Of Atlantis are as soon as once more an impressively well-oiled gadget – symphonic steel is obviously their raison d’être, and so they’re rattling just right at it.
