Cost: $1.00
Got this one at the place that's been supplying most of my dollar discs as of late. Initially I was happier about the prospect of finding Brazilian CDs in the bargain bin than the actual album itself.
The band plays Celtic/folk metal with the typical flutes, whistles, violins, and an abundance of acoustic sections. Each song has varying amounts of folk and metal (some have none at all!) elements--the folk elements definitely rule the roost , but even the folk instrumentation is done tastefully with a high level of musicianship. Despite the CD being quite light on the metal and heavy on acoustic guitar, I didn't find myself actually annoyed until the 10th and 11th tracks, where the female main vocals just proved too much.
There are a few things I wouldn't have minded more of. Opener "Bella Natura" has very '80s AOR sounding keyboards which I found amusing, but unfortunately they never use them again in this way on the album. "The Arrival" throws in some black metal vocals near the end, which work quite well, but again, they're limited to just one song
I lucked out on the pressing--this version is the Louder Music jewel case reissue, so it's got the "A Song for Oengus" digipak bonus track without the crappy cardboard. The bonus track itself is very (electric) guitar driven, so at least things end on a heavier note. Overall, I liked this more than I thought I would, but realistically, can't see myself revisiting this that much, even as a change of pace.
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