DERDIAN – New Era Pt. 2 War Of The Gods

Derdian was formed in 1998 by Henry Pistolese and Marco Covelli as a cover Thrash Metal band and is located in Italy. The decision to write their own music took the band away from the Thrash sound and placed them in the heart of Power Metal territory. The first Derdian work was in the form of a demo CD that was entitled Revenge and was released only in their homeland. The positive response gave Derdian the chance to play several live shows and pushed them to release the mini-CD Incimet that eventually lead the band to sign a record deal with Steelheart/Adrenaline records.

The debut release through the new contract was the first part of the New Era that is told through the fantasy-based lyrics. The album can be considered as the milestone in Derdian’s biography since it was so successful (especially in the land of the rising sun) and convinced Magna Carta Records to offer them a brand new contract. The second record deal came with the second part to the New Era story that bears the title War Of The Gods.

Italy has a some kind of tradition in the Power Metal scene with bands like Domine, Rhapsody Of Fire, and even White Skull. Things take shape as soon as the pompous and epic intro “Overture” gives its position to the track “New Era,” featuring uplifting Power Metal with catchy keyboard melodies and blistering guitar fills and leads. The high-pitched and clean vocals of Mr. Caggianelli fit perfectly to this music genre without being anything special, while the backing vocals can be characterized as “classic” since they follow the old singing-together pattern. The resemblances to Rhapsody Of Fire are more than obvious, but with a significant difference; they have managed to avoid the extremely pompous orchestrations that become too complicated for many Metalheadz to follow or even bear. The songs are kept as simple as possible and follow a main melody that easily can b whistled after the very first spin. Songs that stand out from the first encounter include “I Don’t Wanna Die,” the galloping “Back To The Crystal,” and the 8-minute long epic “War Of The Gods.”

Well, Derdian have managed to produce a pretty good album, although it isn’t something new and definitely not groundbreaking. The good thing is that whomever buys this album will know from the very beginning what to expect after the play button is pressed. Actually, the cover artwork and title tell everything about these Italians’ music profile. So, this album is perfect for all Metalheadz who want a Metal soundtrack to “dress” the long role playing nights.