ESTATE – Mirrorland

Russian fantasy metal workers Estate follow up their 2014’s debut album Fantasia with Mirrorland, which features ten original songs and alternate versions of two of those songs with guest vocalists. “Knight Of Hope”, one of the best songs on the album, has an alternate recording with Mark Boals (Dokken, Yngwie J. Malmsteen’s Rising Force) on vocals, and Mats Leven (Therion, Candlemass) takes a turn on a different cut of “Matter Of Time”. Guest musicians can add spice and variety to an album, but the inclusion of alternate vocal versions seems an odd choice for a fledgling band trying to establish their sound, especially when Estate’s sound is polished and confident out the gate.

The titular opening cut wastes no time in establishing Estate’s musical style with a dense, frenetic opening, and singer Iliand Ferro’s Dio-esque delivery adds the necessary epic color to the fantasy themes expressed here and on the other nine tunes. The Leven and Boals versions are good enough in their own right; but why invite the comparisons when Ferro is the voice of Estate? He handles power ballads like “Winter Kingdom” and the heavier, faster songs like “Ghoul” and “Lady Wind” with equal aplomb, so one wonders why Estate didn’t try shared vocal tracks rather than different versions. Regardless, a bonus track is still a bonus, and Mirrorland features a very strong collection of songs and performances. “Storm Of The Age” is a Progressive-inflected three-parter inspired by the works of fantasy novelist Glen Cook, who is perhaps best known for his Black Company series.

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