Frozen Night & Prince Whateverer - Lunar Eclipse III

I will start today's blogpost with some symphonic metal. This one begins quite quietly, with a sort of astral ambience. Quite naturally, the metal part emerges, with a melodic guitar taking the lead. The vocal part follows with the beautiful voice of Holly Frances Royle. After this developement, the song tones down a bit. It's time for some violin by Andra Stefan.

Over all, this song is a stellar atmospheric one. The guitar helps reinforcing the "epic" side of it, while the orchestration and singing creates the more ethereal aspect.

You can purchase this song on Bandcamp or listen to it on Youtube.

Jyc Row - Sun of the Night VIP

Jyc Row has released a new version of Sun of the Night. The VIP stands indeed for Variation In Production. It still features Felicia Fererre as the singer, but adds a cello part by Yoed Nir, and has overall a better polish. It's a very regal and epic song, fitting for her majesty Daybreaker (the queen whom the song is about). Jyc Row is mostly an epic orchestral composer, and this song is a prime example of what he can achieve. The cello solo is amazing and adds a lot to this already great song.

Get it on Soundcloud for free, listen to it on Youtube or purchase it on Bandcamp

Eccentrifuge - Cadence's Heart

To end this article on a quieter note, here is Eccentrifuge's Cadence's Heart. In this version (from the "repack"), there are some vocals added. It starts with them, which creates a smooth layer on which to add the instruments. The instrumentation is very calm with quiet pizzicati, some harp, some piano, a bunch of wind instruments. The song then slowly develops to a more percussive and punchier finale. It's overall a very peaceful song, and both this version and the instrumental one are great.

You can purchase it on Bandcamp or listen to it on Youtube.

Vayle Mystery - Doomsday & This is Gallifrey

I don't know Vayle Mystery very much, except for Doomsday and This Is Gallifrey, two musics from Doctor Who. Doctor Who soundtrack, while not being my favourite one (works from John Williams or Joe Hisaishi still keeps a high position in my heart), has some great themes. And the guitar and instrumentation work done by Vayle does wonder. It's a true instrumental piece, loaded with feelings. And I didn't need to watch the serie to feel the tension in Doomsday, coming to a climax, and then the hope in This Is Gallifrey.

Download links are in the Youtube video description.

Be'Lakor - An Ember's Arc

Be'Lakor is a melodic death metal band which released their first album in 2007. The name comes from the Daemon Prince of Chaos also known as the Harbinger, from Warhammer Fantasy Battle. An Ember's Arc begins with an accoustic intro, setting up quite a rapid pace. It is followed by some more melodic death metal in the middle, with a calm break in the middle. This is a fine piece, which, without being atmospheric metal itself, will still give such a vibe.

Mamiko Noto - Karinui

This is a very calm and soothing song from the anime Jigoku Shoujo (Hell Girl in english), sung by Mamiko Noto (能登 麻美子), who is also a voice actress in Jigoku Shoujo. The song is composed by Masara Nishida and the lyrics written by Hitomi Mieno. I don't know the anime at all, this is one of those, which I know only from songs I listen. I really enjoy the tranquility of this song.