CRYSTAL VIPER
Possession
Release date: Friday 13 December 2013

A short angelical intro gives way to Voices In My Head a fast song with a great melodic riff and a wonderful chorus. Marta Gabriel’s vocals sound angry and powerful, and the soft interlude after the solo adds some mystic to the mix.

After this great starter comes Julia Is Possessed, which quickly became one of my favourite songs of the record. The whole tune is very catchy and well constructed, and Sataniac from the Thrash / Black Metal band Desaster provides some vocals that seem to come directly from the underworld.

Fight Evil With Evil comes next, and I love its chorus and its riff. Marta shows her wide vocal range on this one, but she’s also helped by another special guest: Harry Conklin, known for his work with Jag Panzer, Titan Force and Satan's Host.

Mark Of The Horned One has a rather happy melody, totally unexpected for a song with such a name. This is practically a Power Metal tune, fast and memorable.

From this song, the album can be divided in two different parts, like if the story of the concept album had taken another direction. The first five songs are pure speed Heavy Metal, while the following four are slower and more atmospheric.

Why Can’t You Listen? is a great mid-tempo tune with a very catchy chorus and some great vocal arrangements after the solo. It lasts for some 7 minutes and it’s the longest song of the record.

Then comes the very atmospheric You Will Die You Will Burn. It starts with a long intro, then it becomes harder and harder, until a climax is reached with the double bass drums of the chorus.

We Are Many has a really cool melody and a fascinating chorus that sounds theatrical.

The last song is called Prophet Of The End. It’s the softer tune of the record and it was built with several different beautiful melodies.