SERENITY – Codex Atlanticus

Austria’s finest bombastic metal band returns with their fifth release and keeps on going down the same road before, which means the year starts with one of the best symphonic metal releases that 2016 may have to offer. Although lead guitarist Thomas Buchberger left the band, there is no step down in quality between Codex Atlanticus and its predecessors. It is still very melodic, bombastic and driven by Georg Neuhauser’s fantastic voice.

The only thing absent is female vocals as Clémentine Delauney has also parted ways with Serenity. Still, the band does not suffer from it much and if one listens to ‘Spirit In The Flesh’ or ‘The Order’ it is evident that Serenity composes on the same level as genre-heading bands like Nightwish or Kamelot. Codex Atlanticus is a feast if you like your metal bombastic, epic and don’t turn your head if it gets a little kitschy.