GLASYA – Heaven’s Demise

Back when Goliaths like Deep Purple, Rainbow and Yes bestrode the scene, rock music made tentative attempts to bring classical flourishes to an otherwise blues-based form. Bands tried to break down the barriers between the long hair and sweat of The Roundhouse and the apparently fusty world of the orchestra by jamming with the Philharmonic or, in the case of the Floyd, borrowing Ron Geesin and hoping for the best.

From the far-off viewpoint of 2019, the journey towards full-on operatic metal seems inevitable; but it’s doubtful whether those early pioneers saw their efforts as much more than stretching the boundaries of existing forms. Not so the present breed of soprano-bothering metallers. Now it’s about more than just an accommodation between the humble power chord and the occasional rococo embellishment; the emphasis is very much Mozart before Marshall.

Enter Portuguese sympho outfit Glasya. Gorged on a diet of their distant ancestors and the contemporary sounds of Nightwish, this is a group that sound like they’d be as happy playing Covent Garden (or Teatro Massimo) as the Download Festival.

So what to make of it? Well, album namesake “Heaven’s Demise” sets the tone with standard-issue warbling coloured by film score dynamics. It will surprise nobody to learn that singer Eduarda Soeiro shows off a hair-raising set of vocal chops, but the lack of imagination behind her quickly becomes apparent. The overall effect is like putting tinsel on a telephone directory – an image that endures as the album progresses.

It’s only on “The Last Dying Sun” that the band escape formula and summon some satisfying heaviness to complement their dramatic pretensions. But even this feels suffocated by guitars that are too far back in the mix to provide the uproarious foundations the song requires.

While it’s certainly true that some bands make these symphonic workouts compelling, to these ears,  Therion and Epica represent a better place for the uninitiated to start listening.