Karuna - Neitherworld

\r\nPersonally I have to admit that I am a fan of Melodic and Power Metal. But I am just a fan, not a hooligan and therefore I can reserve critics even harsh on releases of Melodic and Power Metal bands. On this occasion, another Power/Melodic metal band, Karuna try to gain our attention with their self-financed 3-track "Neitherworld". The Irish band Karuna have been around in various forms since 2002 and are formerly known as Dark Crystal releasing a demo in 2003 entitled "In the Arms of the Mountain". We can easily see that their main influences Angra, Helloween, Gamma Ray, Rhapsody Of Fire and Iron Maiden. Personally, I’ll add Dragonforce to this list of bands and this is justified not only by their way of playing but also by Dragonforce’s producer Karl Groom who is also Karuna’s producer. \r\n

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\r\nKaruna manage to proove us that they’ve got talent and lust for music but on the other hand they manage to show us that they’ll need to try harder if they want to make a difference in today’s traffic jam of Melodic and Power metal bands who come from all over the world in a time of decay for Power and melodic metal scene. Despite the good production, guitar and drum playing by Colin Callanan and Chris Carton seem to be a bit flat and uninspired. Colin Callanan has a very good voice and manages to cope with high melodic vocal lines but they sometimes seem uneven to their way of playing. "Neitherworld" and "Wayfarer" can be easily passed by but the last song "The Lost" impresses me with the alternation of high and mid tempo parts adding some prog passages and catchy chorus which proove Karuna’s talent in music. I will have to give too thumbs up, though, to Karuna’s artwork which is exceptional. Finally, I am a bit disappointed from the fact that Karuna didn’t include any proof of their origins and Irish traditional music sounds in their music. \r\n

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\r\nOn the whole, this work can be described as raw material and Karuna will have to work even harder on it if they want to go one step further. Power and Melodic metal scene is full of bands that play the exact same way, if they don’t want to be lost among them, they’ll have to make a difference. \r\n

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