METAL SOUND
(Serbia)

This Valinor, among couple of bands with the same name is from Poland., and they are playing symphonic black metal, with very bombastic keyboard sounds and nice riffs structures which are more suitable for some power/speed metal bands than one of black hearted. ‘’Hidden Beauty’’ is their second album, once released in 2006 as self-released album and now, under the wing of Apocalypse production, and with better production in sound, album is here again, if I’m not sure, as it would be really stupid to send us record which has been released four years ago. Album itself have many good moments, songs arrangements are very nice, fluent and melodic, with very dramatic and grandiose keyboard moments. Vocal parts are weak side of the album. They aren’t convincing like they should be. They sound more like barking of a village dog than like blackened screaming and roaring. Cover design of the album is more like for some Gothic than blackish release, while production is fine, even it possess the delays and echoes in core of the sound which paints album atmosphere with cold and, let’s say ‘’grimness’’. All in all, album consists of nine songs, with one instrumental among them. Besides the vocal that should be much better and hardrer, album is very good, dynamic, strong and melodic. Highlights of the album are : ‘’A Hand Of Dead’’, ‘’The Bloodless Face’’ ‘’Funeral’’ and ‘’Hidden Beauty’’.

Vladimir Petković (7.5)