Asterise’s debut album “Two Worlds” is a great starting point

Power metal is a genre that rarely disappoints, and it disappoints even less if you listen to a band that’s formed of incredibly talented people like Asterise. They will release their debut album, “Two Worlds”, on December 2nd. After a symphonic and majestic intro, the second single of the band plays “High Above The Horizon“. This song would be perfect to be played in live concerts to really hype up the crowd.

Arnaud Menard has a remarkable vocal range but isn’t impeccable in performing his parts. Nevertheless, his voice perfectly balances Tristan Harders’s richer and deeper tone. To complete the vocalist’s lineup, Katharina Stahl adds passion and emotion to the tracks. “Two Worlds” continues with “Eternal Flame“, which has an extensive instrumental solo and an exciting melodic line.

Like a skater learning to get comfortable on the blades, we place our steps inside a “Frozen Lake” with a brilliant piano intro. This track is definitely more symphonic than the previous ones, and I am absolutely not complaining about this. On the contrary! It was pleasant to change the tempo of the album. “The promised land is here“, sings Katharina Stahl, that returns to the vocals in this one. We can also hear a children’s choir, which is a delicate and sweet touch to give to a song. From an acoustic and simple beginning, the track ends in a surprising metal crescendo, with Harders and Andi Kravljaca duetting.

The album follows with the first released single, “Falling Stars“, the longest track on the record. Menard comes back to the vocals with Harders and joins them also Jimmy Hedlund. “Masked Parade” is also one of the longest tracks, but it is diametrically opposed to “Falling Stars” because it starts pure power metal and then converts into acoustic before ending with heavy guitars again.

Starting with a melodic line, “Top of the World” is structured similarly to the other tracks, and the last is “Funeral of Souls“. I was expecting a sad and heart-wrecking song, and that is precisely what it turned out to be.

In conclusion, “Two Worlds” is a nice starting point for this international project, but there is room for improvement. The production is decent, but the melodies are interesting. The mixing is not perfect, though, because, in most moments, all I could hear were drums, and I wondered why the guitars were barely audible.