NOVA ORBIS - IMAGO
LUGGA MUSIC PRODUCTIONS
Metal To Infinity
Nova
Orbis stands for ‘New World’, and refers probably also to the map of the
world that originally was presented for the first time by Abraham Ortelius
(1527-1598) and spread in 1570. This
band from Colombia, South America, plays music with accents of Progressive and
Gothic Metal, and what they do is certainly not bad! I always have reservations
when we talk about metal from South America, but this band proves that they are
able and capable to compete with the major acts from the USA and Europe.
And that’s really cool, because music had no boundaries, nor
limitations, and it gives hope for the future.
South America is such a huge continent packed with passionate metal
addicts, but so far, only few succeeded to rise out of the ashes.
Technical backlog, limited recording facilities and inexperienced sound
engineers could be the reason why this part of the world isn’t present on the
metal map…yet. But things can change quickly, and the first move might be
assigned to this Nova Orbis. All
hail to the new world of Metal !
In
the year 2005, some passionate music fanatics gathered together in Bogotá to
share their passion. Creating, writing, composing, rehearsing and joining a band
was the ultimate goal to reach, and they did it with so much passion and
commitment, that this first result is available since September 2009.
More
details about the recording session, line up and complete biography can be found
at their homepage, so it’s useless to write it down in this review. ( http://www.luggamusic.com/NovaOrbis_profile.html
)
We
want to talk about their music, and the first acquaintance with ‘Nova Orbis’
is the song “Castle Of Exile”. This one start really calm and reluctant, but
after one minute, a lot of instruments drop in, and this gave me a really good
feeling. Good structure, great
arrangement, and the song really starts on the moment when female vocalist Ana
Maria Barajas starts the first lyrics. What
a powerful voice, what an energy that is really completing the song!! After a
while, a male voice occurs, and that’s a good interaction, although, I’m
glad that we can focus on the voice on Ana Maria!
The
second track is called ‘”Unstable Mind”, and this one has much more power,
progressive influences and a higher speed. This is the perfect follow up song
because it gives a good idea that this band is able to bring variety, and
in the same moment, they remain in the same musical style and direction. Nova Orbis is delivering a perfect dose of metal, progression,
Gothic and other influences, and they prove that they have the craftsmanship to
complete all these different elements into one song. I just love it !
This
album needs a few listens to explore all details that are mixed inside the
songs, and a headphone is a helpful tool to get deeper into the music on
‘Imago’. I believe that this
band is unsigned yet, but they get a helping hand from Lugga Music Promotions
from Spain, and this indicates that at least one agency have the talent to find
out what bands are able to play and reject the inferior ones.
Horns up to those in Spain that decided to give this band a helping hand,
as they deserve it to get into the spotlight of success.
All
songs have an own twist, a different approach, and it’s hard to pick out the
best sounding tracks, as they all have the same passion, and quality on board!
I’m looking forward to hear more of Nova Orbis in the future, and wish them
all the best and success with this terrific debut Imago!
My rating: 86 / 100 (Review by Patrick De Sloover)