MIRACLE FLAIR – Angels Cast Shadows
- Posted on 11-10-2016
The second album "Angels Cast Shadows" from Miracle Flair has a versatile approach due to the various influences on hand. Coming from Switzerland and possessing a female singer, many will of course be quick to place a pure symphonic metal tag on the quartet – and while that is a part of their sound, there are also melodic and modern qualities that separate them from being cut out of the Nightwish or Within Temptation cloth.
The 12 songs flow into a focus hook/ groove template – Nicole Hartmann delivering her vocals in a gothic meets pop mannerism, beautiful and engaging on catchy numbers like the decidedly modern hard rock-oriented "Embracing the End" or shape shifting hard to acoustic and back again "Soul Witness". The guitar tone when pushing into overdrive from Daniel Maurizi certainly conveys a touch of the Disturbed meets Lacuna Coil template – but his lead breaks have more finesse and chops that reaches back to classic metal mastery, especially evident in "Blessing and a Curse". EDM-keyboard elements weave their way into an otherwise darker, slinky arrangement for "Still Remaining Part" – the chorus pure gold to embed itself into the head for weeks on end. Producer Tommy Vetterli (Coroner) gives Miracle Flair a crystal clear outlook, even allowing the cello work from Raphael Zweifel proper spotlights.
Considering the fact that symphonic metal is a viable sub-genre with multiple acts attaining headline status all over the globe, Miracle Flair has an adequate opportunity to move up the ranks based on the songwriting for "Angels Cast Shadows". Their dynamic ability to go from ballads to heavier material and keep things distinct from track to track will offer the band a great platform to perform with various bands inside the metal genre as well as on the fringes. If you don’t mind a Swiss band adding in the right tenacity/modern energy a la the North American scene, Miracle Flair could be a surprise hit in your symphonic/gothic metal collection.