A myriad of female-fronted Italian bands out there, including the very well-renowned LACUNA COIL and  their likes such as MACBETH, are being (mistakenly) associated with the epithet "Gothic" which is more or less irrelevant to their style. This equally applies to the band we're talking about here; DEVA. The band plays merely progressive Metal with lots of Symphonic elements, however they label themselves as "The future of Gothic Metal" which in my opinion has no future since we've lost TYPE O NEGATIVE.

"Murther" is the sophomore album by DEVA, following 2010's "Between Life And Dreams" is a solid effort in the same vein but with more maturity, showcasing a significant growth in the band's style. The album is basically Prog Rock / Metal yet features heavy use of "bombastic" female vocals, orchestrations, keyboards and choirs, contributing to its dominant Symphonic Metal layer.

The album is quite long, extending over one hour or so, consisting of fifteen tracks, but it's still very listenable. For the fans of the genre, this album might be an instant favorite. All songs are of a considerable catchiness and the album as a whole is very "fluid" and homogenous. The Symphonic Metal influence is very prominent, and I can definitely hear the EPICA-inspired songwriting on most tracks. Beatrice's singing contributed heavily to this reminiscence, her voice lies somewhere between Simone Simons and Morena (MACBETH). Nothing outstanding though.

I'd definitely recommend this album to the fans of the genre, it is a very solid record. However, it's not something I would revisit after a long time.