The exploration of the poles of Earth is a kind of matter that can enchant people due to the side of the adventure, but the knowledge of the hardships that these courageous men and their crews passed is something far from the understanding of common people. The cold winds, the lack of equipment for such journey, the sicknesses and deaths... It's hard to understand the trials that the expeditions like the one of John Franklin to the Arctic passed, and he and his crew (128 men) had died of starvation, hypothermia, and scurvy. And only on 2014 the wreck of Erebus (one of the two boats of the expedition) was found in Wilmot and Crampton Bay, and on 2016, the wreck of Terror was found in Terror Bay. It's a sad adventure, indeed, and DAIDALOS, of Germany, comes to remind the courage and tragedy of John Franklin's lost expedition on "The Expedition", the band's first album.

The album presents to the fans a form of Melodic/Symphonic Black Metal influenced by acts as EMPEROR, OLD MAN'S CHILD, GLOOMY GRIM and DIMMU BORGIR (on "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant" age), with excellent instrumental arrangements, contrasts between clean and shrieked vocals tunes, but keeping the crude and harsh side of Black Metal omnipresent, and there's a tragic feeling inherited from theatrical pieces on the songs as well. It's not extremely complex in terms of instrumental technic, but it's not so simple as well; it's brutal and aggressive, but bearing a clear touch of sadness; and it's full of energy and personal, and can be an excellent choice for the fans of the genre. Tobias Püschner (the mastermind of the band) produced the album, having with him Francesco Petrelli in the mixing and mastering (and playing guitars as an invited musician). The idea was to sound as Old School Melodic/Symphonic Black Metal act, making things harsh (due to the instrumental tunes chosen), but allowing the fans to understand what's being played. Of course it could be better (the guitars could be put on a louder volume), but's not a waste.

The songs are all very good, and are filled with a sad/melancholic feeling (obviously, due the fact the concept used for the lyrics is a tragedy, after all). And the talent and potential of the band can be heard on songs as "The Expedition" (very good guitar riffs and orchestrations, giving the right ambience of the song, with brutality and a horror-like feeling filling the melodies), "Icewind" (this one sounds a bit more brutal due the approach on bass guitar and drums, but the pianos gives the right contrasts, and what lovely vocals, using contrasts between harsh tunes and clean gothic ones, and pay attention to the female choirs), "Sail into the Stars" (how can aggressiveness and melancholic be presented in such way is a mystery, but how good it sounds), "Married to the Sea" (a great song, with very good and charming shifts in the rhythms), and "Poem in the Snow" (the melancholy become even more evident due the slower parts). And the bonus track "My Melancholy" brings the band using slow tempos and deeper melodies.

Well, all that's left to say is that "The Expedition" is a very good release, and DAIDALOS is a promising name, with an intelligent mind on the band.