Dark Nova are one of the oldest Greek Metal bands that are still active after 18 years of existence.
They were formed in 1987, as Dark Devils and released their first demo which was a combination of Heavy Metal and classical music. In 1991 they signed with Molon Lave Records and recorded their debut, The Dark Rapsodies, which was released in 1993. The company failed to support the LP and the CD was never released. That cost Dark Nova a huge delay in establishing their presence in the Greek - at least - Metal scene. In 1999 they released their second album, 1999 a step beyond...? by Seven Recs. During all these years, the band participated in CD collections and the members were involved as session musicians in albums of Wolfcry, Septic Flesh and Necromantia, not to mention their supporting performances to bands like Testament, Fates Warning, Rage and Gamma Ray and their playing at the Rockwave Festival in 1997.
You can imagine how reverse the conditions were for Dark Nova by the fact that they have only released 3 albums, with 6 year breaks between them and all by different record companies! But here they are now with a new album. Black Lotus Records has already begun a full-scale worldwide promotion for Sivilla and it finally seems that persistence is paid off for this band.
I'm sure that after this long prologue you are just wondering what they sound like. In a few words, Dark Nova are a - more Progressive than Power - Heavy Metal band. After listening to this album and after talking it out with our chief editor who saw their latest acoustic live a few weeks ago (and claims that they were really, really good), the only thing that they short of reminded me were Threshold. But this questionable influence doesn't deprive them of having their unique, at least for a Greek band, artistic identity.
There are various interesting features in Sivilla. Elias' inspiration gave birth to a bunch of atmospheric keys, guitar solos and rhythm alterations that brand a weird and quite demanding work. Any seeming lack of coherence is ignored if you can concentrate on the technical integrity and the pessimism and anxiety in their expression.
In general, all the male and female members are doing a nice job and I'm only reluctant about the vocalist's performance. I think his voice is quite flat and sentimentally indifferent. The production, the usual flaw for all us Greeks, could also have been better. The sound needs more depth in particular, more symphonic parts and the sense of raw that may be attractive to more specialized listeners of such legendary yet cult groups will certainly be negative in terms of the intended international recognition.
I don't like exhausting an album when trying to judge it. So, after giving you the necessary data, I only want to salute Dark Nova and wish them good luck in their new beginning.
- Album Highlights: Come Into My Nightmare, El Cant De La Sibil, In A Crevasse Of Time and Flight To The Unknown.