It is no secret that metal traces its roots back to classical music, and that is what the particular genre of symphonic metal is trying to emphasize. DIAMORTE and their latest release "The Red Opera" are no different. In fact, they have created a music that is leaning on classical influences and certainly has a very operatic atmosphere. The album title says it all. It's a RED - bloody red opera. The 68-minute record is a concept album that tells the tale of two fallen kingdoms in a dying land locked in an eternal conflict known as "The Great Divide."

The story offered along with the music is surely interesting, but what about the music itself? To give a quick hint, imagine combining EPICA's "The Phantom Agony", SIRENIA's "The Thirteenth Floor" and THE SINS OF THY BELOVED's "Lake of Sorrow". The songs are gilded by the grandeur of orchestral arrangements and shaded by an abysmal darkness provided by the vocals. It also has a very sorrowful mood and a catastrophic vibe. The slow to mid-paced tempos help emphasize the chaos that the music wants you to see.

Opener instrumental "Welcome to Shadelands" introduces the album perfectly, giving a huge hint of what awaits the listener before throwing them straight to "A Scarlet Misery" which offers an authentic, classic style opera music. "Ashes and Sorrow" is where they introduced female vocals which is a strong complement to the grissly growls and the haunting sound of the symphonies. And then, the fifth track "Love Song of the Damned" comes in raging. At this point, the album is clearly on its pinnacle - the drums are astounding, the sudden shifts in paces come to play, the changes of mood are also seamless. However, it is also at this point where it starts to bore you. The song is nearly 8 minutes long, but it could have been cut short to just 7 or 6 and a half. Also, there are very few new elements that are being added, and every second that passes sounds almost completely the same as the earlier moments that have passed. You can also notice the lack of a clear song structure and that is because they very badly want to tie together every chapter of the story that they are telling. That is always the toughest part in creating a concept album and very few bands do that with comfort and ease.

While the integrity of the overall musicality is unquestionably complex, there are missing essential elements. The catchy choruses - where are they? What about the riffs? These are the things that speak for the memorability of a track and not a single song in this album has any of the two. You will definitely enjoy listening to the album, but you might find it hard to appreciate the songs individually because it is tightly bound to each other that you'll "need" to hear what came before which track just to have an idea what is going on. Also choosing a favorite song is too difficult if not impossible - and that is because nothing really remains after playing through it. Overall, I think this album is just fine - not that amazing but definitely not bad at all. The bright sides are that it has a very rich operatic sound, a very good concept behind it, and has a good set of vocalists that delivered excellent performances. On the flip side, it lacks the excitement, catchiness, and memorability.