Often it can be good for artists to experiment by fusing together genres and various styles of music when making their music. Rock and Metal artists can do the same and I've noticed that a few times when I started writing as a music journalist. Today we have another fusion of genres, which, judging by the name infuses Hard Rock and Melodic Metal OR Melodic Rock and Heavy Metal. Whichever one of those two combos it is, we get an album from a band that are classified as Melodic Metal Rock on their Facebook and Melodic Heavy Metal on The Metal Archives website.

The band in question is FELINE MELINDA from Italy, who is back this year with a new album called "Dance of Fire and Rain" on 7Hard Records. The band is from the South Tyrol part of Italy and they formed in 1987. Their releases have had large gaps in between with their first release being an EP in 1988, followed by a second EP in 1995, with their debut album coming out nearly ten years later in 2004, with the second album in 2008, and now here in 2014, we get the third album.

Sometimes a big gap in between releases can indicate that maybe the members didn't have the time to record, with maybe having busy schedules, or maybe other commitments got in the way of their career. Whatever the reason was, they clearly don't let this bother them, as they still release records despite the gaps in between.

The album, which clocks in at 51 minutes over 11 tracks, is just what you'd expect from a Metal album from a European band. The mix is mostly good and sounds pretty impressive for the most part, but could be improved with a tiny tweak or two but not by that much, as it's mostly clear and you can hear the melodies plus the flow of music is constant and continuous.

Sometimes that can pay off as a constant flow of music is often a good thing, especially if it sounds good, which this does in the music, as it's very heavy with fast guitars and fast paced rhythm sections in places. The only thing that may put the listener off at times is the vocals. They are very good for what they are, and you do become impressed with what the singer and the band were setting out to accomplish, as there are some songs where the vocals stand out more then the others, and you can hear most of the words, but I think the performance needs a few tweaks here and there but despite that, it's actually not too bad.

Verdict time now, and I am quite impressed with what FELINE MELINDA have been able to produce with their new album, "Dance of Fire and Rain". The band name may sound a bit silly but the music is not that for the most part you can hear the music and the vocals, but given a few tweaks, it could be improved a bit. That said however, its actually quite good for the most part, and you will be impressed by what you hear.<