FENISIA is an alternative metal band based in Rome, Italy and founded in 2009. The band's sound is very much influenced by American southern rock, but also blends in heavy metal riffs and hard-rock elements. "The Spectator", which will be out worldwide on October 30th via Eclipse Records, was produced by Ray Sperlonga (American Idol) and mastered by Collin Davis (IMAGICA, DEEDS OF FLESH). This is the band's third album and final chapter of a trilogy in the band's conceptual discography. "The Spectator" develops around the character Lord Lumieres, a journalist investigating and trying to unmask a religious cult.

"Lord Lumiere" is a great first song for the album, full of energy and sums up the style of the band and what you'll hear further into the album pretty well. Interesting riffs and drumming are found throughout, and the vocals fit the melody and the style well. With "Sky Oracle", I'm not so sure that I liked the vocal effects present on the verses. They sound like autotune and it's apparent that they're added on purpose. The vocals in this song and the next one called "Manifesto" reminded me of OZZY OSBOURNE. The catchy choruses are the high points of these two songs, in my opinion.

"Wake Me Up" steps away from the southern metal vibe of the former tracks and sounds more alternative than anything else. "Eternal Cult" builds up along the way. "Burned In My Brain" is a ballad, so it is quite different from the rest of the songs on the album. I really liked the acoustic guitar lines, as well as the vocals that are adapted very well to this track. But this calm is soon disrupted by the initial riff of the following song, "Wizard Of The World"; this is for sure the heaviest song of the whole album. The powerful heavy riffs, combined with more aggressive vocals during the chorus, and some almost guttural backing vocals in certain parts. "Conspiracy Rules" continues with this heavy metal vibe from beginning to end.

The last track of the album is a cover version of the well known Lenny Kravitz song "Are You Gonna Go My Way" from 1993 (Yes, it's been that long). First thing that I noticed, after the characteristic initial guitar riff of course, was the tone chosen for the bass, which is absurdly low. I personally have no problems with that. I guess one of the hard parts of this song is the vocal interpretation. In my opinion, this version lacked the grooviness and feeling that the original song has.

I really liked the story behind the concept the band chose to develop for this album. Reading about it, I can tell that they really did their research and that all lyric writing was done based on this research. Overall, the production is well done and the songs are enjoyable. On the other hand, I don't think this album is groundbreakingly original and I didn't feel much of a musical connection between the tracks as I was expecting to find on a concept album.