France, what a beautiful country! And apart from making exquisite wines and tasty cheese it exports great music too! Heavenly are from France and are doing a great job in promoting their country in the Metal Stardom. With their second studio album 'Sign Of The Winner' they are here to stay.
While their sound can and will, at times, bring to your mind Helloween, Angra and Stratovarius their blend is quite unique. The truth is that the only relatively negative aspect of their music is that resemblance.
'Break the silence' sent chills all over my body the first time I listened to it. And it kept doing so every time from then on! Robust, yet melodic, lyrical and at the same time symphonic. A great opener for sure.... melding into the next song called 'Destiny' with the melody intact and power in abundance with killing riffs especially towards the end of the song.
Ben Sotto's voice brings to mind Michael Kiske for it's power and multiplicity and Andre Matos' for it's melody. He has a vocal combination that is hard to find, that is for sure. The range of his voice is one of the best I have ever listened to. (I sat back drooling while listening to the 'The World Will Be Better' which, by the way, reminded me of Helloween very much).
All the band members have a close bond and their sound is flawless as a whole.
So, If you like melody and symphonic/power metal this album is definitely for you guys out there.... My rate is based on the belief that in the future 'Heavenly' will evolve so here is an...