With a name that means "flaming" in the feminine, IGNEA, a Ukrainian born band brings us the concept album, The Realms of Fire and Death. IGNEA was started as a band named PARALLAX in 2013; whose debut EP was titled "Sputnik". The band formerly changed its name to IGNEA in 2015, thus releasing their first piece under the new name; a song titled "Alga". This song features a full symphonic orchestra; and gained popularity on YouTube, very quickly amassing over a million views. Spurned by this popularity, and several other musical projects along the way IGNEA released their second full-length album, "The Realms of Death and Fire" on April 17, 2020. This is a concept album, with a complex story line full of metaphors and symbols.

The album comes complete with a book of short stories that incorporate the lyrics based on the theme of fire and death. Furthermore, the album is divided up into three parts, three songs each; each part tells a mini story within its general theme. IGNEA is a melodic, modern band with touches of heavy riffs, electronic, oriental, and folk elements. With all that being sad this is a superbly written and produced album. Each element that was applied comes through clearly and with intent. "Queen Dies" - Full robust sound; guitar, bass and drums. Soft female vocals telling the story about the Queen, accompanied by scorching male vocals. Two voices telling pieces of the story line. Symphonic melodies, married to heavy guitar riffs and breakdowns. "Out of My Head" - This song starts in with a lively beat, and the female vocalist as well. Thought provoking lyrics, each telling its own story, yet all pieces of the whole. The guitar solo in this song is a nice edition about midway through the song.

"Too Late to Be Born" - With a synthesized sound, this is a harder song vocally. Each song on this album is a little different. This one is much harder and lacks the soft female voice. This song is rife with blast beats on guitar, and heavy hitting drum work. Where parts of this album are so soft, this is definitely not one of them with its more classical metal sound. "Gods of Fire" - Further along in the story line, this part is sung with both vocalists again. With its fire themed story line, true to the band name with its meaning of "flaming" as previously mentioned. This song meets us with artfully played guitar and emotionally charged themes. A beautiful piece of magic inducing sound. "Disenchantment" - Soft orchestra opens us up with an "enchanting" sound, followed by a much harder beat.

The contrasts of the female vocalist and the male vocalist give complexity to the sound all around. Each purposefully leading us down the path of its fantastical story line. Well played and full of rich sounds. With all the complexities of this album, "The Realms of Fire and Death", is a well put together album. Each piece fits exactly where it is supposed to. It is worth noting as well, the time put into the accompanying book and lyrics. Obviously, some care was put into this production and it shows. I hope to see more from IGNEA in the future. I wonder what the story will be in the next album.