Reversing Time

Neverland

As you have probably noticed this band comes under a lengthy moniker that for obvious […]
By Dimitris Kontogeorgakos
March 13, 2008
Neverland - Reversing Time album cover

As you have probably noticed this band comes under a lengthy moniker that for obvious reasons from this point I will just use the short version  NEVERLAND. First of all, as the band's official website states this is not a project band but a full length one that will perform live and will produce more albums. Actually, if you would read the NEVERLAND's biography then you would get the idea that this is a project band since it was formed by the turkish act DREAMTONE and Iris Mavraki. The artists came together through the ex-Templar Orpheus Spiliotopoulos who has also written some of the album's lyrics.
So, what is NEVERLAND about? Let me write my thoughts that possibly will help you a little bit:
In the album there are some famous guest appearances in the vocals in the face of Mike Baker (SHADOW GALLERY), Hansi Kursch (BLIND GUARDIAN) and Tom Englund (EVERGREY). These gentlemen, especially the last two, lend their trademark voices and really spice things up in terms of music diversity. The philharmonic orchestra of Constantinople makes NEVERLAND's compositions sound more pompous and helps in the creation of the dreaming atmosphere of the album. You have to listen to the song World Beyond These Walls where the Classic Music melodies blend with Englund's signature voice to understand my saying.
The best song of the album in my personal list is definitely To Loose The Sun; this track is both melodic and powerful that kind of reminds me the latest DEMONS AND WIZARDS album and that is not just because of Hansi's voice. It's the composing pattern that comprises atmospheric melodies and Heavy oriented guitars. The keyboards deserve some additional credit especially in Black Water and in Mountain Of Judgement where they make alliance with Mavraki's sweet voice. The use of classic orchestrations takes the album in some distance from the straightforward Heavy Metal sound so you have to be familiar to these genres to compute with this work.
Overall, this is a good album although it needs some time to mature in your mind and eventually some additional CD spins. Personally, I think that the band needs to adopt a more distinct sound direction because during my listening session I got a little bit confused with all these music genres that are blended together. After all this is their debut release so we should cut them some slack, don't you think?

 

7 / 10

Good

"Reversing Time" Track-listing:

Shooting Star
To Lose The Sun
Mankind Is A Lie
Everlasting Tranquillity
Reversing Time
Black Water
Mountain Of Judgement
Mountain Of Joy
World Beyond These Walls
Transcending Miracle

Neverland Lineup:

Iris Mavraki - Vocals
Oganalp Canatan - Vocals
Onur Ozkoc - Guitar
Burak Kahraman - Guitar
Emrecan Sevdin - Drums
Can Dedekarginoglu - Bass
Guney Ozsan - Keyboards

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