VALCATA is a Symphonic Metal Opera project, where the participating musicians recorded and wrote the songs in different parts of the world. The project features musicians from countries such as Spain, the United States, Greece, Iran and Israel. The project was created by the composer Oha Cade. The band will release their debut album titled ''Valcata" on October 18, 2019. It's about this album that we're going to talk about today.

The album begins with the song "Stars" which is a very beautiful instrumental work, where it starts with synthesizers and creates a kind of futuristic and epic atmosphere.

The song "Quest" starts with a beautiful female vocals and a piano, which creates the already traditional Symphonic Metal mood. However, when the guitars come in, the male vocals enter as well and I think that they could have been recorded with more energy and power.  After that part of the song, the female lyrical vocals arrive and it shows that the women in this project are really good and have beautiful voices.

"The Turning" is the next song on the album and follows the same pattern as the previous song: heavy riffs, traditional melodies and beautiful female vocals. I confess that the male vocals sound a little weak to me and have not matched so much with the style of the song. The upcoming songs "Horror Machines" and "Life and a Million" have retained the same identity as the previous songs and the highlights remains with the female vocals and the well-executed instrumental.

"3-2-1" starts diversified way, but soon it acquires the patterns used in the previous song. Nothing new. The song "Beyond" is one of the most different songs on the album and it was the first song that I liked the male vocals and how they fitted in the instrumental. It has good melodies, good vocal work and a bit of a futuristic sound. It may be one of the best tracks on the album.

The next track "Escalade" is an instrumental song, where you can see all the virtuosity and creativity of the band's instrumentalists. There are good guitar riffs, violin solos and good bass n' drums work. "The Termination" is the most epic song from the album and it has some varieties here and there, but has the same characteristics as the previous songs and shows nothing new. The title track "Valcata" ends the album and can be considered one of the most varied of this work, but still no news.

The VALCATA project's self-titled album was performed in different countries and maybe that may have made certain vocals sounds a little distant and not quite fit the style of the song. It's an album that has well-executed instrumental, good female vocals and that rarely pleased me with male vocals. For Symphonic Metal fans this may be cool, but nothing new under the sun.