Review Summary: Insert generic female-fronted symphonic metal album here.
Souls of Diotima are described as “Mediterranean Metal” on Spotify. Why? Because they hail from Sardinia. Apparently living in a region of Italy is all that is needed to give their band a unique sound (or so they think). It certainly makes for some distinct melodies, but unique? Not really. Some songs have melodies similar to Stream of Passion’s Darker Days, minus the emotion. This is a straightforward album to a fault.
Souls of Diotima is a horribly average female-fronted symphonic metal band. The guitar parts are easily forgotten (with a few flourishes now and then) because they are middle school level. The drummer tries to pick up the slack, but the guitars are more basic than Evangelicals grabbing their “free” coffee from church. Mundane guitar is the band’s ultimate downfall, for it does nothing to keep an audience engaged enough to sit through the entire album. No drum work (though good) could possibly make up for it.
Redemption for this album comes from the female singer. Her voice is perfect for every track, with the right combination of edge and poppy airiness. Unfortunately, the band is too busy producing Hot Topic Nightwish metal to allow her voice to shine. The instrumental backing shows hardly anything happening, but aggressively average heavy metal. The symphonic parts are peppered in, and some more piano bits (or anything, really) could’ve spared us from monotony. Ultimately, the good portions of the album are not enough to save it. Spotify may have recommended me this album but I cannot recommend it unless you’re a diehard fan of anything that resembles music.
