MASTERCASTLE - Dangerous Diamonds

This is the third effort of the Italian band, and this album is one of those that can establish their brand name even stronger in the Metal scene. The band is playing Power Metal, enriched by many neoclassical elements and enough melodies. The first impression you get from this album is weird, because the music is moving on two different directions, dominated by both the guitars and the vocals. As strange as this might sound, both female singer and guitarist create a nice contradiction, making the songs even more catchy and fun to listen to. The guitarist is very skilled, creating some very complex melodies, either shredding or playing more melodic and slow stuff, while the rest of the rhythm section creates the perfect sonic base. On the other hand, the second pole of the album is the excellent vocals of Giorgia Gueglio, who also dominates the songs with her distinctive voice. So the result is an album that won't bore the listener with countless guitar works, but a complete album, that combines the shredding with great and diverse singing, a solid rhythm section and enough interesting song arrangements. There are no weak points here, although some moments do stand out of the crowd, and this is also because the singer manages with her versatile way of singing to color the songs with her own style. Either call it Power, Neoclassical, or just Metal, this album is well arranged, well performed, and contains enough very good songs. If you liked their previous two, then this is also recommended.    

9/10