This is one of those bands that I held off on buying for a while because they were rumored to have a poor vocalist. Naturally, after buying the disc, I discover that they have a very pleasant operatic vocalist. Musically, this German band cranks out a very unique brand of very heavy melodic power metal backed with some nice keys.

It pains me that this band continues to languish without a major record deal. With each EP, you can hear the band trying for a different sound while maintaining their core goodness. As always, Factory of Art blends very heavy and agressive guitar work with warm keyboard work and strong melody. This time out, the vocalist is going for a more gruff sound while the rest of the band works towards a more mainstream power metal sound. For the most part, the sound works well. However, I feel that this is a small step backwards from the wonderful material on their previous EP. I hope that somebody signs these guys and gives them the freedom to create an awesome full length disc.


Erik Welty