Sascha Paeth's Masters Of Ceremony ‘Signs of Wings’ 

It was the Avantasia connection that drew me in but this is an altogether heavier proposition and one of the most versatile and enjoyable albums I’ve heard all year.

Sascha Paeth has produced albums for ‪Epica‬, ‪Kamelot‬, ‪Edguy‬ and many others, as well as being musical director, guitarist and producer for the mighty ‪Avantasia‬. Four of the Five musicians on this project appeared with Avantasia on this year’s ‘Moonglow’ tour, including the astonishing vocalist, Adrienne Cowan. Adrienne is American but must surely have at least a little bit of Scottish in her with that surname (insert your own ‪Phil Lynott‬ joke here) and has her own band, Seven Spires.

The first track. ‘The Time Has Come’ blew the wax right out of my lugs from the start with a galloping riff and soaring vocals. Then, 50 seconds in, Adrienne gets all Exorcisty with the vocal growls before a powerful chorus.
‘Die Just a Little’ is a glorious gothic/symphonic masterpiece with Adrienne’s voice alternately soaring and roaring again. ’Where Would it Be’ and the Steiman-esque ‘Weight of the World’ are probably the closest to Avantasia in style and the former features an urgent guitar solo from Sascha. ‘Wide Awake’ is another track where Sascha and Adrienne combine with fabulous guitar/vocal interplay at the end and this one might appeal to ‪Lacuna Coil‬ fans.

Sascha has written and produced with real variety and quality throughout the album. ‘Bound in Vertigo’ has a celtic feel and ‘Radar’ takes it even further and resembles a demonic ‪Alestorm‬ track. There is also a jaw-dropping ballad called ‘The Path’. It is a haunting piano and vocal track that apparently moved Adrienne to tears during recording. It is beautiful but honestly, it could be used as the soundtrack for a Dignitas Clinic advert.

The track ‘Sick’ is a fantastically twisted love song with a great riff. On this one, Adrienne combines clean vocals, effects-driven vocals and lady-growls to great effect and this one really blows you out of your seat. This is one lady I am not going to mess with under any circumstances. This one and ‘My Anarchy’ may be the pick of the bunch.

The album closes with the angelic title track which builds from (I think) a cello intro to a power metal classic. There are no tracks on here that fall short of excellence and Cowan’s performance is astounding throughout. Check it out – I think there is something on here for everyone other than Air Supply fans.

Released by Frontiers 13 September 2019