It was bound to happen sooner or later. With critical acclaim and a growing fan base, Skyfire have made a name for themselves over the last few years. So it really comes as no surprise that we’d start seeing some bands with a similar sound eventually. Enter Poland’s Naumachia. Skyfire is an awesome band so it’s not really a bad thing this band is taking a large influence from them (besides, nobody else really has yet) and the result is a damn fine debut.

Perhaps you’ve never heard Skyfire so your wondering what this band sounds like? Well, basically they combine Melodic Death with a lot of keys, with some comparisons to symphonic Black Metal in that regard perhaps. Within all that are flourishes of prog that make what was an interesting listen even more interesting. The keyboards aren’t as loud in the mix as they were on Skyfire’s Timeless Departure but they’re definitely there and can be considered a lead instrument. They never really fall into the category of background synth though. They’re always doing something, such as noodling along with the guitars, providing almost folk-melodies, and they even provide large amounts of piano (think Die Apokalypitschen Reiter or even Eternal Tears Of Sorrow). The keyboards are definitely a highlight and make the music very interesting; they add a lot of melody and atmosphere, usually at the same time… and I can’t believe I’m saying this but I wish they were actually higher in the mix. As for the guitars they are rather heavy but also contain a lot of the same style of riffing found in Skyfire: galloping triplets, occasional Black Metal riffing (symphonic style ala Enthrone era Dimmu Borgir), as well as palm muted speed fests in the vein of Children Of Bodom. Naturally, there are a lot of leads; in fact, there’s almost always some kind of melodic guitar underlying the vocals and riffs. The band is at its most exciting when the synth and guitar melodies play off each other.

I also mentioned that there are prog elements, or tendencies, if you will. These are mostly in the form of sudden tempos and rhythm changes, technical breaks, and quiet build up sections which usually start very abruptly. During these quiet sections there is usually some mood enhancing calming piano lead and acoustic guitar with some very prog styled drum patterns. Surprisingly these parts are very interesting, mostly because they never last too long, thus you look forward to them, as opposed to just waiting for them to end for the aggressive parts to come back. Musically the band is very strong and vocally they are as well. Though only one style is employed (no clean vocals here folks), the harsh style is very adequate. It’s very mid-range, not being overly shrieky or growly. If you’re going to use one style of harshness, this is the one to use as it’s the least grating and most comprehensible. The way the vocals are placed alongside the melodies is very reminiscent of Skyfire as well. Though not containing the same show stealing qualities as the keys, drumming or guitars, the vocals are par for the course. I’m not sure if I’d like clean vocals in this band, either way the harsh vocals do work, so that’s the main thing.

Another strong point is the production. The drums sound really powerful, especially when the band goes all out and crushes your speakers with ultra fast and ultra heavy double bass kicks. The guitars are mixed quite high, but not too high. The bass can still be heard but as mentioned the keys could do well with being higher, since they are played so well. Notice I didn’t say lower the guitars… just raise the keys a touch because everything else is about right and sounds very professional. I would say the production is heavier and more Death Metal than similar bands as well.

There are a lot of moments on this release that I liked a lot: awesome melodies, great synth, all with plenty of neck breaking double bass. The interesting and sudden quiet breaks were a nice touch as well. There was something lacking though every now and then. The something that makes you want to listen to this CD over and over and over again. I’ve probably listened to Timeless Departure about 15 times, and the other Skyfire releases aren’t far off. I can see myself listening to this quite a bit but 15 times in 4 years? Very unlikely… even though I enjoyed every song, there weren’t enough distinguishing aspects which would make me return to a specific song over and over again either. I’ll have the song on and enjoy it, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to any specific song on here with the possible exception of the title track (only because the last section of the song sounds strangely like Eye Of The Tiger… I’m not making this up). The lack of a really stand out, totally kick ass song hurts this CD because everything is very good, but rarely outstanding. It’s consistently enjoyable, but not overly memorable if that makes sense. I’d still recommend this CD to Skyfire fans as the band has a lot to offer just don’t expect anything here to change your outlook on life or anything like that.