A year after the release of their debut "Luxaeterna," the Brazilians AQUARIA put out the continuation of their fantastic saga. Apparently having decided that one guitarist would not be enough, the guys fired Leo Gomes and brought in Gustavo Di Padua and Roberto Scripilliti (abbreviated as Rob Scrip in the booklet) as replacements. I am familiar with AQUARIA's first work and, frankly, I did not like it. It was too pompous and bombastic, the symphonic elements were clearly overblown, the numerous tempo changes did not benefit the melodies, and from a "progressive" standpoint the whole mushy mass did not feel cohesive. So what do we have on the follow-up? Unfortunately, if there is any progress, it is very slight. There is no less symphonism, and all the above-mentioned consequences remain accordingly. Vocalist Vitor Veiga sings the same as on the first album — not bad, but without distinction. A standard high-pitched power vocal. The two guitars lend some additional heft to the music, but this is not as noticeable as it would be if combined with a slight reduction in the symphonic overload. In the end, there is still very little for the ear to latch onto — I liked only the album-titled epic. Not enough. One would like to urge the guys to once again ponder the subject of "Progressive power and symphonism: how not to overdo it."
