I'll be honest: The first time I sat through A New Dawn I wasn't impressed. Maybe I didn't give it the attention it deserved, or maybe I just wasn't in the mood for that type of music but, throughout my first run-through of this CD, nothing really grabbed me. But this is where it gets interesting, because on my second and subsequent listens to this CD, I found myself enthralled.
Blacklands is a German quintet whose 80 minute debut release, A New Dawn, can proudly stand right beside the current wave of prog metal discs. Progressive without feeling pompous, epic without feeling strained, Blacklands boasts above-average songwriting with crystal clear vocals, and beautifully played and mixed instruments that stand out individually but manage to blend together at the same time, creating an overall sense of oneness. The vocals by Moja are reasonably high without resorting to the genre's high-pitched histrionics. All of the tracks on A New Dawn are standouts, but the long epic “Powerplay” with vocalist Lenny Rizzo (Exxplorer) and guitarist Terry Gorle (Heir Apparent) as guests, has to be one of my favorite tracks. Vague comparisons could be made with Pink Floyd, Savatage. Virgin Steele, Deep Purple, Crimson Glory, Marillion, Heart and even Phideaux for the style and sound.
A New Dawn is a well-thought out and well-played album & I think we'll all be hearing more from Blacklands in the near future.