It’s always fun to “get in on” a band early in their career. And friends, I’m not sure I’ve ever done so with a band quite as early in the game as Elettra Storm. The Italian power metal quintet doesn’t even have their own Metal-Archives page yet! (Elettra? Yes. Electric Storm? Also yes. These guys? Nope.) [Edit: they do now.] But, I get the feeling that’s about to change, and that more people are about to know about Elettra Storm. Their debut full-length, Powerlords, is out today, and it’s quite a bit of fun. It’s not quite a great album, but it is a pretty good one — and it shows plenty of promise for the future.

Right off the bat, one of the best things about Powerlords — and, I guess, about Elettra Storm more broadly — is how tastefully it melds together its many influences. Musically, there’s a frenetic, hyper-melodic approach that recalls groups like Stratovarius or Sonata Arctica. Picture yourself LEEEEEEEROYYYYY JEEEEENNNNNKINS–ing into a field of battle, while flying on the back of an eagle, and you’ll kinda get the idea. But from a vocal standpoint, it’s something else completely.

Credit to singer Crystal Emiliani: she’s an absolute force. I’ve seen comparisons floated to Nightwish or Unleash the Archers — and even, inexplicably, to Arch Enemy — but these do her a disservice. Emiliani’s very much her own thing. (Okay, fine, if you absolutely need a comparison to feel whole in life, then… I guess she’s kind of like if you took Giada Etro, sanded off some of the more pronounced edges, and then made Doro her vocal coach? Maybe?)

Regardless, Emiliani freaking rules. She’ll absolutely soar through a song without making it feel overly, annoyingly operatic. On a faster track “Redemption,” her voice simply radiates power, but there’s also a softness to her that works goddamn perfectly on a ballad like “Alone.” You might come to Powerlords for the over-the-top power metal spectacle, but in the end, her performance is one of the main things you should stay for.

She’s not the only Elettra Storm member turning in an excellent performance here, though. Guitarist Francis D. Mary, for one, is a duet fiend — trading shreddy, harmonized leads with his counterpart, Matteo Antoni, or bassist/keyboardist Davide Sportiello, but then also going toe-to-toe with Emiliani on tracks like “Redemption” and “Origin of Dreams.” Credit to mastermind Sportiello and producer Simone Mularoni as well; the former for crafting thrilling, dynamic arrangements throughout the album, and the latter for ensuring each one sounds terrific as a final product.

So, what’s the hang-up? Why’s Powerlords merely “pretty good,” rather than “great”? Well… on more than one occasion, it feels like the band’s struggling to find a song’s true hook — and in some cases, actively getting in its own way in doing so. Let me try to explain…

For all my adult life, I’ve been a fan of Arsenal Football Club. (That’s “soccer,” American readers.) Arsenal mostly plays brilliant, dynamic football, but they also occasionally do this frustrating thing where — when the most obvious “next move” would be to rip a shot toward the goal — they’ll instead just try to… dribble or pass the ball into the net, and come up with nothing. That’s kinda how it feels with Elettra Storm at times.

Take “Higher Than The Stars.” Most of the song makes for a pretty killer album opener! It’s nimble and lively, and shows off the full range of each musician’s skill set… and then the chorus comes, and instead of hammering home a moment of catharsis, it feels like Emiliani’s just adding words a bit aimlessly, hoping one of them will turn into the killer hook the song needs. (None of them, sadly, really do.) More or less the same thing happens during “Sacrifice of Angels,” where an otherwise killer song — with a terrific, tapped-and-harmonized primary lick — ends up being neutered by an underwhelming chorus. Even the aforementioned “Alone” errs dangerously closely to succumbing to this phenomenon; it’s saved, thankfully, by Emiliani’s stunning performance.

I don’t want y’all to think this kills the album for me, because it absolutely doesn’t. There’s still plenty to like here: the arrangements are terrific throughout; the whole album sounds great; and Emiliani’s a total gem behind the mic. As a debut full-length, Powerlords is pretty damn impressive. If they hone in a bit more on those choruses next time out, you get the feeling Elettra Storm will emerge as a true force in the power metal landscape.

Keep it heavy,
—Dan

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Powerlords is available now via Scarlet Records. For more information on Elettra Storm, visit the band’s Facebook page.