Label: Revalve Records

Date: October 9th, 2020

Sense of Creation is an unusual story. The band originally formed in London, where the album in question was actually created and recorded. Back in 2013. However, the album was not officially released back then and waited seven whole years until it finally saw the light of day. Meanwhile, the band is now based in Turin, Italy and the whole thing was remixed for Revalve Records to place it on the shelves. The cover was also re-done. If you’re browsing for the original image, you will note one important difference (among others). Notice the arrangement of the numbers on the clock…

Leaving these issues (that certainly make for an interesting biography) aside, Sense of Creation is a musical entity, so that is the key factor that needs to be evaluated. And when it comes to music itself, things are much clearer.

The quintet is all about the symphonic metal, based out of the late nineties, with the forerunners being Nightwish, Within Temptation and their likes. You all know the score… Based on bombastic symphonic keyboard execution, supported by a gothic metal background and topped off with operatic female voice.

Basically, there’s nothing on the record that will shatter any genre limitations. Of course, that doesn’t mean we are dealing with a meaningless copycat, or even a bad album. “Forsaken Era” is quite good, to be honest. Perhaps not a top class, but far from waste of time. However, there’s a few things I would like to point out.

First of all, albums like this need to sound a whole lot more pompous. They need to explode out of the speakers in order to fully charge the listener and transfer the emotion intended. “Forsaken Era”, though clean sounding, remains somewhat “flat lined” in that regard. Simply put, every instrument seems to be placed in order, one by another, with none of them standing out. Even when one would expect a symphonic crescendo, it’s like someone pulls the chains taking it back in line.

Another thing to note, maybe even more important, taking into account the genre performed, is the vocal. Whether by pure insecurity behind the recording microphone, or simple lack of experience, Elisa Tomaselli also falls under the same trouble as the rest of the instruments. As with the others, it is clear that she has a whole lot to offer. She just needs to let her voice go and the much needed expressiveness with emerge. And then wonders will happen, I can almost guarantee it.

Speaking of the lady behind the microphone, “Forsaken Era” seems to be a concept record, crafted by her. As most of the tracks refer to a love story, I can only guess where the inspiration comes from. Also, I’m at a loss, since my Latin is a bit rusty (quite an understatement, as the correct reference would be the Titanic) and I’ve never even tried learning Italian. Luckily, there’s only a couple of songs actually using them. Still, it makes for an incomplete storyline. I’ve tried translating, with little to no effect.

With all that being said, I need to stress this one again. This is not a bad record! Most of its faults could be solved within the production process. As for the rest, I will assign them to inexperience. A lot can be expected from Sense of Creation, with just a bit of perseverance.