Revenience
Daedalum
Revenience is, at its core, an old, but gold, idea: A Gothic Metal act with a strong symphonic presence. Not enough to give the impression of a full-scale epic movie-like soundtrack, but just enough to create the ambiance and atmosphere that having a full orchestra at your back can provide (even though that is not the case). The keyboard player in particular caught my interest. While he was rarely at the forefront of any of the tracks (with a small exception being "Lone Island" - In this track all other instruments stop for a brief moment, allowing the keyboard to truly sing), he still managed to build up a strong melodic atmosphere around the band as a whole. The female vocalist does her part to do the same (and quite expertly so - She has a powerful, strong voice). If I had to place a finger on something that I would have liked to see being done differently on Daedalum, I would have to say that I would have loved to see a lot more melancholy in both the music as a whole, but particularly in the vocals. This is, however, a question of personal taste and that put aside, I must still conclude that Revenience is, most likely, a rising star that will find many fans among those of early and mid-career Nightwish and Epica.