Review by Elyna Steel on December 15, 2024.

Imagine that you are having a busy day, writing on your PC, listening to music, working on your next website and stalking your favorite artists. And out of the blue, a verified profile message pops up.

What the heck! A new band to check out! Cool!

You put aside what you were doing for a moment, and proceed to download and listen to the material. After three listens in a row, you just realize what is playing definitely has something you didn't recognize. After….three….listenings. In other words, the first and most important filter passed, that of listening on repeat! The material received is attractive, interesting and surprising enough for your neurodivergent brain to decide "Yes, it's staying!!" That's exactly what happened to me with Vnreal and their debut album From Beyond, released on October 30, 2023. The band 's line-up features founder Roberto Castiglioni on vocals and keyboards, Bultron on drums, Damian Mayster and Esteban Bravo on guitars, and Emanuel Salgado on bass.

As for its genre, Vnreal is labeled by many as symphonic metal yet it showcases much more. If we want to give it a more exact definition, we will say that Vnreal is symphonic theatrical progressive power metal. As a side note, the only theatrical metal band I knew before Vnreal are Lost in Grey, a fantastic Finnish band that debuted in 2016 with the single "Dark Skies" and who are the actual pioneers of this particular genre.

Following our discussion, with From Beyond I find that Vnreal is both comfortably, charmingly familiar, and also captivatingly different from what I'm used to hearing.

On the one hand, lead vocals echo the general sound of Angra, Rhapsody and Kamelot, infused by tinges of Tech Melo Death Metal in the rhythmic. Its vocalist is Roberto Castiglioni (Cas). His timbre is similar enough that he could perfectly replace Fabio Lione if losing his voice and does vocal harmonies for Roy Khan at some Conception concert.

Also, the general sonority of the songs in From Beyond brings strong vibes of various styles. You can find not only Rhapsody and Kamelot, but also Haggard and Therion in the melodies, cinematic orchestration, polyphonic choruses and rhythmic pattern of songs like 'The Horla', 'The Assignation', 'The Pit And The Pendulum', 'The Obsession Of Herbert West' and 'Asterion'—a spectacular and disturbing musical epic worthy of a Stephen King movie soundtrack. You may also find After Forever, Within Temptation and even Tarja Turunen in the harmonies, melody and dramatic orchestrations of the 'The Presence (A. version)'. Dark Moor, Luca Turilli and Angra have their influence on the structure, pace, vocals and keyboards of 'The Dreams In The Witch House'. The song 'From Beyond' displays an exquisite Tech/Melo death metal style akin to Meshuggah, Cradle of Filth and De Lirium's Order in the rhythmic base, fused with impressive cinematic arrangements and clean vocals. You can even find surprising King Diamond's "Behind These Walls", perfectly covered and enhanced in its ambience, sonority, structure and vocals. 'Fading Echoes' closes this impressive adventure, featuring stirring keyboards that reflect the general cinematic essence of the album ―the theatrical metal element― evoking feelings of relief, rest and liberation.

On the other hand, Vnreal plays too well with the progressive element and surprise in From Beyond. The general sound is very familiar to me, it's true. But the progressions of the album, both in the music and in the sequence in which the songs appear just blew my mind. You do not expect such intricate, complex musical development, and at the same time so well achieved and enriching. The way of intersecting various metal genres, having the symphonic as a common thread, attracts you to dark, disturbing and gloomy places and sensations with hypnotizing force. So much so that you forget that the narrative is about perhaps the crudest horror works of Edgar Alan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft.

Another important aspect to mention is Roberto's ability to summon guest vocals in From Beyond, giving them liberty to perform. The whole team did a job of the highest quality. And even more so, each of the guests in this debut took ownership of the stories they sang, in such a way that they do not seem like guests, but owners of the house. Just as Ajen Lucassen does with the singers he invites to participate in his Ayreon project.

This aspect differs from what one usually hears in relation to guest singers. In general, it is noticeable when singers are guests and not permanent members of a band's line-up. Regardless of the talent of these guests, there is the feeling that they are doing covers. However, in this album the guests take ownership of the pieces they perform, synchronizing impeccably with the melodic base and making the stories they tell credible.

This is a success, and at the same time a challenge for future Vnreal's productions. But I have the feeling that Roberto Castiglioni owns experience, talent and mastery enough to lead Vnreal to a promising path. So pay closer attention to this debut all you dear Latin American metal brothers; Cas is what Arjen Lucassen is to Europe, and Vnreal has the potential to become as amazing as Ayreon —and a prolific, great cradle for many amazingly talented Latin American singers to be known worldwide.

Stay Metal!.

Rating; 10 out of 10