STREAM OF PASSION: "A War Of Our Own"

Rating: RRR
Label: PIAS/Rough Trade
Review by Martien Koolen

The 4th album of the Dutch metal band Stream Of Passion called A War Of Our Own came about through campaign crowd funding. Stream Of Passion was found in 2005 by singer Marcela Bovio and Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon), and their new album is more progressive and has lots of more melodic passages than the previous three albums. The CD kiccks off with the up tempo Monster, which is kind of aggressive and features a very catchy chorus. The title track is rather orchestral and is a fast and magnificent power ballad with lots of keys and the beautiful voice of Bovio.

The new album also contains a couple of surprises, like Delirio which features Spanish lyrics or Exile which has English and Spanish lyrics. For You is the shortest track and also the quietest one. In fact it is a rather boring piano ballad.... Fortunately the band saves the best for last. Songs like Out Of The Darkness and The Distance Between Us are excellent songs with lots of melody, passion, great vocals and finally we also hear Stephan Schultz playing a couple of amazing guitar solos. Of course one cannot deny that the band has grown, but you can also still hear clear and too obvious influences from bands like Within Temptation and Epica.But all in all I have to say that I really like this album and that is mainly due to the catchy melodies and the incredible voice of Marcela. I would have liked to hear more guitar solos, but there is still enough good music on this album to really enjoy. Play it loud, if you can!
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