Style: progressive metal, power metal (clean vocals)
Review by: Matt
Country: Italy
Release date: November 13, 2020
Well, you certainly can’t fault Starbynary‘s work ethic – It’s just a year later, and here we are with the next chapter in their Divina Commedia. It was one thing for Black Sabbath to put out forty drug-fueled jams a year, but this is an hour of some dense Symphony X-style nerdery. Unfortunately, a year’s turnaround didn’t leave much room for growth or reflection. I found their last one competent, but can’t remember a thing about it… The same probably goes here.
Upon first glance, the energy level seems higher than before. In fact, “The Moon” starts off very promising: short piano piece, power metal scream, fast double bass. Classic formula. It takes a good two minutes before they decide to get fancy and start screwing it up. By verse 2, I’m wondering when something exciting is going to happen again, and when the disjointed odd-time outro comes along, I’ve pretty much checked out. Despite some moments of promise, most of the album is stuck in the dead zone of “complex but not interesting” prog parts.
Prog wank is my bread and butter, so how come I’m bothered when Starbynary does it? I think the core songwriting isn’t strong enough to support it. When I listen to this album, it feels conspicuously like they didn’t know how to write vocal melodies over the music. I have a special relationship with this problem, so I’m fairly confident in diagnosing it. The vocal lines don’t have any of the symmetry or climaxes of professional bands. They just go, and go, until it’s instrumental time… None of it seems to lead anywhere. It’s not a riffy album either, the only standout guitar parts being the solos. The leads on this are a little eyebrow-raising, but it doesn’t help much. There just isn’t anything solid to cling to. It’s like a cake made of one hundred percent frosting.
I normally don’t advocate this, but my advice to Starbynary would be to dumb it down a little. Examine what made their influences great in the 90s. Awake and Divine Wings have complicated parts, but three times as many solid riffs and melodies. Do you listen to “Caught in a Web” for the bridge? Hell no, it’s the chorus. If Starbynary could focus a little, they’d be a force to be reckoned with. The band is good – the guitarist is really good – but the songs are a whole lot of nothing.
Recommended tracks: The Moon, Saturn
Recommended for fans of: Symphony X, Dream Theater
Final verdict: 5/10
Related links: Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Metal-Archives page
Label: Art Gates Records – Website | Facebook
Starbynary is:
– Joe Caggianelli (vocals)
– Ralph Salati (guitars)
– Alfonso Mocerino (drums)
– Sebastiano Zanotto (bass)
– Luigi Accardo (keyboards)
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