Style: Djent, Progressive Metal, Classical Guitar, Orchestral (Instrumental)
Recommended for fans of: Periphery, Dream Theater, Animals as Leaders, The Contortionist 
Country: United States
Release date: 9 May 2025

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If I had a nickel for every time a progressive album centered around a mythical city was released in 2025, I’d have two nickels—which isn’t a lot, but it’s kind of strange that it happened twice¹. Those who enjoy alternating musical styles and self-guided storytelling all packed into an album, stay a while and sink into Steve Dadaian’s attractive artistry. Dadaian, an Armenian classical guitarist (and also dentist!), has emerged once again to continue the story that was explored in his debut album, Follow the Light. Both albums are heavily conceptual, and Dadaian tells his story while combining the best parts of groovy djent and melodic fingerstyle guitar.

Follow the Light took us on an adventure following a mage on a quest to traverse the forested citadel featured in its album art. With the omission of lyrics, the narrative was told through chronological track titles that accompanied the music itself. Revenant City brings back this method of storytelling: the same mage, named Herai, now travels to get to the center of the floating city that is featured on Revenant City’s album artwork. Dadaian places a larger emphasis on letting the content within the tracks guide the narrative and stresses that the listener gets to fill in the narrative blanks to better connect with his music. 

Despite Revenant City’s narrative-driven focus, Dadaian’s guitar work is undoubtedly virtuosic. With influences like Joaquín Rodrigo and Björn Strid of Soilwork (who was featured on Follow the Light), Dadaian’s attention to detail allows him to create the djenty solos akin to Animals as Leaders that are peppered throughout Revenant City. The title track features AAL’s technical abilities combined with Meshuggah’s heavy rhythm sections, and borrows soaring guitar solos from the world of power metal. In the same vein, what often follows these energetic sections are moments of softness from the prominent classical guitar. I like to imagine the thought process as Dadaian creating a game of cat-and-mouse between the electric and acoustic worlds of music, immersing the listener in Revenant City’s adventurous narrative. 

Let’s take a look at the latter for a moment. Dadaian is clearly a fan of orchestral writing; the title track features an awfully J-RPG sounding orchestra² that’s gingerly tossed in with the rest of the riff salad that is “Revenant City”. Classical and acoustic guitars shine through in tracks like “Tower of Waves” and “The Story of Life”, giving Dadaian a chance to showcase his musicality outside of Revenant City’s metal soundscape. Sweeping arpeggios make their appearance in more than one track but are most prominent in “Nova Era”, a song that also features a choir-like orchestra and buzzing guitar melodies. This closing track is quite reminiscent of Aaron Marshall’s work in Intervals, giving a sense of triumphant victory to conclude Revenant City’s narrative (looks like Herai made it, after all). And, lest I forget, I can’t talk about orchestral inspiration without mentioning Dream Theater. Their very own Jordan Rudess features in “Garden of Stars” with driving synths that are a staple in Dream Theater’s music. The back and forth between Rudess’ keys and Dadaian’s shredding solo proves itself to be quite catchy and climactic. With the additional sound effects of the synth, the track has much more depth to work with and shines brighter than those it sits between. 

Had enough classical music influence? Let’s change gears a bit: “Nothing Left”—also known as the baby of early 2000’s Killswitch Engage and Periphery—is the only track to feature the vocals of Matteo Gelsomino, adding a bleak tone to the album’s narrative. The track starts off strong with rhythms reminiscent of Periphery’s downbeat heavy grooves and layered guitars. Matteo’s vocals, which draw inspiration from Howard Jones (KsE), adds a nostalgic metalcore element to the otherwise melodic-heavy album. The break in style is definitely a sight for sore eyes (tune for sore ears…?) as the alternating electric-versus-acoustic style begins to get repetitive by this point of the album. 

For as many interesting moments as there are in Revenant City, others leave the listener unsatisfied. In some sections the grooves fail to catch the ear, and those same moments drag on a tad too long (“The Story of Life”, “Bloodfire”). My main gripe with Revenant City lies not in its musicality, but its overall sense of connectedness. While Dadaian’s solos on both the electric and acoustic guitars showcase his skill, they often felt disconnected from each other. Opening track, “Malefic Visions”, begins with a beautiful guitar melody that gets choked by a wall of sound, and having to listen to the ever so calm “Tower of Waves” right after the prolific dive bomb of “Revenant City” has a deflating effect on the energy of the album. The sections are never lacking technicality, but weaving them together with catchier transitions would boost the album’s tone. The highs and lows of a narrative are what make them great; the knight slays the dragon after facing adversity and gets the princess, for example. But one must remember that the small details matter just as much; the knight has to eat and sleep, too. The moments that hold great climaxes together are equally as important as the climaxes themselves, and these are the moments that Revenant City is lacking the most. 

Revenant City does deliver sonically, and it gets points for its emphasis on narrative building within an instrumental album. The combination of grandiose melody, chronological song titles, and purposeful album art solidifies the story of Revenant City, and Dadaian’s goal is for the listener to come out of the album having experienced a new journey. While Revenant City may not have you floating off your feet, it will certainly fill your ears with feelings of good comfort and heroism. 

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Recommended tracks: Revenant City, Tower of Waves, Nothing Left, Garden of Stars
You may also like: Alien Orchestra, Mendel, Zachary Morin, Felix Martin
Final verdict: 6/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Independent

Steve Dadaian’s Revenant City is:
– Steve Dadaian – Guitar
– Redvard Dolanski – Bass
– Marco Minnemann – Drums
– Steve Dadaian – Producer & Story
With guests:
– Matteo Gelsomino – Vocals (Track 6)
– Jordan Rudess – Keys (Track 9)

1. The first being An Abstract Illusion’s The Sleeping City, which was reviewed last year by Christopher. 
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2.  Which is a much less surprising addition when you discover Dadaian’s Final Fantasy covers.
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