Review: Black Fate – Ithaca

Style: Prog-Power Metal (clean vocals)
Review by: Mike
Country: Greece
Release date: October 27, 2020

The longer I spend with any particular genre the harder I find it to be satisfied with any particular band/album. As time goes by, what works and what doesn’t becomes more clear and the standard continually inches higher and higher. After 25 years of collecting there are always more albums but still only so many hours you can dedicate to listening. It becomes increasingly important to not waste that precious time and being choosy seems like a natural response.

I find myself thinking a lot about opportunity cost when searching for new music. Would my time be better spent listening to old classics that I love and haven’t heard in a while? The devil on my shoulder always responds with, “but how will you find more classics if you don’t keep looking?” Black Fate’s new album is a good example of these struggles.

Ithaca is a prog-power album that harkens back to the genre’s heyday in the mid-2000s. Melodic clean vocals, crunchy guitar hooks, prominent synths; think Kamelot (vocalist is a dead ringer for Roy Kahn), think Symphony X, think Serenity. So to my first point surrounding a higher standard, it’s clear to me that Ithaca is no Karma. The album is good and it represents the genre admirably in 2020 but a top tier effort it is not. So the questions I have to ask are, “Is Ithaca a victim of my high expectations from genre defining albums? Would I have revered this album had it come along at the right time? Is its biggest sin that I didn’t hear it 15 years ago? ” Like most things, I think the answers lie somewhere in the middle. 

One of the best compliments I can give Ithaca is that after a week of repeated listening I feel justified in giving it my time and attention. Will it end up in heavy rotation in 2020 and beyond? Probably not but if I’m being honest with myself I would have eaten this shit up back in 2005. While Black Fate may not keep pace with some of their 2020 peers (Unleash The Archers, Paralydium, Pyramaze), tracks like “Nemesis” and “Maze” are solid and remind me of the good old days. 

The songs in general are well written and repeated listens kept me engaged but I never felt in danger of getting an earworm from this album. The production and performances might be slightly above average but I found them a little derivative & lacking in dynamics which held the album back overall. There are times throughout that sounded so much like Kamelot that I wasn’t sure if that was a positive or a negative. Should I just go listen to The Black Halo instead or will Ithaca ascend to that level if given an opportunity?

So I guess what I’m saying is that Ithaca, depending on your perspective, could either be a rehash that doesn’t stand up to those it imitates or it could be an exemplary effort at a genre past its prime. While I’ve enjoyed my time listening to Ithaca, I think I’d lean more towards the first category. However, I would strongly encourage those that have enjoyed the 2000’s prog-power genre (especially Kamelot) to give Black Fate a try. 

Recommended tracks: Maze, Nemesis, Circle Of Despair
Recommended for fans of: Kamelot, Damnation Angels, Serenity
Final verdict: 7/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube | Facebook | Metal-Archives page

Label: Rockshots Records – Website | Facebook

Black Fate is:
– Vasilis Georgiou (vocals)
– Gus Drax (guitars)
– Nikos Tsintzilonis (drums)
– Vasilis Liakos (bass)
– Themis Koparanidis (keyboards)