Metal Symphonia - Melodic Metal

Let's start saying that, with A. Lucassen leaving the band, the New SoP album is obviously inferior to its previous one. But listening to The Flame Within, what you'll hear is anything but a bad album. Maybe they've lost a bit of personality, though the songwriting is very well done, with Marcela's magical voice always overtopping it all. From the catchy In the End, to the melancholic All I Know, passing through the sweetness of When You Hurt Me The Most (on which Marcela is simply PERFECT) or the desperate elegance of Now or Never, the listening of the album goes by without
any significative fall.
So, if you loved Embrace the Storm because of Arjen's proggish influence, then avoid this new release; otherwise, if you love SoP mainly because of Marcela's voice, you'd better go and listen to The Flame Within. You should not
be disappointed!

Anderz.

Ps: here is the post where you can get the album, just in case you wanted to hear something before buying!