### Dimicandum: Legacy of Gaia

#### 07/01/13 || Averatu

Dimicandum are a self proclaimed atmospheric metal band from Ukraine, formed in 2009, and in this relatively short time they seem to have grown in to a slick unit that delivers a solid album in ‘Legacy of Gaia’. To my ear they are one part melo-death, the instrumental delivery consisting of tight riff based compositions, mixed with one part power-metal, being the vocals, the anthemic song structures and symphonic keyboard arrangements. My personal preference is to keep as far away from power metal as possible. You see, power-metal has this reputation for being really cheesy, and yes ‘Army of Darkness’ is cheesy, but yet we all ‘shop smart’, and we don’t buy leather pant which are two ‘sizes to much small’. (I doubt most power metal bands paid attention to that memo)

The verses rock, and the choruses soar, with the vocals taking the proverbial wing, while the guitars chug away, to an extent I would call them borderline bombastic. What I miss is more variation. Initially I suffered from melodic fatigue, as most of the songs follow a similar formula. The guy can sing, and he hits that sweet spot time and time again, with harmonies, multi tracked. But having listened to “Legacy of Gaia” repeatedly I’m glad I gave it a chance and if you enjoy either melo-death or power metal, this would most probably appeal to you.

7/10: Bang, say da, da da da.