Sascha Paeth, a German-born guitarist, songwriter, producer and contributing architect of the European melodic / power metal sound will be releasing the debut album for his band Masters of Ceremony titled Signs of Wings through Frontier s. r. l. on Friday, September 13, 2019.
The famed producer’s project has finally been given life after several years of discussions in regards to the band with the Italian label Frontier s. r. l.
With Paeth at the helm, the Avantasia guitarist has enlisted an impressive roster of musicians featuring American born vocalist Adrienne Cowan, bassist Andre Neygenfind and drummer Felix Bohnke, all who have logged time as live members of Avantasia. Add pianist, keyboardist, arranger and composer Corvin Bahn who has registered many hours on stages in New Zealand, Japan, Canada, and the USA. With the addition of these four veteran musicians, the grouping for Masters of Ceremony is complete.
The release allows Masters of Ceremony to present a disc that consists of a wide range of musical styles from aggressive metal to more melodic and symphonic offerings. There are tracks that will appeal all of those who are familiar with Paeth’s work and those who are not.
Two of those tracks, “Radar” and “Bound” to Vertigo tell tales of traveling to unknown locations while maintaining a smooth melodic flow, strong choruses, soaring vocals, sweet leads all drawn together with symphonic components.
Toning things down a bit with a simple orchestration and piano, “The Path” allows Cowan to showcase her more formally contemporary trained vocal style accompanied by Bahn’s contributions from the piano.
Yet there are much heavier performances such as the aggressive “Sick” or “The Time has Come” which takes Cowan to the opposite end of her vocal capabilities but Paeth keeps the tracks in-check thus not reaching over into the extreme side of things.
For those looking for something of a more melodic piece pleasing to the ears like “My Anarchy” or “Signs of Wings,” late in the disc at track nine, the “Weight of the World” would be the ideal selection. Just a straight forward tune with hints of power metal and melodic trade-off runs from Bahn and Paeth.
Signs of Wings is more than just an 11 – track solo album from Paeth, it’s a grand metal exhibition of five highly talented experienced musicians. Followers of Paeth will certainly flock to the release of the disc but will not be surprised at the quality of the overall musicianship. From the credentials that Paeth has amassed whether in the studio or on the road, the high caliber of songwriting for Masters of Ceremony was not anticipated, it was expected. Paeth and his mates from Masters of Ceremony simply delivered.
