Search - Skylark :: Divine Gates Part 3: the Last Gate

3.5 stars - melodic power metal with female vocals

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 01/12/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"It's been a while since I last heard a Skylark album. It was 2000's Divine Gates Part II to be exact. I remember writing the Italian power metal band off at the time as just another Rhapsody wanna-be. Naturally, I didn't have high hopes for 2007's The Final Gate - The Divine Gates Part III, but I still took a chance on it when I ran across a cheap used copy. I'm glad I did.



Skylark has undergone some significant changes in the past few years, most notably hiring the talented (and yes, quite attractive) Kiara as lead vocalist. They've also moved away from a pure power metal sound, instead emphasizing the more melodic elements that better suit Kiara's voice. There's still plenty of power metal speed, and the fantasy theme from previous albums is continued here, but at this point nobody is going to mistake them for Rhapsody. Of course, the flip side is that the band now has to work that much harder to stand out in an increasingly crowded Nightwish/Within Temptation female-fronted metal pack.



In my opinion, The Last Gate is a big improvement over Gate of Heaven. Skylark seems better suited to their new style than they were the Dungeons & Dragons metal genre, and their music is much more memorable. I still don't think they're the best at what they do, but they're definitely worth checking out, and not so easy to write off any more."