Thalarion are from Slovakia and can only be described in my eyes as very progressive, let me explain. "Tunes of Despondency" is the bands fourth release and most complex to date. I own their two previous releases, "Tales from the Wood....Thus was Written" and "Four Elements Mysterium", and let me just say, both of these albums are metal masterpieces.

Now back to why I say Progressive. This band play a bold mixture of Power, in spots, Black, Doom, Death, and Gothic metal, with allot of progression. Virtually unheard of in metal realms, they are like no other but are, at the same time, like every other metal band on the planet. Their music is very intricate, there is really no other way to explain, they cover it all in every one of the albums I have by them, right down to stunning instrumentals.

To top that off, are the angelic vocals of Nela Horvathova, who is not, the only vocalist they use, but she is the one who drives this music to its crescendo. The male vocals are mostly a mixture of Black and Death with some clean. Very impressive!

Their history, as told in their biography at their web-site, trails back to the mid eighties, but really came to fruition when they released their debut MCD for Mighty Music back in 1996. For the year 1998, they released "Tales from the Wood...thus was written" and it became the album that catapulted them into metal circles.

They incorporated the services of Nela, who had sung for another Slovakian band at the time, Dysanchely,( who are another fine Slovakian Doom Metal band in their own right ). Along with another female singer, Slavka Tomayova, they formed a duet of sorts. Not really, cause you never hear them singing together on the album, just separate. But that didn't last for the next release.

For "Four Elements Myterium", Nela took over the female parts, herself. Nela has a beautiful sounding voice, but it is not overused in the music. She does duet, backing and solo vocals throughout. The band fit her in very timely with the flow of the songs.

Male vocalist, Juraj Grezdo, who also handles the keys, is a metal vocalist of his own right. One of the most charismatic I have heard to date. Rest of the band has not changed much over the years, and present line-up consists of the people I have mentioned so far, and the rest are: Juraj Schlosser on guitars, Peter Bartakovic, bass and Peter Schlosser, drums. To me, Nela and Grezdo are the center of the band and everything revolves around their talents.

For the new album, "Tunes of Despondency", they take off right where they left off on "Four Elements Mysterium". Beginning with the Black Metalish "911-As The War Raged", apparently a reference to the events in my country in 2001, we get to hear the musical talents of Grezdo right from the start, with Nela adding backing vocals in spots. A very good opener. "My Bitter Overstrain", continues in the same vein, with a bit of doom thrown in. About half way thru this track, Nela has her first solo of the album and her voice fits right in the mix.

The band are all over the place with this one. Title track, "Tunes of Despondency" starts off rather doomy and then we hear the first duet by Nela and Grezdo. They sound so perfect together on this track, trading lines as the song builds to a climax.

I'll stop here, for by now, hopefully, you get the idea, and will seek out this bands works immediately. Any three of their full-length albums will leave you awestruck at their talents. If you enjoy different styles of metal all rolled into one band, then they are definitely a good choice. I absolutely love them as I am a big fan of the diversity they give on an album.