Perpetual Legacy: Teodrama | Art Has a Metal Face
(2024 – En Hakkore Records)
At this point, no one disputes that Metal itself is pure art. Violent perhaps, stripped down, virulent, and all the other adjectives we can think of, but no one can dispute that it is difficult to find musical virtuosity outside the boundaries of Metal as a genre. Perpetual Legacy takes these definitions even further to the extreme in a true work of art that involves insane work, with a conceptual line that approaches what could be an opera, with several chapters. That’s what “Teodrama” is all about. A proposal in which Perpetual Legacy takes a journey through the history of creation, original sin, and the salvation of humanity, rendered in a truly masterful way.
First of all, it should be noted that “Teodrama” is a double album with a total of 20 tracks, spread over two compact discs. It could easily be described as Symphonic Metal, but Perpetual Legacy is also influenced by bands such as Rhapsody, Nightwish, and a little bit of Therion. In other words, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, and the symphonic element that the band imprints on all its music. It’s an effective combination, but in this case, Perpetual Legacy elevates it to a higher level, imprinting its own personality on each song.
The band’s foundation is accompanied by grand orchestral arrangements and majestic choirs that give it the desired stamp, but in addition, each song knows how to capture the mood and provide an appropriate atmosphere for each theme introduced in the story that Perpetual Legacy tells us, song by song. Its rhythm is marked in each riff and keyboard melody, which give the band’s music its unique feel.
The intro “The Trinity” introduces us (forgive the redundancy) to the story that Perpetual Legacy wants to convey, and serves as the basis for “Ex Nihilo”; power and speed plus masterful choirs. With a vibe closer to more traditional and Melodic Metal, “Glorious Creator” rises, followed by the intricate and interesting “Before Creation,” a kind of metal ballad, where the melody of Michelle Rodovalho’s vocals combines with the powerful riffs of Lucas Fernandes’ guitars, Perpetual Legacy’s guitarist.
“Grace” is a beautiful ballad with epic overtones and, in a way, reminds us of Blackmore’s Night. The masterful and powerful choruses are present in “Imago Dei,” a versatile piece, also epic and classic, which shows us the best of Perpetual Legacy, passing through various passages and moods. Meanwhile, “In The Cool Of The Day” offers us a semi-stuck march, always combined with melody and orchestration.
“All Have Sinned,” with its epic, warrior-like intro, introduces us to a mid-tempo song with powerful riffs, hooking us as if it were a continuation of “No Innocents Here,” with a more crushing imprint and the mixture of Michelle’s sweet voice and the guttural vocals courtesy of Matheus Maia, bassist for Perpetual Legacy.
The first disc ends with “Look At The Cross,” dry, sharp, and with a certain operatic and symphonic tone. So we move on to the second disc of this work, where we find ourselves from the outset with “The Mediator,” a kind of intro to this second part of the story that Perpetual Legacy tells us, which also serves to introduce us to “Above The Sun,” another operatic and masterful track.
The riff played on the bass is the intro to “Redemption,” another epic track with a great, melodic chorus, and the slow ballad “Justified By Faith” is truly impressive. “Hero Of The Humanity” is a strange piece, from its percussion to its compositional structure. Its tempo makes it distinctive.
“Tetélestai” catches the attention, if only for its title, which, in case anyone is unaware, is a Greek phrase meaning “It is finished,” the same phrase Christ uttered on the cross when he decided to die. The song in question has a foundation centered on traditional Metal riffs with orchestral parts and choirs that give it the epic and grandiloquent feel that the occasion and the lyrics deserve. “Waiting For You” continues the story but with a different musical and compositional conception, more classical and closer to Power Metal.
“Babylon The Great” reaches speeds typical of the most bombastic Power Metal, with passages of more semi-locked marches and masterful orchestral choirs. With “Judgment And Triumph,” things go in crescendo, in another of the best songs on the album. And for “The End Is Just The Beginning,” we couldn’t expect anything less than a grand finale for a double album that justifies itself.
But that’s not all. There’s more. As a bonus track, we find the ballad “119: Theme Of My Songs,” which Perpetual Legacy had released as a single in 2019 and later in an acoustic version in 2021.
“Teodrama” is a truly epic, conceptual, masterful piece that raises the bar high enough for Perpetual Legacy. Beyond the melodies used and the operatic and symphonic aspect that the band proposes, the truth is that the riffs, speed, and guitar solos give it that necessary resemblance to traditional Heavy Metal. There may be many twists and nods to the epic and majestic, but Perpetual Legacy has its foundation centered in Metal. The core remains intact and the band does not stray. Quite the contrary.
It is an epic work, with a lot of work put into the composition, the arrangements, and the story the band seeks to convey. Everything falls under an idea that never falters. In fact, I can’t remember many other works like this. Perhaps Saviour Machine’s “Legend” series would be an example, or perhaps Harpazo’s “Opera-Metal” concept. Perpetual Legacy takes a different path, and in our opinion, perhaps the best one.
This double edition is one of the best you can currently find in physical format. Everything, absolutely everything, is done with great attention to detail. From the cover to the design of the booklet, the photographs, illustrations, etc. It really is a work of art like few others. It is worth purchasing in physical format, I can assure you.
And what can we say about the recording, production, mixing, and mastering? According to the technical data, this is an album that was worked on between 2021 and 2023 in various recording studios. It’s not easy to get all the instrumental machinery that Perpetual Legacy put into operation to sound right, and the truth is that the sound result is also superb, clear, and precise.
What makes me happiest is that all of this was produced in South America. More precisely, in our brother country of Brazil. And that is one more reason to be proud of a production that is worth its weight in gold and that we recommend (not just because we are old farts who are always saying the same thing) listening to in physical format. It is the only way to follow the story of “Teodrama” in a continuous and thorough manner.
A video clip for the song “No Innocents Here” was released at the right time, which we leave here so you can enjoy what Perpetual Legacy offers in this impressive album, and as if that weren’t enough, we also leave you the coordinates of their social networks so you can follow them and find out all their news….
https://www.facebook.com/PerpetualLegacy
https://www.instagram.com/perpetuallegacyband
