Wrong Destiny
Imperial Entrance

June 2010
Released: 2010, Independent
Rating: 2.0/5
Reviewer: Waspman

Serbia-based Wrong Destiny and their debut EP is an interesting, difficult, proposition for a reviewer. See, although mastermind Sasha composed all the music himself, all of the songs are put together from samples and were not actually performed. As a reviewer, not having the songs actually performed by live musicians makes it a tricky proposition because I don’t really want to grade this on the same curve as a real band. I have no doubt that Sasha put a lot of work into IMPERIAL ENTRANCE but it’s not the same as a band bashing out their music in a studio. So, I won’t hold the lack of live musicianship against him, but do keep it in mind as you read this.



Sasha calls his music “New Age Metal”, unsurprisingly a combination of new age music and heavy metal. However, a couple of listens through IMPERIAL ENTRANCE suggest that neo-classical power metal is a more fitting term as the music firmly fits into the Malmsteen-inspired camp of speedy metal infused with keyboards and a Classical sense of melody. It’s certainly well composed if a little sterile-sounding (no surprise given that it’s all samples). Without going track by track, I’ll just say that as neo-classical music goes, Sasha’s compositions are certainly above average.



However, there are two major downfalls to IMPERIAL ENTRANCE. First, and worst, are Sasha’s vocals. He has no power and lacks range (especially for this type of metal). He really takes away from the music. Secondly, the music itself is strictly by-the-numbers power metal. There’s nothing wrong with it, but none of it stands out either. So all told, IMPERIAL ENTRANCE is a good starting point for Wrong Destiny, but is not really worth searching out on its own merits. On the website it says that Sasha is working on a full-length album with a new guitarist, which holds promise – stay tuned.