Phantom Elite – “Titanium” | Progressive Rock Central.com

Phantom Elite – Titanium

Every once in a while, a band, and an album, come to your ears, and every note is a symphony. It is rare, but when it happens you have to capture the moment, and squeeze every ounce of excitement out of it!

Such is the stuff of wonder, Phantom Elite’s new Titanium album brought to the world of metal progressive rock on January 22, 2021.

Phantom Elite, (an excellent band name, huh?), is a Dutch/Brazilian metal band, anchored by the voice and songwriting of Marina La Torraca, and the talented and music production quality of Hannes Braun. Max van Esch, plays bass and lead electric guitars; keyboards are performed by Koen Stam; and Joeri Warmerdam, completes the band on drums. Guest performers include: Amanda Somerville, who sings, “Silver Lining”. “Eyes Wide Open”, includes choir backing vocals along with Amanda Somerville singing. Stef Rikken, performs growling vocals on “Worst Part of Me”.

Phantom Elite developed from Sander Gomman’s HDK project. six years ago. The musicians he gathered together for live performances, generated a vast amount of new material. The debut album for Phantom Elite, “Wasteland”, in 2018, was well received, and the album’s tour was supported well throughout Europe.

The album opens with “Conjure Rains”. Nice title. Takes me back to classic titles like the Cure’s “Prayers for Rain”. However, this track opens wide-eyed, with cool keyboard programming and an assault of electric bass and lead guitars; supported by superb drumming! Marina La Torraca’s first vocals come quickly, “We’ve said goodbye, game over. You thought I’d fall into despair. I carry on without you. Riding high without a care. Now conjure rains. I’ll be here standing tall”. A break-up song, if ever there was one. Fantastic. But this is not Marina’s showcase. That will come, soon enough. La Torraca has distinct vocals that can’t be compared. But I think her powerful vocals compare well to Manuela Kraller of Xandria fame.

This song is about power. “Kashmir” like orchestration, and blunt object guitarwork, with dynamic support from bass and blasting drums. A drummer’s fantasy song, taking us beyond the freelance of “Bonzo’s Montreux”, and lifting your ears in the realm of DT’s “Pull Me Under”.

“The Race”, keeps the pace of this album running. A song about the race we all seem to run daily to keep up with the news on social media and in our increasingly complex lives, here in the 21^st Century. La Torraca, sings, “ In this world this century. Come to play and see what’s on. Neon angels that await you. Every minute counts in the race. You throw your hands to the sky for a moment. Fight for the broken truth has been spoken. Pull the pin and just detonate the stillness. In a million shattered pieces through the darkness”. “Broken truth that has been spoken”. We’ve had our fill in the USA over the last four years of “dear leader” Trump’s lies. Good catch guys. A powerful and emotional song which will capture your interest, if you have a pulse.

“Diamonds and Dark”, is the album’s first single. The supporting music video, (included below), is a perfect representation of my favorite type of music video. Get the band out in a natural setting and let them have fun playing. The song opens with soft piano, but quickly explodes into a tempest of violent bass, drumming, and expert lead electric guitar. Complete with backing choir, La Torraca, sings, “Feel redemption’s call. I’ve been looking for the answer. I’ve been gazing at the skies above. Of diamonds and dark. All the suffering upon us. Must come to an end. Beyond grains of sand”. Excellent writing. Then, there is a beautiful Dream Theater, Images and Words pause, around 3 minutes in, before the guitar and keyboard solos take over. And oh, what a beautiful sound they make. The deep layers of production from Hannes Braun, really stands out here, and throughout this dynamic album. Each play is an opportunity to focus on that which you missed.

“Worst Part of Me”, welcomes the guest appearance of Stef Rikken, who performs growling vocals, after another brilliant opening. La Torraca’s sings the lead storyline, “I see the pointers turning. Feel the hours tick away from within. So much more to see. So much still undone. All the lines are blurred in time”. Coping with a world changing and becoming more complex with pandemics and multiple interferences. Rikken offers the nasty growl that the complicated world in which we live provokes. La Torraca absolutely gives it her all to match his power with her vast vocal capacity. A powerful anthem that yells out in despair and resistance.

“Glass Crown”, has its own accompanying music video, (included below). La Torraca’s sings, “Eyes on the throne. It takes it all to win. This game of micro sin. Shout to the world. Your every single move. You’re in the hashtag groove”, after another spectacular guitar, keys and drum opening. This band absolutely knows how to engage you from the opening of each song as few other bands. More like a commentary about social media and maybe live performance fears.

“Titanium”, is the song that we have all been waiting for! This is the epic; maybe it should have been the closer. But, then again, why wait? This song is my favorite of 2021, so far. An unbelievable anthem to determination. Russian dissident and resistance leader, Alexei Navalny, immediately came to mind after hearing this song for the first time. It should be dedicated to him. Who else has the balls to get poisoned, ends up in a coma; then, once he recovers, goes back to Russia, and wags his finger in Putin’s face to say, ‘give it another try!’

It has been since Tool’s “Fear Inoculum”, that I have heard this level of songwriting. So, spare me the time, if I write more on this one. Yes, it is “precious to me”. ?

Thankfully it is the longest track on the album. From my view they could have made this into and entire album side, like Edenbridge’s The Bonding. It is that good.

This is La Torraca’s showcase, and masterpiece. She has the vocal power to keep up with the band’s loud volume. But more importantly, this band is intelligent enough to give her those beautiful moments, where she sings with that sincere emotion that almost brings tears to your eyes. When she sings, “I’ll light the way. When all the shadows fall. Scale my fences and walls. We’ll get through it all. I’ll pave my way. Washing the tears away as I go. We’ll be broken by none. We’re made of titanium!”; you want to stand up and cheer.

After a difficult year battling the pandemic, we all needed an anthem. In America, we have been resisting Trump for four years. We needed an anthem like this. “It’s not when it comes, its if it comes”, I always say. And it has arrived in the first month of a new year. As she sings, “We’ll be broken by none. We’re made of titanium!” Amen!

How do you follow that? Stay on the same topic with another powerful anthem. “Bravado”, is that reinforcing anthem. La Torraca sings, “Waiting for the daylight. Sheltering from all harm done. Gasping for the air that’s slowly fading from our lungs. A fearless declaration. We’re coming out of this alive. Words that resonate and fade. Far from your lead. Throw all your stones. It won’t break me. Under my skin. I know what’s deep within”. See, I knew they could have used this and the last song to build an entire album side, themed on resistance. Keep reading. (In a way they did). Maybe next time, an album side epic. We’ll see. La Torraca sings, “A fearless declaration. We’re rising on the other side”. Words that resonate. A bravado soaring high”, Oorah!

Amanda Somerville takes over lead vocals on “Silver Lining”, after a cool keyboard and guitar opening. This is my second favorite song on the album. Somerville does a great job as part of the duet. Together Somerville and La Torraca sing, “Stormy skies. Cloud up your mind. The darkness builds up from inside. Playing tricks on you. It’s hard to see the truth beyond”. Then, the excellent chorus, “It feels like you’re all alone. You know that it’s all in your mind again. You enter the hurricane and pray. For a silver lining!” Great stuff.

“Haven”, is a wonderful guitar soloing effort. It is only a little over a minute, but it is just what the doctor ordered.

“Deliverance”, returns us back to the power of the resistance this album will long be remembered for. La Torraca sings, “I am the voice, echoing in your head”. Yes, like the opening to Edenbridge’s The Bonding. Marina sings, “And pulling on this golden thread. Trying to lift the weight of the whole world. Endlessly. Horizons deep. Bury all the demons. From the past away from me. Dawning light. Bursting through my heart. Land in sight. It’s like we’ve never even been apart!” The music, as always providing epic surrounding effects. The beautiful, Rush-like ending is fantastic.

“Eyes Wide Open”, is the album closer. Full of excellent keys; this is the keyboard song to “Conjure Rains” drum celebration. La Torraca sings, “With eyes wide open. It is time to let go and shout out. It’s never too late to be who you really are. You know your voice can be found. Just reach out and scream out loud. Like no one else is listening!” If they can’t find another way. We’ll open up our eyes. And break these chains!” Wonderful words to leave everyone with. Yes, we’ll be back for another.

As I mentioned before, the production and the sound on this album is Abbey Road level. Simply amazing. The depth of sound and the dynamic surrounding orchestration is simply wonderful. You can hear it all clearly and completely. Every note and song a winner. Looking forward to the next. Oh yah, I’m in. This band and album will definitely be in my top ten list this year. Now 2021 is expected to be a watershed year after 2020’s pandemic complicated music release schedule. But I’m sure Phantom Elite – Titanium will be there.

I have found another great new band and I hope you will give this album and band a chance. Imagine standing on the shoulders of Queensrÿche, Dream Theater, elements of Led Zeppelin, Edenbridge, and Xandria. Those are all the elements I hear in this music and album. When I first heard the album, I immediately thought of Xandria’s Neverworld’s End. That was one of my favorite albums of 2012. Marina La Torraca reminds me a lot of the power of Manuela Kraller.