Devoid: Cup of Tears (MelodicRock)

The MelodicRock label isn’t typically anyone’s go-to label for heavy metal bands, but they recently signed a very promising new act out of France called Devoid. They’re not the only metal band named Devoid, and not even the only French metal band named Devoid, but I’ll try not to hold that against them. This particular Devoid is the brainchild of guitarist Mael Saout (a.k.a. Shad Mae), formerly of progressive/power metal band Shadyon. He’s joined here by none other than Carsten “Lizard” Schulz (Evidence One) on vocals. The Devoid debut, titled Cup of Tears, also features guest solos by Mattias Eklundh (Freak Kitchen), Henrik Danhage (Evergrey) and Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear).

Well, Devoid is on the MelodicRock label, so it’s no real surprise that Cup of Tears is a very melodic album. The general direction of the music is somewhere between progressive and power metal not too far removed from Shad Mae’s Shadyon days. Devoid also draws comparisons to Evergrey, Adagio, Masterplan and even Pink Cream 69. It has a good, solid heavy metal backbone without getting too heavy, has impresive musicianship without getting too proggy, and touches on power metal without getting too cheesy. That’s a winning formula in my book. The lush melodies pair well with the flashy guitar work, and there’s just the right amount of symphonic keyboard flourishes. Schulz’s vocals, impressive as always, give the album some depth and soul, not to mention a classic rock n’ roll element.

I’m a sucker for a good “middle of the road” melodic/prog/power metal album, and Cup of Tears definitely qualifies. “Soldiers,” “Killing Hands” and “Colours Fade To Grey” are some standout tracks, and the title track is all kinds of epic, but the whole album is really solid and really satisfying. Superb musicianship, powerful vocals, great melodies all come together in an album that fans of bands like Evergrey, Masterplan, Pink Cream 69 and Crystal Ball should enjoy.