Crusade Of Bards – Tales Of The Seven Seas

In 2016 in the city of Madrid, Spain, Crusade of Bards was formed by Paolo Andreotti (keyboards & vocals) and Eleanor Tenebre (vocals). Their aim is to create music that could mix all their favorite styles and concepts. What initially started as a studio project,  soon grew into a full live production that the band describes as witnessing the “Wien-Orchestra directed by Davy Jones”.

Crusade Of Bards released their debut album back in 2019 and was called Tales of Bards and Beasts. An impressive debut full length album that was widely well received. Covid interrupted touring for this Spanish based symphonic metal band, but that also had some positive effects as Crusade Of Bards had the time and opportunity to work on a successor for their debut.
Tales Of The Seven Seas has been released on February 18th through Rockstars Records and to highlight the occasion the band subsequently released a brand new video clip for the song Vento Aureo.

Tales Of The Seven Seas is the second full length studio album that is released by Crusade Of Bards, has 14 new song’s including an in- and outro and has a total playing time of just shy of one hour. This the band’s second album inside the “Tales” saga, a broader concept that started with their first album Tales of Bards & Beasts. It revolves around the figure of the “Bard” and the different tales, songs, and myths that the storyteller would present to the public of the different towns and villages visited. As a huge fan of symphonic metal myself, and because I loved the debut album, Tales Of The Seven Seas is met with high expectations by me. Let’s dive straight in!

The album opens with an intriguing intro ( Anuri ) and is followed by The Northwest Passage, An Ocean Between Us  Part 3-A New World and Dunkirk Privateers. Reasonably accessible music, with a nice tempo, strong lyrics and vocals and greatly composed music. All three songs have slight differences in tempo and feel, but are undoubtedly recognisable as Crusade Of Bards. Dunkirk Privateers has more tempo than the previous songs and the addition of “real bard instruments” gives these songs a more “medieval feel” to it. Instruments that are (or were) used by cultures that live nearby the shores of the seven seas.

The following songs are Vento Aureo, Naupaktos and Manti. Vento Aureo has been released as a single with video clip in order to highlight this album release and for people who never heard of Crusade Of Bards this is the perfect way to get to know them. This song ( and videoclip ) are a perfect example of these talented musicians can do. The mixture between clean vocals and growls, the changes in pace in music and the overall feel are exquisite to say the least. Naupaktos has a little more dark feel to it, more tempo and heavier set music. Just like all previous songs, the use of cinematic sounds gives this song something extra.
Manti
is an prelude to what follows next. The Red Charade opens strong and keeps on going through out the song. The interaction between both voices is perfectly balanced and the guitar solo is spot on.

Next up are Hasard. Samudr Ka Mandir and Lies & Ashes. Not to disqualify the previous songs in any way but Hasard has more emotion to it than the previous ones. Perhaps because of the tempo and solo’s in the song that it feels more “vulnerable” in some way. Samudr Ka Mendir opens with an acoustic guitar and give me the feeling that I’m listening to an old bards song in a lonely tavern. For fans of The Elder Scrolls it can resemble songs like Ragnar The Red. With Lies & Ashes we are back in the symphonic metal genre. The tempo changes are strong, as is the music itself. Arguably one of the best tracks of the album.

Towards the end of this impressive album we find the last three songs. Leap Of Faith, The White Witch and the outro As Above, So Below. The tempo that is found trough out the album is still present in Leap Of Faith and fits perfectly with the rest of the album. The lyrics are strong and meaning full and the overall composition of the music is again from a high level. The White Witch is a sensitive song where the vocal quality of Eleanor Tenebre really shines through. A fragile but powerfull classical voice combined with just a few instruments makes for an soul piercing track. So Above, So Below brings me as listener gently back to my livingroom, away from the roaring sees and captivating seas.

Conclusion:

Tales Of The Seven Seas is the second album from Crusade Of Bards and it has surpassed its predecessor. The music itself has become more mature if you will and the overall composition of the music is impressive to say the least. The combination of female and male clean vocals, as well as the growls are perfectly balanced and the voice of Eleanor Tenebre is magical. Crusade Of Bards makes music that perhaps best can be described as a mixture of Epica and Alestorm. The heaviness and  captivating way of making music that Epica is known for, combined with the energy and liveliness that Alestorm brings to the block is what explains the sound of Crusade Of Bards best. The music itself is reasonably accessible and is from a real high standard. The addition of “bard instruments” sets Crusade Of Bards aside from other bands and give them just a little bit of extra!
For fans of symphonic metal in general this album is a perfect way to get to know Crusade Of Bards and for fans of them, this album is an absolute must. Crusade Of Bards deserves a big audience as the music they play screams to be played out loud, at an iconic venue at a beach in a pirate invested Coconut Cave.  The bar has been risen for things to come!

Score 8.5/10.0

Crusade Of Bards:
Eleanor Tenebre
– Vocals
Eduardo Guilló – Vocals
Paolo Andreotti – Keyboards & Vocals
Adrian Carrero – Lead & Rhythm Guitars
Marc Brode – Bass Guitars
Jorge “You” Homobono – Drums

To make sure you won’t miss anything Crusade Of Bards or Rockstars Records announces or releases, make sure you follow them through the following links!

CRUSADE OF BARDS
Facebook
Instagram
Spotify
ORDER LINK TALES OF THE SEVEN SEAS

ROCKSHOTS RECORDS
Website
Facebook

If you want to listen to more Crusade Of Bards, please click the following playlist!

About the Author

Patrick Reos

Patrick Reos
03-01-1985
Based in The Netherlands.
Writing journalist.

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