review by: Roberto Martinelli

You might think this record would be a violin-laden doom affair, what with the name and cover artwork. What Adagio turned out to be was phenomenal classical/progressive power metal that's anything but slow.

The outstanding aspects of Sanctus Ignis are in the way classical scales and compositions are interwoven into the music. While all the musicians in Adagio are virtuoso-level, it is the work of the keyboardist (who also plays keys for Majestic) that stands out the most. The classical elements are made even stronger by a varied keyboard sound that ranges from harpsichord, piano, and organ, to tones more common to prog metal.

Blazing keyboard solos pour out of the speakers, complemented by impressive guitar leads, bass lines, and drum work. Is the music masturbatory? Absolutely. Do the tracks on Sanctus Ignis qualify as songs? Well, not exactly. Sure, there are lyrics, but the music on this album is more of a showcase of incredible talent rather than crafted songwriting.

The vocals are well done, while not being as high a level as the instrument playing. The singer stays in a comparatively un-showy mid-range for most of the album, going for some decent highs in the second half. Aside from the emphasis on instrumental wizardry before song appeal, which may or not be a problem for you, the only strike against Adagio is it's all too often tinges of Dream Theater influence. While Dream Theater is doing a perfectly fine job at doing what they do, it's becoming tiresome to hear musical signatures of theirs in what must be EVERY prog metal album that comes out. Enough already. This point aside, I highly recommend this album to fans of progressive metal, or people like me who love classical scales in their music.