Drift Into Black - Voices Beneath The Rubble - Song Review

Another insignificant Thursday afternoon here in Helsinki, just another day in the process that leads towards somewhere brighter, sunnier. Today, we are featuring a melodic power metal band, Drift Into Black, hailing from Sayreville, New Jersey, USA. Their latest single, Voices Beneath the Rubble, was released on April 3, 2024, via Black Lion Records.

Voices Beneath The Rubble · Drift into Black · Craig Rossi · Paul LaPlaca · Klemen Markelj

Today, I am writing about a song that had an unusual effect on me compared to others; it took me back to my childhood when I was exploring the good old school Blind Guardian records for the first time. Drift Into Black captivated my attention the moment the vocalist made his introduction, and surprisingly now, these vocals are the reason why I love both projects sincerely. Hansi Kürsch, not only in Blind Guardian but also with Demons & Wizards, has been one of the greatest influences in my life with his voice, ability, and style. Drift Into Black is blessed with the same magic; the one-man orchestra, Craig Rossi, is not only handling vocals in this project but also the guitars, keys, along with mixing, production, and mastering.

Voices Beneath the Rubble musically incorporates the late ’90s metal sound with influences from power, gothic, epic, folk, melodic, and symphonic metal, once again showing similarities with Blind Guardian in this way. They consciously structured the song in a progressive way while also being faithful to a familiar form, showing character and potential with its rich instrumentation, as well as their complex instrumentation, climate, and musical language which draws influences from Central Europe rather than the Americas. Although I don’t prefer metal with symphony, I very much enjoyed listening to Voices Beneath the Rubble as is, where I wouldn’t touch a thing if I were the one finalizing the work.

As mentioned earlier, the project is a one-man project of Craig Rossi, accompanied by talented professionals. First of all, I am impressed by their collective performances altogether, where Craig Rossi also deserves credit for his sound characterization and production, among his performances as an artist. The band now has a sound with rich ingredients and so much nostalgia within that works in both rock and metal territories.

On the other side of the coin, I have nothing in mind as negative, just a few things that got me thinking. In my opinion, the band still has considerable room to improve in terms of sound character and production. It was quite obvious not all the instrumentation was analog recordings, even though everything works flawlessly. And on top of that, Craig shows true potential as a metal vocalist, and his contributions distinguish Drift Into Black from others where now one can’t imagine this music without him singing it. At the same time, I also have to admit that I would listen to this band further because of him as the vocalist, just like I felt for Blind Guardian.

Drift Into Black, merch table. Photo credit: Unknown.

In conclusion, discovering Drift Into Black has been a great pleasure. The one-man orchestra incorporated metal with diverse influences from power, melodic, symphonic, and folk metal, leading the project with his unmistakably charismatic voice reminiscent of Hansi Kürsch, together with his musical language. Thank you for reading.