Dark Moor have always been one of power metal’s most intriguing artists (to me anyway), a band that is well known in name across the power metal community, yet infrequently cited in conversation or debate. Much like their regional neighbors in Heavenly being for a time the leading light in power metal from France, Dark Moor have been Spain’s most recognizable power metal artist since 1998. In their nascent late 90s era, they were fronted by vocalist Elisa Martin and after a shaky debut effort, they released two of the finest releases of that 97-03 golden era of power metal back to back in The Hall of Olden Dreams and The Gates of Oblivion. Martin was a revelation at the time, a female vocalist in a genre that hadn’t seen very many of them up to that point, particularly in the European scene, with a voice that could be just as rugged and gritty as it was soaring and melodic. Like many power metal fans, I love those albums, and followed anything Martin did afterwards out of sheer love for her unique style of singing. And like many, I was bummed that she left the band, and when her replacement Alfred Romero arrived, I was skeptical of the idea of Dark Moor without her considerable talent.
Like Martin, Romero had a rough start to his gig as Dark Moor’s vocalist, with his debut on the 2003 self-titled album that was comprised of songs largely written with Martin in mind, and Romero’s first artistic input coming on 2005’s Beyond the Sea. Both were uneven albums with some bright moments, but they were the sound of a band finding its footing with their new singer — which they did in full force on 2007’s Tarot. The band’s sound changed for sure, from the Helloween meets Rhapsody Euro-power mix of the Martin era to something far more unique, a robust blend of theatrical power metal that was informed by classical music, shades of gothic rock, and AOR-ish hard rock songwriting. Romero began to blossom as a singer, showcasing a vocal approach that was rich with character and full of dramatics. Like Martin, his voice had a noticeable accent that was quite different from other contemporary power metal vocalists from Germany or Italy. He didn’t sound grounded and gritty like Kai Hansen or Hansi Kursch, nor quasi-operatic like Fabio Lione or Roberto Tiranti, instead delivering a vocal tone that reminded me more of Tony Kakko crossed with Fher Olvera of Maná. He sounded different from anyone else in power metal, and as the songwriting changed to suit his voice, his Spanish language vocal color infused more and more of his performances on the albums.
With this further development of Romero as a singer, the band would embark on an era where they released some truly incredible music, with some very good to great albums to their name such as the aforementioned Tarot, but also Autumnal and Ancestral Romance in back to back years. Those three records in particular are a wealth of genuinely refreshing, creatively inspired romantic toned power metal that sounded like nothing anyone else was doing. Yet for all that ingenuity and effort into renewing their sound, when people talk about Dark Moor to this day, they speak about the band’s first couple albums with Martin, and either ignore or gloss over the Romero era. I suspect there’s a few reasons for this, and some of them are self-inflicted injuries on the part of the band. To wit, this is a fairly low key band that does little in the way of self-promotion: interviews are few and far between, and compounding matters, they aren’t all that active on social media when that is the way things have been working in publicity for years now. So when someone goes looking for info on this band called Dark Moor they’ve just discovered, they get the impression that there’s a chance they don’t exist anymore. Their last album also came out way back in 2018, and with the exception of a couple recent tracks released as singles, Dark Moor has been way too quiet (ironically just like the aforementioned Heavenly).
I think it’s a shame that Dark Moor has started to be forgotten a bit, their name slipping through the cracks as the years go by and the subgenre has taken some unfortunate musical paths. To my tastes, the Romero era is far more interesting than the Martin era, sacrilege to many I’m sure, but I say that with conviction. He changed the band’s sound for sure, but he also gave them an identity that separated them from their original influences and made them stand out as unique artists in the power metal world. So with ten tracks listed below in chronological order (being the traditional way of this particular recurring feature), I’m going to attempt to convince you with actual music rather than just words that Romero-era Dark Moor is worth exploring:
“The Chariot” (from 2007’s Tarot)
Like an actual chariot breaking out from the gates of a Roman coliseum (or something similarly historically epic), Tarot’s album opener rushes out at you with door breaking force. You’d be mistaken if you thought that vocalist in the intro was Elisa Martin, because it’s actually future (and now former) Nemesea vocalist Manda Ophuis, whose crystalline, powerful vocals are a perfect foil for a duet with Romero. Both singers join in on this song’s uplifting, soaring chorus with some truly unique and charming lyrics about making fun of death. Tarot was a thematic album about the major arcana trump cards in a tarot deck, with each song in the track listing representing one. It led to the infusion of some mystical sounding sonic elements in the mix, such as the charming, tinkling piano interspersed amongst the energetic riffing during the middle bridge. The band’s neoclassical inclinations are still in full effect here, not only in the unabashedly symphonic melodies coursing through everything, but in Enrik Garcia’s shredding solo three minutes in. A glorious ride indeed.
“The Star” (from 2007’s Tarot)
The symphonic swagger that permeated so much of Tarot gave all the songs on the album a skyrocketing trajectory in sound and spirit, and “The Star” is a vivid example of this. Unlike the “The Chariot” with it’s juxtaposing dips down into mid-tempo groove territory, “The Star” was written in the mode of late-90s pure power metal Dark Moor. This meant melodies that raced along and slightly ebbed in speed but without ever taking the foot off the gas pedal. The series of neoclassical styled solos that Garcia unleashes beginning just before the three minute mark, with that particularly gorgeous one at the 3:17 mark is my favorite instrumental moment on an album that is full of great ones. There’s a common opinion out there that Tarot was the last real metal album Dark Moor would release (I’d disagree but I understand the sentiment), but it’s possible that “The Star” is the last old school traditional power metal song the band released, and what a glorious finale it was.
“Phantom Queen” (from 2009’s Autumnal)
Folk music inspired strings introduce “Phantom Queen”, one of the highlights off the masterful Autumnal, an album that continued the symphonic metal influences from Tarot, but in tones that were darker shaded, far more… well, autumnal and fall-like in their colors. Listening to that violently swirling orchestration in the pre-chorus as Romero heightens the tension, you can picture winds kicking up fallen leaves on some desolate forest path. There’s something at once delicate and majestic about this song, a balancing act between its softly strummed verses and the frothing boil that bubbles up suddenly during the chorus which is as regal and dramatic as we’ve ever heard Dark Moor. I love the addition of growling vocals in the bridge as a counterpoint to all the elegant, sweeping loveliness. I know that “Swan Lake” gets a ton of the attention off this album, and I understand why, but for me “Phantom Queen” was always more memorable in the heightened pomp and splendor department.
“For Her” (from 2009’s Autumnal)
When it came to sheer dramatic theatricality, few things in power metal can top the outright majesty of “For Her”, one of the earliest and most prominent examples of the band incorporating romance as a lyrical inspiration. Its a testament to this song’s sticking power that I picked it over other great Autumnal tracks such as “When the Sun is Gone” or “And End So Cold”. I think the insistent, propelling tempo the band sets here is a significant part of the song’s success, lending real urgency to Romero singing a veritable recitation of all the things he did “for her…”. His vocals here are as impassioned a performance as we’ve ever heard in power metal, equal parts pleading earnestness and chest thumping bravado that empowers the intent of the lyrics he’s delivering. Romero is joined by soprano Itea Benedicto in the chorus, a duet combination that adds a touch of classical gravitas to the vocal melodies. And I love the subtle layering in the background of some horns, be they keyboard generated (or not), their punctuating presence another detail that adds to the glorious nature of this fantastic song.
“Love From the Stone” (from 2010’s Ancestral Romance)
More accenting female vocals! Which I’m fine with, because Dark Moor were demonstrating that they knew exactly when and where to use them as counterpoints to Romero. His vocal tone being deeper, as well as full of depth and rich in character meant that he could sing alongside a lighter, floatier vocalist and complement them instead of drowning them out (I’m reminded of Sarah Brightman’s spectacular duets with José Cura). Throughout Ancestral Romance, Romero pairs with soprano Berenice Musa of Tears of a Martyr, and their combined effect was stirring, as evidenced here. Dark Moor returned again to romantic love for inspiration on this song, and this time turned in their most poetic and artfully constructed set of lyrics to date. Romero’s rhythmic delivery echoes their poetic meter in an inspired way, and the imagery is as vivid and heart-on-sleeve as lyrics from Ville Valo. I think Romero deserves a lot of credit for being able to deliver lines like these with conviction, because I think few could pull it off without sounding hammy, which he deftly avoids.
“Mio Cid” (from 2010’s Ancestral Romance)
This is an interesting one, because I loved the original version of “Mio Cid” on Ancestral Romance which is largely sung in English, telling the tale of El Cantar de mio Cid, (a Castilian epic poem which is now a national epic of Spain), but recently in 2023 the band re-recorded the song in Spanish. I gotta say, the Spanish re-recording is even more epic, the orchestration richer and full of depth (have orchestral sample libraries improved that much since 2010?!), and the lyrics just seem to fit better in Spanish. On that note, something interesting is happening with Dark Moor lately, their three 2023 singles being all releases with Spanish lyrics — it made me think back to comments Garcia made in an interview with Metal Shards in 2018, where he commented, “We committed the great sacrilege of being a Spanish band singing in English, a mortal sin for this Catholic country.”. He detailed in that interview that singing in English closed doors for the band in Spain, and I’m left wondering if they might be considering trying to open those doors again with a full length Spanish language album in the future. It would be a fantastic move for them at this point in their career to be honest, because the Spanish language singles sound great. So great in fact that I chose to link the 2023 remake of “Mio Cid” above, but the original version is crucial to what makes Ancestral Romance such a spectacular album.
“Tilt at Windmills” (from 2010’s Ancestral Romance)
One of my favorite Dark Moor songs of all time, “Tilt at Windmills” is widely regarded as one of the band’s Romero era masterpieces by those who are clued in enough. This is a gorgeous song that’s at once tongue in cheek sly through its lyrical imagery referencing Don Quixote, and yet heartbreakingly epic in its dramatic, cinematic swell. Romero does a ton of heavy lifting here with an incredible vocal performance, particularly in the chorus where he bends and stretches syllables and manages to make it sound painfully anguished. I love the sheer passion he’s singing with there, the inflection in his voice at specific moments is inimitable, there’s just no one else in metal who sounds like him at times. The softly rising brass section that reinforces him during those parts is a beautiful, delicate touch that makes them sound transcendent. The figure that Romero is singing about in the lyrics comes across as more tragic as a result rather than foolish, like someone whose convictions are true but entirely misplaced. I think what has always struck me about “Tilt at Windmills” is how the overall sound here suggests that this should be a wistful love song, and not as it is, an allegory of a knight fighting in vain (and whatever modern social situations you could apply that to).
“First Lance of Spain” (from 2013’s Ars Musica)
The stirring, dramatic album opener proper to Ars Musica, “First Lance of Spain” is one of Dark Moor’s catchiest uptempo cuts, a symphonic power fusion that reminds me at times of Austria’s Serenity for its vocal melodies and strong, punctuating chorus. At this point in their career, Dark Moor was fully incorporating Spanish history and folklore into their lyrical topics, and just like “Mio Cid” on Ancestral Romance, they tackled another historical military figure here in Diego de León, 1st Count of Belascoáin. Famed for riding at the head of his lancers column and charging first into spots where the enemy was the most numerous, he definitely earned the title Dark Moor are bestowing upon him here, in addition to the heroic overtone that characterizes the sound of this epic song. The nature of the band’s symphonic side seemed to shift a little more on this album to be more Hollywood-esque, that bombastic soundtrack style arrangement as opposed to the quieter, subtler touches in Ancestral Romance and Autumnal. In that sense, Ars Musica felt a little like a throwback to Tarot, albeit replacing the power metal with more of a hard rock style that you’ll likely remember was seeping into a ton of veteran power metal bands around this time.
“Gara & Jonay” (from 2013’s Ars Musica)
Dark Moor, for all their inclinations towards romance as lyrical inspiration, did not write a lot of ballads — tending to prefer couching their most ardent ruminations on love in the context of dramatic, epic rockers. So it would take a tragic, Romeo & Juliet evoking love story such as that of Gara and Jonay to get Dark Moor to write this incredibly affecting, emotive piano led paean. It’s the Canary Islands folk tale of Princess Gara of La Gomera and Jonay, a poor peasant’s son from Tenerife and their families refusal to allow their relationship to blossom due to a foretold doom that it would cause. You can guess where its headed I’m sure, Gara and Jonay escape together, climb a mountain, hold a laurel lance sharpened at both ends between them and take their final embrace. The tone of this song reflects that tragedy in a way that’s not entirely somber, but almost hauntingly celestial, particularly towards the end when layered backing vocals start being interwoven into Romero’s narration. His delicate touch in phrasing and vocal inflection here lend so much weight and power to the narrative, yet another example of why he’s such an incredible vocalist.
“Birth of the Sun” (from 2018’s Origins)
Wild, raucous, and decidedly different from anything the band had attempted before, “Birth of the Sun” was the lead single off Origins, which as the title suggests, seemed to be an exploration of the band’s influences and roots, with a ton of 70s rock influences on display. Their folk influences, prominent throughout their career, really took hold in this song, which is easily my favorite off this album. (Sidenote, if you’re amused that 2015’s Project X wasn’t represented on this list, I’ll just say that I don’t think its as terrible an album as many have labeled it as, but it definitely was an experiment that just kinda missed the mark overall.) This song reminds me a bit of the band Boisson Divine, the folk metal band from Gascony (France) who deliver similarly rockin’, spirited folk swirled jams. For sure this isn’t metal, but Romero is the link that connects wildly different material like this to older Dark Moor. I love his hearty vocal delivery here, full of swagger, bravado and gusto all rolled into one. In the mystical themed music video, he displays why he’s such a great frontman too, songs like this demand grand gestures and theatricality to match. I was mixed about this album overall, but this remains a highlight, and a big reason why I’m so eager for another one.
