Review | Ginevra – Beyond Tomorrow

Frontiers Music srl

On their second record Swedish all-star ensemble Ginevra delivers a worthy follow-up for their 2022 debut ‘We Belong To The Stars’. The main characters in this group are Seventh Crystal vocalist Kristian Fyhr and guitarist Magnus Karlsson (The Ferrymen. Primal Fear and Magnus Karlsson’s Freefall). They are completed by drummer Magnus Ulfstedt (ex-Nordic Union) and bass player Jimmy Jay who is a member of H.E.A.T. Indeed, an all-star ensemble and when your record company promotes you as such that creates certain expectations.

OVERKILL?

With Seventh Crystal and The Ferrymen delivering fresh (and very good) albums very recently, you might wonder if Frontiers is guilty of some overkill here. The attention for those bands with their current releases has not even died down yet and here we are with a different project. But the emphasis is in this case on the word different as Ginevra is firmly standing on its own feet here. Yes, you can hear that the singing of Fyhr has certain Seventh Crystal ingredients but Ginevra is much more guitar orientated, shifting the balance a bit towards Karlsson’s Freefall project.

And as we have been able to find out on his releases Magnus Karlsson has through the years developed a certain guitar sound and style that makes him very recognisable. That also goes for Ginevra, although the music is cemented in harder riffs, more up-tempo songs, and spacious solos plus Fyhr sounds a lot rockier as well.

GINEVRA – THE CONCLUSION

With a high level of songwriting provided by the duo Fyhr/Karlsson Ginevra impresses on all fronts. I find it a bit hard to mention absolute highlights, as the tracks really are at par with each other. Maybe I must go for the songs that have a clear melodic metal edge such as ,,Let Freedom Ring’’ (fast and furious with blistering guitar work) and ,,Samurai’’ (based on a very heavy riff and Fyhr sounding aggressive at times). But believe me folks, this whole album has pure melodic metal with sharp features on offer. Karlsson is absolutely brilliant on the whole record. Fyhr sings his heart out. It is a very enjoyable ride indeed. A warmly recommended record and my expectations are completely fulfilled.

Release date: 28 March 2025