I've reviewed many of this German band's albums over the years, with their eleventh album, Dangerous Waters, the eighth I've taken on. Their output has been good as far as symphonic power metal goes, never terrible but not often rising much above the crowd. That is not the case with Dangerous Waters. The combination of female lead singers (a Coronatus staple) has rarely come together so smoothly as it does here, with two quite different vocalists meshing with one another and the music very well. The songwriting is some of the best I've heard this band produce, from the supremely catchy melodies of "Through the Brightest Blue" to the jolly reel of "A Seaman's Yarn," to the lovely, haunting ballad "Die Hexe und der Teufel" ("The Witch and the Devil"). The guitars have plenty of crunch and the keys plenty of majesty, but neither overshadows any of the other elements of the music. There's a balance between the power metal and operatic elements that Coronatus has rarely achieved in the past. There is an overall seafaring vibe to the album (makes sense, considering the title) but they never let the Celtic/sea shanty vibe run away with any of the compositions, nor do they get sucked into the cinematic black hole that so many other symphonic metal bands can't seem to avoid. Fans of female-fronted symphonic metal do take notice, Coronatus has delivered a winner with Dangerous Waters.