Noemon

I won’t lie, but I can hear some Firewind in this music. That isn’t necessarily bad, though, since Firewind is so cheesy and mediocre that they’re awesomely bad. Katsionis, who I still consider the only credible member of the band, manages to rock harder than ever before with this third outing. He’s taken on a more digital approach, which sounds retarded because his previous two were fixed on this digital keyboard sound. Still, it borders on power metal melodies, bringing in a whole other genre to praise. Imaginary Force showed a pressure building up while the debut jotted ideas down before letting them roam free. I saw Turn Of My Century to be a bit libertarian and the sophomore to be a bit republican, yet this one reigns more along the democratic spectrum. Referencing these albums to political parties is batshit stupid, but you’ll be doing, too, once you go stupid hearing NOEMON.

The production is pretty identical to the previous album; don’t let the glossy cover art fool you into thinking this will be a processed work. There isn’t a whole lot of difference between the two, but this one seems a little bit more varied and comforting. In fact, there’s a certain warmth and cloudy atmosphere with this one, while Imaginary Force had you submerged in a tank full of seawater. This is in no small part because of the driving keyboard melodies, which border Middle Eastern tunes with extremely supportive riffs. You can hear many of these cultural influences scattered about between the power leads and the proggy key maneuvers. Once more, the slower songs are the ones worthy of your time; faster ones will surely catch your attention for a second, but the slower songs like “A Melody Like You” are what bring you closer to feeling for the album.

This brings up a good question – technicality or melody? If I wanted to be impressed, I’d gladly take the melody, since it’s much harder to construct a song that’s very harmonious and good at the same time. Playing keys without any care for the speed limit is a good skill on part of the player, but I’m not entirely interested in that. It’s these slower tracks that have a personal, natural flow and order that doesn’t venture off into shallow waters. Regardless, they’re insanely catchy and merciless, much like the riffs, who make it into this second fight bare knuckled. The guitar leads are fantastic and classically inclined to play with more vigor than the keys; “Athenian Light” is your ray of hope, progressive guitarists…

Riffs themselves are about as beastly as they were on Imaginary Force, but more positive steps have been adopted since then. These rhythms are comfy and constructive; a power metal ethic that that serves the optimism of the album well. The bass behind it is even more noticeable than before; very beefy, heavy, and the grooviest aspect of the music. You can hear it performing well right next to the riffs, not under it like last time; it’s always a good payoff when utilizing the bass. Drumming is consistent just like before, with the same quality of hefty drum bass, rough snares, and artillery cymbals. No hollow snares, which is a blessing from Katsionis himself – he knows that shit will jack up his album!

I’d probably rank this one up higher than the other two albums, but not by too much compared to Imaginary Force. That album and this one are alike in many ways, but they also have their fair share of differences. Still, it shouldn’t be anything to make you like one over the other that much, so give them both a shot (and the debut while you’re at it).

PS: The song about Spongebob and Bob The Builder is the best one.