Back to Times of Splendor

From the epic violin-driven opening of "Back to the Times of Splendor" to the violent outbreak in "Alone I Stand In Fires," to the acoustic strumming undertone in "A Day By the Lake," This CD has every morsel of diversity you could ever wish for in a Progressive Death album without going overboard. For a debut album it is astonishingly refined and well-crafted, and will soar past your expectations. Everything from the riffs, all the instrumental parts, the solos, the song structures, the general feel, are virtually flawless. Not quite the vocals though.

The song structures here are vast, complex, winding journeys of many different ideas, excellently flowing together, maintaining a certain energy with many heavy and upbeat parts, but also a decent share of calmer and symphonic parts. The calmer parts, sometimes even some strings or piano, last just the right amount of time, providing a nice contrast once in a while and don't take away from the course of the song. The title track has a pretty long calm section with some acoustic guitars and the majority of "A Day by the Lake" is acoustic driven.

Most of the lengthy heavier sections have so much going on in a short period of time, so many different sections of riffs changing so fast, it can almost seem like too much, however I don't look at it as a bad thing. It really adds to the "replay value" of the album because songs are so intricate you can't possibly remember them and every time you listen to it is like the first time. Obviously they write very lengthy songs as well, there is just under an hour in these six songs, with one song passing the 14-minute mark and one over 17 minutes.

I think there are actually more clean vocals than death growls, and both this vocalist's talents are good, and the vocal melodies are astounding. Death growls are ferocious, punishing and adrenaline-pumping. Clean vocals took a little getting used to; they can be a bit exaggerated at times, but not nearly as bad as most Power Metal vocalists. Overall they are powerful and diverse, adding a certain unique quality to the band.

Somehow, in a way that I can't quite explain, this album is one of the very few metal albums with growled/harsh vocals that doesn't sound either depressing or angry. (The only exceptions I can think of at the moment are Arcturus and Orphaned Land) The majority of it sounds very joyous, and simply "epic," while continuing to pack a hell of a punch. Of course, I'm not saying depressing or angry aren't feelings you want in a metal album.

Fans of Opeth, Nevermore, Novembre, Orphaned Land, etc. should definitely check this band out. They're the most promising prog-metal band I can think of (in terms of, brand NEW bands, with like one album). And look, they have a new album coming out in 2 weeks!