The Snow White Rose of Paradise

Empyrean Sky came out of nowhere for me. I'm flipping through the May 2005 issue of Metal Maniacs, when I come across the Firing Squad section. Empyrean Sky is listed with a short review, which had nothing to say but praise for the music. I put them in the back of my mind for a very long time. Big mistake.

Recently, I stumble upon their website, and order their album. A few days later, it arrives in the mail. I pop it into my CD player and start listening. From the opening chords of Love Poison, I was hooked. An amazing blend of adrenaline-pumping death metal with heavy progressive themes and even synthesizer scattered about, this album is... incredible.

The album begins crushingly with Love Poison. This immediately sets the tone for the album, with crushing guitars and a truly badass tone. At around the two minute thirty second mark, it switches into a calmer acoustic, clean vocal section. Worry not, however: the way the song is structured, it works perfectly. One thing that I notice is a distinctly Roman vibe throughout the album: included also in the artwork, it acts as an overlying theme which I enjoy greatly. Anyway, yeah. Love Posion kicks ass. One of my favorites.

The next song is the blazing instrumental (the first of two on the album), Reality Principle. This is the better of the two instrumentals. With a kickass intro, it quickly launches into a riff-fest that any metalhead could enjoy immensely. The use of synths is quite prominent in this song, as is the progressive nature of the band: the intro is once again restated near the end of the song, allowing for the listener to enjoy the music and nuances in between, but also to hear something familiar once again. A true pleasure.

Into the Depths is another brutal piece, which has a similar overall tone to Love Poison. With a beautiful acoustic section about three minutes in, the song takes the band's progressive overtone, without sacrificing any of the band's truly brutal, yet ethereal, nature. Another ass-kicker of a song, this one is great for headbanging during the electric sections.

A gorgeous introduction brings in another personal favorite, Peak of the Fall. With beautiful vocal melodies, harmonies, and subtle nuances in the chords between the guitars and the voice in just the intro alone, you know this is quite the piece. A rhythmic section in the drums then takes the secne, and the song quickly bursts out into the band's now signature blend of progressive death metal. The song takes a journey through many human emotions, with the focus being on love; hence, the Roman overtone. Another piece full of synth and wonderful, non-guitar effects.

Pleasure Principle is, of course, Reality Principle's sister instrumental, and, while not quite as good as its sibling, is still quite a pleasure (hah) to listen to. The coolest thing about these two songs is the number of themes that they have in common. Listening to the instrumentals one right after the other will reveal some nuances, such as at least one theme in common, as well as a thunderclap sound effect in common. But just wait until you hear the next, and final, movement of this ephemeral dance...

Empyrean Sky is truly the album's, nay, the band's crowning achievement. Rain brings in a melancholic acoustic guitar melody, while the song steadily builds into an omnious, rousing restatement of the acoustic theme on the electric. From here, at two minutes, the song builds into a riff-fest like none other: a furious, frantic pace, with underlying synths, as well as, at least I've noticed, an obvious thunderstorm-like theme throughout. The thing that leaves me in awe is how they simulate a powerful bolt of lighting and then a clap of thunder without the direct use of a sample: at 5:40 comes this gigantic hit out of nowhere, and the song then launches into an even faster, more furious version of itself, with new riffs and themes being introduced constantly. A true masterpiece; one of my favorite songs of any genre of all time.

In my mind, this album is worth however much trouble it takes for you to track it down. The musicianship is flawless, the music is original, and the atmosphere is awe-inspiring. My only gripe with the album is that it couldn't have been longer; I know how cliche that is, but it's the honest truth. Find it. Posthaste.