The Voyager

Well, this is a refreshing change. Ocean’s Edge are a new band straight out of Greece playing the kind of progressive metal you don’t hear a lot of these days, eschewing the heavy, metrical approach of bands like Soen and Communic in favor of the melodic, power metal-inflected 90s strand of the style, before down-tuned chugging became all the rage. This is all about tinkling keys and synth/guitar battles, soaring, nuanced vocals, and mega-time changes that actually service the song, and that’s the best thing about ‘The Voyager’; it’s full of dazzling, well-written compositions that go way beyond just showing off. If you miss the sound of bands like Shadow Gallery, Ivanhoe, Elegy, and Ivory Tower, this is an album you don’t want to pass up. For a new band to come out with a debut like this is a pretty bold statement of intent, as they’re obviously doing it for the sheer love of the music, and with the amount of emotion they pump into these songs, it definitely shows.

Lyrically, this album is all about self-discovery and overcoming obstacles, and I love that shit when it’s paired with such bright, vibrant music. The shadow of early Dream Theater hangs pretty heavy over everything Ocean’s Edge do, and there are a lot of synth patches that are bang on ‘Images And Words’, but it’s nice to hear, and it gives this thing a lot of nostalgic value. ‘Fragile’ opens the album proper with some exciting riffing and double bass drumming, with a bit of a neo-classical vibe in the instrumental byplay. They slow down for the chorus, a nice emotional hook, leading into some lovely lead guitar before they give Shadow Gallery a run for their money in the middle eight. Next up is ‘Sacrifice’, the most power metal tune here, full of galvanic riffing and vocal lines straight out of a Jag Panzer record. Ocean’s Edge are a Greek band, and as such inject a muscular weight into these songs, but their material is very American; hell, vocalist Manos Xanthakis even sounds a little like DC Cooper, albeit a shakier version. ‘Supernatural’ contains a tender hook and some jubilant keyboard work that reminds me of rockier Spock’s Beard albums like ‘Day For Night’, whereas album centerpiece ‘Waterfall’ is pure ‘Images And Words’, an almost perfect epic that keeps the tension up with a lot of dramatic shading and killer riffs. The album ends with two massive epics, which is pushing it somewhat, but when ‘Atlas’ closes the album on such a fine note, with such a poignant refrain, it’s pretty hard to argue.

Production wise, this isn’t quite as polished as you’d expect, but you can hear everything perfectly with its spacious sound. It actually sounds like a band playing, as opposed to dull ProTools mush, and it just adds to the old school charm. Fans of hooky, melodic prog metal of the 90s school will have a field day here, and while it’s not innovative in any real sense, it spells great things for this delightfully retro band.