Progressive Metal

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Blind Guardian – At the Edge of Time (2010)

    cover

    For the some fans of the band “A Twist in the Myth” was a somewhat mediocre release, but with “At the Edge of Time” they return as powerful as ever. With a very epic release, Blind Guardian shows no signs of succumbing to mediocrity and will blow you away with around 60 minutes of pure unadulterated Power Metal with some Symphonic and Progressive elements.

    As you can expect, the songwriting on “At the Edge of Time” is both inspired and magical. With only a few sub par sections, all 10 songs in the regular edition of the CD are pure Blind Guardian magic. Being a bit more epic than on their last release, we finally get powerful songs that will have you chanting as you prepare to march into battle.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Mekong Delta – Wanderer on the Edge of Time (2010)

    cover

    With a newly revamped lineup (since the last album), Mekong Delta is finally back with their Thrash infused Progressive Metal. Ralph Hubert as the only remaining original member, Mekong Delta comes out of the shadows to release a very solid album with “Wanderer on the Edge of Time”. For somebody that has been doing music since the 80’s we could only expect nothing but the best and Mekong Delta delivers on this promise.

    Recruiting Martin LeMar of Tomorrow’s Eve on vocals and Alex Landenburg of At Vance on drums, the band sounds like nothing has been really lost since their last album “Lurking Fear”. With fifteen tracks and around 50 minutes of music, “Wanderer on the Edge of Time” is arranged in a manner that allows the listener to get fully immersed on the musical experience provided on this album. All the “Zwischenspiel” or interludes (5 in total) in this album allow the transitions between tracks to be simple and elegant.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Votum – Metafiction (2010)

    cover

    As soon as we saw that Votum’s second full-length album was promoted for fans of Opeth, Anathema and Porcupine Tree, we immediately took out the CD from its packaging and started listening to this promising release. To our surprise, Votum actually delivers on the promise of being compared to the previously mentioned legendary bands.

    Hailing from Poland, Votum has been around since 2002 and (from what we have heard) has been evolving from Heavy Metal into the mystical genre of Progressive Metal/Rock in the last years. We immediately identify with Votum’s music since it’s well crafted and atmospheric enough to draw our attention away from whatever else we are doing while reviewing music (playing MW2 mostly).

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    East Of The Wall – Ressentiment (2010)

    cover

    Like a good wine, East Of The Wall has only been getting better with time. With “Ressentiment” the band not only improves over their perplexingly brilliant “Farmer's Almanac”, but they take things to a whole new dimension. The main addition to “Ressentiment” is the use of vocals to adorn the bands highly textured musical compositions. The vocals are partly because of the merger of Biclops and them.

    East Of The Wall’s brand of music is of particular interest to music connoisseurs that can greatly appreciate all the technical powers behind this band. Every single song is masterfully crafted to perplex the listener and make him have to listen to the songs a few times before fully digesting them. Then you move on to the next song and the process begins again.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Triosphere – The Road Less Traveled (2010)

    cover

    Powered by Ida Haukland’s powerful vocals, today we have Triosphere and their second full-length release “The Road Less Traveled”. This album features a very interesting combination of Power Metal with some Progressive elements and hugely characteristic female vocals. We get tons of female fronted bands each year, but Triosphere immediately stands out because of her singer’s more ‘old school’ deeper vocal style.

    With over 50 minutes of music, “The Road Less Traveled” makes a huge impression since the beginning with a very powerful opening (after the intro) Progressive/Power Metal sound, then it quickly mellows down to a more slower but equally impressive sound that shifts between the previously mentioned genres but focusing more on guitar and vocal melodies that at some points they hit hard rock territories.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Neverland – Ophidia (2010)

    cover

    Hailing from Turkey today we have Neverland, a Power/Progressive Metal outfit that is here to kick-ass and take names. The band has such a bombastic sound that you would image you are listening to a side project by Jon Oliva, or Tobias Sammet. The band takes you through an 11 song journey or epic music that will surely be one of your favorites of 2010.

    Featuring guest appearances by Jon Oliva, Edu Falaschi, and Urban Breed, the band does a great job in composing intricate and powerful songs that will blow you away. The band never relies on the guest appearances to much, since their own vocalists: Iris Mavraki and Oganalp Canatan are very good themselves. And if you have been reading Infernal Masquerade for a while, you must know that we have a knack for being picky when it comes to Progressive/Power Metal vocalists.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Canvas Solaris - Irradiance (2010)

    cover

    Hailing from the USA today we have Progressive Metal wizards Canvas Solaris. “Irradiance” marks the band fifth full-length album, and a very impressive one we might add. For over 40 minutes we are taken through a brilliant exercise in execution and composition skills, “Irradiance” is one of the best Progressive Metal albums we have reviewed this 2010.

    With their heavy influences from Cynic, Yes and Dream Theater, we can quickly notice why Canvas Solaris has been around for a while and are serious about making brilliant Progressive songs. The songwriting quality behind “Irradiance” is top notch and will immerse you into the band’s powerful sound.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Vektor – Black Future (2009)

    cover

    With the logo calling for similarities from Voivod we were expecting a soulless clone of this band, but instead we found a very good Progressive Trash Metal American band that is set to make a name of their own. Hailing from Arizona, this quartet does a great job into mixing progressive elements with old-school Trash that will blow you away.

    While there are some Voivod influences, “Black Future” is an album that clearly stands out from all the ‘new’ Trash Metal releases these days. The riffing is the main driving force behind this release, but it’s perfectly crafted around complex song structures that are unlikely in many Trash releases.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    The Ocean – Heliocentric (2010)

    cover

    As one of the most complex and intricate albums we have received in 2010, “Heliocentric” is an interesting release that will keep you guessing what’s next until the album comes to an end. The band does a great job at mixing Post Rock influences with Progressive elements.

    Compared to their previous release “Precambrian”, “Heliocentric” is less complex and shows how the band is consolidating on a sound and sticking to it. This new release does have moments when they use cello, trumpets and other things, but it’s never abused and just complements the music very nicely.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
    • Comments: 0

    Haken – Aquarius (2010)

    cover

    Having formed back in 2007, Haken sounds like a band that’s been around for decades. Attempting to dethrone Dream Theater, Haken is here to blow us away with their impressive first release. The band comes close with a very good progressive Metal/Rock Jazzy album with “Aquarius”, but the only problem is that they sound too much like DT and IQ.

    “Aquarius” is a monumental 72 minute long release that is very impressive and every Prog fan should check this one out. In a few years Haken has done what it has taken 10-15 years to other bands. The band has polished their sound greatly and they can compose monumental 16 minute songs that will keep you engaged the whole time, with not a single dull moment.

Pages

Recent Image Galleries