UTOPIA PERFECTION

Discordia

Eclectic Prog

3.45 | 30 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Irresistibly intriguing and full of surprises, Discordia's Utopia Perfection is truly a musical adventure. Once you get past the dodgy birdies on the cover. But who am I to call anyone dodgy?

Anyway, the album. It's brilliant! The songs are simultaneously as fascinating as the golden 70's era prog rock but still clearly contemporary. Or futuristic even, if you listen to the lyrics.

Discordia stays clear of the trap that many prog musicians have at least tripped over, if not fallen headfirst into. The music is the key here, not the finger exercises that strain many proggers' instruments and consequently their songs and their listeners' ears. Thank you, Discordia, for giving us actual organic art instead of clinical musical masturbation!

Considering that Utopia Perfection is the band's debut album, it's been put together and conceptualized extremely well. The songs are strong individuals that form an almost intact arch reaching from the sombre depths of the first track, Foreseen, to the Celtic fiddling of the closing track, Giant Dwarf.

It's also refreshing that the band don't take themselves too seriously. Their heavy metal parody Mighty Power of Metal is hilarious. Mind you, it manages to fit in with the theme of the album, instead of becoming a random joke.

The reason for getting four stars instead of five is track number two, Mystery Man. After listening to the album a billion times, it still seemed to belong on some other far more mediocre album. The song just isn't strong enough. You need to pick your battles, boys and girls, only Midas could turn everything to gold!

Apart from that slight excusable slip, listening to the album is sheer bliss. Special compliments to the composer-vocalist Tero Vaananen who together with guitarist Antti Tolki has put together some impressive works of musical art! And above these tunes hovers and soars the translucent, yet powerful voice of Riika Hanninen.

All in all, a splendid first outing for these six Finns. Hopefully there is more to come!

Standout tracks: Speak Directly with it's manic chorus, disturbingly extra-terrestrial Slave Planet I and it's majestic sequel Slave Planet II.

Dodgy muppet | 4/5 | 2007-6-8

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