METAEPITOME

The Finnish band has no shame in showing their progressive roots throughout the whole record. This is one of the most honest prog albums I've listened to lately, with a group of musicians that choose to play very long songs, with several tempo and time signature changes and unusual structures, all trademark elements of the classic definition of progressive rock. That OVERHEAD's instruments of choice happen to be the mellotron and the flute, among others, is just a normal consequence of their love for retro-progressive rock.

The music can well be described as atmospheric, spacey, always moving, always flowing like an endless wave of liquid musical energy. The band pays sure homage to PINK FLOYD, one of the genre's biggest legends, constantly evoking their sound and emulating several of their techniques. The albums sounds very floydian because of this. But this is a more modern version of the classic. At the same time we're invaded by contemporary sounds and effects, rhythms that belong to the era when the impossible has been already conquered. There's a strong pop/rock sensibility running under the progressive bloodstream of the music. The "indie" flavor of the record is clear, and it shows very clearly on the vocals, which remind us of other indie/prog-rock artists like THE DECEMBERISTS. The music, on the other hand, takes influence from other bands like HAWKWIND and, in consequence, with another Finnish band, AMORPHIS. We can feel the same cold, the same freezing sensation by listening to OVERHEAD as to said metal band (in fact, "Metaepitome" borders on metal at times.) Other influences that constantly show through are neo-prog bands like MARILLION (Hogarth era) or prog masters GENESIS, as well as more modern acts like PHIDEAUX.

Without a doubt, the best tracks are the gigantic opener, the title-track, and the second song, "Warning: Ending (Without Warning)". Here we have an introduction to all the great faces of OVERHEAD: very floydian, classic-progressive in the former, more contemporary, even electronica in the latter. From here on, the music maintains a constant high level, even though at some points it starts repeating itself.

My only problem with this otherwise-brilliant record is my opinion that at times it sounds too-much like it's trying to sound like something else. The influences show and sometimes we feel we've been there, done that before. But that doesn't take from the fact that the musicianship is incredible, the melodies are fantastic and the disc is ultimately an extremely satisfying experience. For that reason, I'll give it 4 stars over 5.

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