MODERN ALCHEMY

Every now and then I get surprised by a band that seems to be a generic prog metal- alternative band but ends up being a complete please to the ears. This is the case for this young and fresh band. Don't miss this album, it worth the listening.

Their biography say that they have a huge influence of Riverside and that's evident, the use of heavy distor guitars in a very alternative way, catchy clear melodies and everything, sounds like Riverside. On the other side, the keyboards and the structures of the songs give a different approach to the music and the result is a very enjoyable journey through the entire album. What seems to be weird to me is that the lead singer sounds like the Europe singer, just like a glam metal high pitched singer, which is nice because is strange to find this in an alternative-prog band.

Well now, the album is a conceptual one and I'm not sure what it's all about because I don't have booklet and it's not easy to understand English lyrics for me. What I can speak is that the complete album flows very well. You don't get tired of the progress of the songs. Maybe no song really will blow your mind away, I have to say is very enjoyable and many of the phrases (especially the rare ones) works fine and gives a lot of dramatic impressions that are balanced with the catchy melodies and the collaboration of the different instruments build up a cohesive concept, nice and enjoyable. Again, this band shines when the keyboards takes the lead and bring out some real interesting not that melodic progressions.

For a more accurate description, I could say this is where prog metal and crossover prog meets, right in the middle. I like that the band never gets too instrumental nor too proggy, they always keep it fresh and nice and most of the songs are pretty short and that's how it felts because the album is really easy going and easy to listening to.

With the production there's no complain. This a great work, all the sound choices are great and the quality is really on the top. The mix is great and you can see when an album is mixed to enhance the music and not a particular musician. This album could work fine to any Riverside fan (seems like there are many out there), but also to other alternative prog bands like Oceansize or even for prog metal fans.

While not ground breaking or revolutionary, this band knows very well their deal and I'm glad that I tried them out. You should if you liked the description above. 3.5 stars is fair, good, maybe very good album, just not that original to get that label of "Excellency". I liked it, keep going guys.