CLOUDSCAPE

First thing I noticed when I played Cloudscapes debut was the big resemblance with Evergrey. Especially the heavy beat this other Swedish prog metal band also frequently uses is remarkable. Listening to the vocals though one immediately hears the difference. Evergrey has a very unique vocalist of course (Tom Englund) but Cloudscapes Micael Andersson has more of an average metal voice that can be heard in other bands as well. Good voice by the way.

So that's already two advantages with this very fine sounding band: great rhythm and a good vocalist and on second track a great guitar sound is also detectable. This second track called Under Fire is one of the highlights of this debut I have to say. The rest of the tracks is pretty good as well making this release a very promising one. Personally I don't know any of the other two albums they made so far but I don't exclude the possibility I will go for them one day. For now I will have to give 4 stars since I can't detect any significant flaws and all I hear is one hour of great prog metal. Another winner from Sweden. Well done Cloudscape !

I've had this album on my playlist for quite a while now, mainly because I just couldn't think of anything in particular to say about it! 'Cloudscape' is the self-titled debut album by Swedish progressive metal band, uh, Cloudscape. Released in 2004, this sounds very typical of bands in this genre, but with an emphasis on strong writing, melody, and catchy hooks.

The band members are all excellent musicians, and I particularly love the blending of melodic keyboards and heavy, crunchy guitars. And this album has that in abundance, as well as powerful vocals, interesting lyrics, and a fantastic production. There isn't anything overly unique about this band, but that's fine. Not every album needs to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes good music just speaks for itself.

Admittedly, with that said, at one hour in duration, the album does drag a little at times, with some of the songs sounding kind of similar to one another. But on the other hand, some of them are absolutely fantastic! 'As the Light Leads the Way', 'Witching Hour', 'Everyday is Up to You', 'Under Fire', 'Out of the Shadows' and 'Slave' are all amazingly well written songs, and should be more than enough to satisfy any progressive metal fan.