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Andromeda - Extension of the Wish - The Final Extension CD (album) cover

EXTENSION OF THE WISH - THE FINAL EXTENSION

Andromeda

Progressive Metal


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Mellotron Storm
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars These guys have great technical abilities and I was turned off at first by the speed of the guitar and especially the keys. But this isn't an album that is all speed and no melody, in fact there is a lot of variety. I really like the way the synths are used in the background at times and the vocals are pretty good except when he gets aggressive and his voice is kind of gruff. But again, the dislikes I have for this album are short passages. I should mention that this is a re-recording of their debut album with a different vocalist.

"The Words Unspoken" open with a beautiful guitar melody that brings to mind IRON MAIDEN. There is some scorching guitar solos to follow and actually there is incredible guitar throughout this song. Vocals are just okay though. Still this is a great way to open the record. "Crescendo Of Thoughts" is a hard driving tune. I like the chorus better than the verses because it's lighter and more melodic and the vocals aren't gruff. "In The Deepest Of Waters" features some very heavy riffs and guitar solos. Vocals come in after 2 minutes as the sound softens with synths.This contrast continues. Good tune. "Star Shooter Supreme" is fast paced from the start and I like the way the guitars grind it out. The vocals remind me of Mr.Oliva from SAVATAGE, kind of rough and I tire of them quickly.

"Chameleon Carnival" is an amazing instrumental ! It opens with a wall of guitars and a flury of keys. The drumming is outstanding and the highlight for me are the raw sounding guitar melodies after 4 minutes. "Extension Of The Wish" is another highlight opening with piano and synths before some light drums come in. The song gets heavier with some scorching guitar. The extended instrumental passages are fantastic. "Arch Angel" is another good one although his vocals get aggressive at times. "Journey Of Polyspheric Experience" has some great vocals and the keys are swirling while the guitars are grinding it out. Nice long guitar solo to end song. The final song "Eclipse" is a ballad that opens with piano, synths and gentle guitar. The song gets heavier. This is a powerful song and a fine way to end the ride.

These guys from Sweden have come up with a complex yet melodic album that many Prog-Metal fans will enjoy. 3.5 stars.

Report this review (#112219)
Posted Thursday, February 15, 2007 | Review Permalink
jd_ponce_es_p
4 stars Andromeda is one of the most breath taking bands there is. The Final Extension, being an extension of they're first album, is full of the technical stuff. It's full of complexity with its hard metal opening "Crescendo of Thoughts" to its very dynamic "Eclipse" which starts soft and melodious and ends with its heavy side. Being one of my first albums of Andromeda if you compare them to Dream Theater they are very similar but having their own virtuosity and lyrical melodies.

4/5 recommended for those who enjoy the heavy-side of prog.

Report this review (#113429)
Posted Saturday, February 24, 2007 | Review Permalink
cloud_23@hotm
4 stars What can I say about this album? It's pure progressive metal directly from Sweden. Great virtuoso musicians with great keyboard solos and each one showing off their great musicianship and talent. Thus taking elements from Dream Theater, and incorporating a mix to the progressive metal of Sweden this band stands out from many other prog metal bands incorporating a very different aspect like other Swedish bands do. The album in overall is much better than II=I witch resembles a much more heavier and less prog side of Andromeda but I really prefer this album more than II=I since it's more progressive.

This album contains two more songs than the original Extension of the Wish witch makes a bit longer and above all these two songs help the album stand out even more. Like I said before the album in overall it's great and original. Highly recommended to all of you prog heads!

Amazing! 4.5

Report this review (#113430)
Posted Saturday, February 24, 2007 | Review Permalink
Easy Livin
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
3 stars Old songs (become) new songs

Swedish Prog metallers Andromeda made their debut with "Extension of the wish" in 2001. The vocals throughout the album were provided by Lawrence Mackrory. Mackrory left the band around the time the album was released, to be replaced by David Fremberg who remains in the line up today. As a result of this change, all the vocals for the album were re-recorded by Fremberg in August 2001, and two additional tracks added. Hence we have this version of the album dubbed the "Final extension". It should be noted that the original instrumental recordings of the 7 tracks which made up the first release are used again here (although they have been remixed), only the vocals are new.

In terms of sound quality this version of the album is excellent, the separation of the instruments being particularly notable. The guitar work of principal band composer Johan Reinholdz is of a consistently high standard occasionally being multi tracked.

It is though the vocals which will be subject to scrutiny by fans of the band, especially those who have the original album. As this is the only version I have, I cannot comment on whether these vocals here represent an improvement. What I would say though is that while David Fremberg is a competent singer with a style of delivery which lends itself well to this genre of music, I find little here to distinguish him from his peers. The songs are carried along by the quality of the arrangements and the instrumental prowess of the band. I can only assume that the re-recording of the album was as much as anything a political exercise, and an excuse to do some remixing.

The songs here are pretty standard prog metal fare with frantic drums and power chords a-plenty. There is a sameness about the tracks which tend to sound good individually but lack the diversity required to make up a set which retains the attention throughout. Only the final couple of tracks, "Arch angel" and the title song offer something a little different in the form of slightly softer passages, but even these simply serve to counterpoint the usual style which otherwise prevails.

This release contains two additional tracks not present on the first album. These two songs break with the policy throughout the original version, whereby Johan Reinoldz monopolises the song-writing. "Journey of polyspheric experience" is co-written by Rienholdz with new singer David Fremberg while "Eclipse" is keyboard player Martin Hedin's baby. Both songs were recorded when this version of the album was being put together. Of these, "Eclipse" is quite different being a metal ballad.

In all, an album for the faithful. Even they though may yearn for more diversity while appreciating the quality of the performances.

Report this review (#174147)
Posted Tuesday, June 17, 2008 | Review Permalink
CCVP
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars The cover is not as good as the original, but the music behind is

I gotta say: it is truly amazing the importance of a good vocalist in a band and this album proves the importance of a good singer with any trace of doubt. Although the music played here is exactly the same as the one present in their original debut, the album is completely different! The thing is that David Fremberg's vocals fit much better in Andromeda's music than Lawrence Mackrory's vocals and that changes the album for the better. Well, actually there are also 2 more things that changed: this re-release have two bonus tracks that fit perfectly in the original album track list, yet another good point of this album, specially when compared with the original debut.

This album also sets the pace for all further Andromeda's releases and composition style: their music have a great display of musical technique in all instruments and their music is focused on both guitar and keyboard. In other words, their instrumental word is practically flawless (the only flaw is probably the excessive display of technique or big amounts of self-indulgence) and it is the main attribute of their albums. However, besides the quality of this album, the excessive self-indulgence actually brings the grade down, keeping it from being a masterpiece. But it is a very good album nevertheless.

The highlights are: The Words Unspoken, Crescendo of Thoughts, Star Shooter Supreme, Chameleon Carneval, Extension of the Wish, Arch Angel and Journey of Polyspheric Experience (practically the whole album, huh?)

Grade and Final Thoughts

This album have everything good that the original debut had and even more (better vocalist and two bonus tracks), making it worthy to have the four stars grade. However, it could have been a masterpiece if the band were not so self-indulgent.

Report this review (#183922)
Posted Sunday, September 28, 2008 | Review Permalink
Andy Webb
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Retired Admin
4 stars 7/8's the new groovy!

Note, I have not heard the original Extension of the Wish, only this version, and I love it! Although the album art is much less creative, the music is still great. Andromeda has really created their own brew of progressive metal, something that, surprisingly, is not really influenced by Dream Theater. They are definitely one of the more creative prog metal bands in the mix. Extension of the Wish is a favorite of mine; it's a great album in general.

The Words Unspoken has a nice technical 7/8 intro, as do most of the songs, with a spacey distorted guitar. The technicality of the song is impressive, with switch off solos between synth and guitar. The new singer really shows off his pipes on this song.

Crescendo of Thoughts opens up yet again with that spacey and groovy 7/8 soloing between synth and guitar. The melody is most prominent in this song, among the instrumental technicality.

In The Deepest Waters is a fun track, yet again in 7/8 (I think the drummer just lays out a beat and the other players just solo around it). The rhythms and instrumental sections are nice, as are the semi-melodic choruses. The outro neatly fades into the next track, another upside of the album.....

....Starshooter Supreme is a great fun track built (again) around 7/8. The soloing is fun and inventful, as are the verses and chorus.

Chameleon Carnival is easily one of the best tracks on the album, a fun instrumental 7/8 groove built around some fun solos between guitar, bass, and synth. A very fun track to listen to; it's one of those prog songs that you just want to bob your head to.

Extension of the Wish is the first truly melodic song on the album. It's just over 10 minutes, being the longest track on the album. The song is built not around 7/8, but a 10/8 groove, finally a change! The verses and chorus are very melodic are definitely something that could be remembered. The album begins a slow decline after this, as the first songs are much more upbeat and fun that the remaining tracks.

Arch Angel is the second really melodic song, with a much lighter chorus and not as much technicality when it comes to soloing, which is reduced in number.

Journey of Polyspheric Experience is a really spacey song. You just want to kick back and be enveloped by the spacey synth voice. It has a really trippy feel to it, with less technicality again. The chorus isn't "melodic," but more lighter and is more of a psychedelic-metal feel.

Eclipse, the last and most likely lightest track on the album, tries to fit in a little symphonic into the space metal. The soling is slower, more careful, less upbeat and fun, and more focused on staying both technical and melodic in feel. A nice end to a great space metal album.

ALBUM OVERALL: A fantastic album. The first 6 are much better than the remaining 3, but all 9 are still fantastic. The technicality really outmatches the melodic element, so it doesn't have all three of the Dream Theater "prog, metal, and *melodic*," but it is still fantastic. A great deviation from traditional prog metal, and a fantastic album.

Report this review (#306774)
Posted Tuesday, October 26, 2010 | Review Permalink

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