TRANSCENDENTAL

It seems churlish to criticise Transcendental, it isn't a bad album - in fact it is a very good album, and To-Mera are an impressively talented group, their playing is faultless. Sheppard's keyboards are some of the best you'll hear in progressive metal, especially when he is going all classical and jazzy on the piano (acoustic and electric).

Barrett's bass does everything required to hold everything together while Pirisi on drums provides the rhythms and tribal-influenced percussion with a lot more self-control than some Prog-Metal drummers I could mention, never reduced to just hitting everything in his kit, he switches styles and rhythms to dramatic affect (notably on the track Parfum). MacLean's guitar work is expressive, with crisp riffs that never completely drown a song and enhance the Barrett/Pirisi rhythm section perfectly, while his solos are tight and musical without being flashy. This is not a band playing apart, competing against each other, they work as a unit and when it works, it works great. This just leaves Kiss on vocals. She can sing that is without question, and in the main her vocals fit well with the music, but her pitch is a little high for my personal tastes on some tracks here (the chorus of Obscure Oblivion for one) so she often gets lost in the stratosphere while the rest of the band are cruising around in the lower atmosphere.

Yet after owning this for several months now it still doesn't sit very well on my CD player - whenever it finishes it always leaves me feeling as if I've missed something. Unfulfilled even. The problem for me is that there is far too much going on, there are just too many chops and changes, too many influences and styles all vying for attention that it becomes hard work. Admittedly, this is improving with time as I become accustom to it, but I feel it will take a few more months yet to become fully comfortable. This album is an excellent addition to a Prog Metal collection because it is in the top 20% all PM out there, but it so easily could have been in the top 10% which would have made it an essential addition, so in truth 3.5-stars from me, which I have rounded up to 4.

I discovered To-mera in 2005 when they still only had their two-song demo out. "Born of Ashes" and "Dreadful Angel" were the two songs contained on this demo and obviously I was impressed, after all they displayed so well the musicianship within the band, the creativity, the perfectionism. Other people were apparently also impressed since this demo won the demo of the year in a metal magazine, I guess Metal Hammer. But now they have added to these two songs 6 more and made their big debut.

It opens up very promisingly with the intro "Traces", despite the cheesy atmospheric keyboards. "Blood" is a good metal tune with a catchy chorus and compact structure, perfect as the single from the album. Unfortunately it all goes downhill from here....

...as we enter "Dreadful Angel" one of the songs I liked from the demo. The problem with it is that, while it was certainly novel at the time to hear a band combining progressive and symphonic metal with jazz and with such instrumental finesse, it didn't necessarily mean that these were cohesive compositions during which the listener can keep track of what is going on. In other words, the band is trying to accomplish too much in too short a time and what comes out is directionless mumbo-jumbo. There are some truly beautiful melodies here, very heavy riffs, even some blastbeats - but that doesn't save the album from drowning in its bloated pretense.

It is hard to truly enjoy anything on here save for "Blood", which is okay, but not nearly as ambitious as the rest really. "To-mera" has a ridiculous amount of talent per capita but they need to work on songwriting.

To-Mera is a young band coming from United Kingdom that plays a very technical and avant-garde form of progressive metal with enchanting female vocals. Their influences go from jazz to death/black metal (no harsh vocals at all, though) with some symphonic elements here and there.

This album has a very dark and 'dreamy' mood that fits perfectly with Julie's lyrics. There aren't too many technical bands able to create such an overwhelming atmosphere. The production is almost perfect: powerful and crystal clear. Most of the songs are quite complex and they often surprise the listener with lots of tempo changes. "Phantoms" is one of the most amazing tracks, containing an incredibly beautiful mellow part in the middle that suddenly turns into death metal aggression near the end. Some fantastic death metal riffs also appear at the end of "Dreadful Angel" and "Parfum", which contains some nice tribal percussion and a wonderful piano intro as well, as I mentioned above. Jazz influences are obvious in "Obscure Oblivion" and "Dreadful Angel". Even the album intro "Traces" is worth mentioning, as it might be the best intro I've ever heard, featuring a wonderful guitar solo in the vein of Riverside. But the most special thing about this album is the ending track "Realm of Dreams". Beautiful, intense, melancholic, emotional. it could only be compared to Opeth. I cannot imagine a better ending for the album as I cannot imagine a better title for this song either.

"Transcendental": a work of art coming from a very young band that will bring a lot of glory to the fans of this genre. It's easily one of the best progressive metal albums I've heard in quite a long time. Recommended for any fan of technical, forward-thinking music with an intense emotional feeling.

4.5 stars which I round up to 5 for being a debut album.

I'm surprised with these British guys. There's as much music as innovation and fresh ideas on it, their music can recreate a present full of doubts and uncertainty, everything in a band that blends metal, jazz, gothic and a little bit from other things with total authority and authenticity for holding the fallen flame of a genre as rich as its own past but it crosses by a period of creative stagnation.

To-Mera and Transcendental (their first album), have taken back all those things that sometimes most of the new (even the big ones) progressive metal bands aren't taking in mind for making music, not only of quality but also with a real identity that can make them unique. In fact, that's one of the secrets of this great record, and is always taking in mind the details that get rich and notorious all the notes, rhythms and lyrics elaborated for all 8 songs here done.

Besides, the genuine talent of their components makes more impressive their musical proposal. Julie Kiss manages pretty well all her vocal ranges with a voice as delicate as personal, doubtless she's one of the highest points of Transcendental. Also the great performance on guitar thanks to Tom MacLean and not less important the stunning labour on keyboards and piano courtesy of Hugo Sheppard, generating amusing ambients and making good solos when the songs request it. Personally I would choose songs like; "traces", "blood", "dreadful angel", "born of ashes" and "obscure oblivion" as the best from this work.

I don't know what the future brings to this English act, I just want to recommend them to anyone who has the opportunity to hear them. Believe me, there will not be a disappointment with this sonic wall called To- Mera.

By: Epsilon.

3.5 stars. TO-MERA are a female fronted (vocals) Prog-Metal band from the UK. These guys can play and I really like Julie Kiss' vocals, but something is missing for me. Funny but I read Dean's review as I sat down to write mine and he had some of the same thoughts as I did in that regard.

"Traces" is my favourite and I wish they sort of stuck to this dark, atmospheric style throughout this album. Julie sings these haunting vocal melodies to open and when she stops the electric guitar eventually comes in joined by the drums. Piano only to end it. "Blood" is a good song with some Power-Metal flourishes. "Dreadful Angel" opens heavily as vocals almost whisper in between these heavy outbursts. A calm 1 1/2 minutes in then the guitar breaks out a minute later. Check out the jazzy calm 3 1/2 minutes in. The contrasts of calm and heavy continue.

"Phantoms" is heavy with vocals until we get a 2 minute calm then it kicks in again. "Born Of Ashes" opens with reserved vocals and acoustic guitar. Then this epic sounding passage takes over only to be replaced by an uptempo and powerful soundscape. "Parfum" opens with piano then soft vocals and acoustic guitar come in. It turns dark and heavy before 2 minutes. Check out the drumming. Great section. Vocals are back. "Obscure Oblivion" kicks in around 1 1/2 minutes then settles with piano a minute later. It's heavy again after 3 minutes. Nice guitar a minute later. I like the heaviness that takes over before a minute in "Realm Of Dreams". Vocals follow.The contrasts of heavy and calm continue.

Lots to like here but I just can't get into it enough to offer up 4 stars. Time may change that.

Fantastic debut album of one of the most interesting and challenging new Brit bands in today's music!It's something like a fresh breath to listen this kind of music,made with so much passion and belief!First of all the eteheric femele vocals can be discouraging or intriguing for some prog metal fans,but let me say to you that the Hungarian JULIE KISS can really sing!The musical stile of TO-MERA is an agressive prog metal,with massive riffs and many breaks,chops,changing of rhythms!The diversity and multitude of ideas expressed by the guys is really stunning!Sometimes I feel that they have to many ideas in pocket and the will to express them in the same song!It's really dense and tortured sometimes-but the technical level is astonishing!In the same song we can hear massive pure metal riffs,then an abyssal change into jazzy rhythms,then trash metal pure and ferocious-all in a very intelligent amalgam-100 % metallic!The production is very good-each instrument sounds perfect and the balance between the angelic voice of Julie and the ferocious music behind is a very catchy combination!Also,we have to mention that TRANSCEDENTAL is a debut album-so that's even more impressive and stunning!They have a huge potential and I am sure the future looks bright for this innovators in music,in a way!If we try to compare TO-MERA's music...the only idea that is crossing my mind is the American band AGHORA!But TO-MERA is more adventurous,diverse and technical and the mystical side of AGHORA is gone here!4.5 STARS for a stunning debut album!

As even the most devout fans of the more traditional Progressive Metal (i.e., not the Tech/Extreme or Experimental/Post Metal kind) will attest, by 2006 the genre was beginning to get rather stale with its endless hordes of Dream Theater clones seemingly disappearing over the horizon. But this UK band right from the start have set out to make a difference, and stand out from the tightly packed crowd primarily by fusing that standard form of Prog Metal with jazz and the more extreme side of the spectrum.

Musically this band stands out as being something of a melting pot for a whole host of different styles, and though that tends to be a rather over used statement, I'll certainly stand by it here. In the structure of the music its quite clear that Dream Theater have an influence, but the way they incorporate jazzy sections into the music and the sudden switches between smooth and heavy and jarring passages, without sounding forced in incoherent, already moves the band a step beyond. In terms of the bands playing its quite clear that guitarist Tom MacLean, more well known as Hakens bass player, takes a lot of influence from the more extreme ends of things, with echoes of Meshuggah and Cynic coming through his playing. I'd have to say, though, that as good as he is on bass, he's absolutely amazing as a guitarist and I cant help but rate him as one of the genres best.

In bands of this style its not uncommon for the keyboard players to get rather lost, only really coming out for the occasional short solo but with Hugo Sheppard, thats never a problem. He seems to spend his time alternating between playing big atmospheric chords that noticeably fill out the back ground of the music and strong synth or piano leads over the heavy riffing of MacLean and bassist Lee Barrett, sometimes even sharing lead duty with MacLean. Right from the start of the atmospheric opener Traces, its clear that Sheppard has slotted himself into the band as an integral part of its sound, and to be honest the same could be said for all of them, with one instrument missing the album wouldnt be half as good.

The rhythm section is probably the one part that I feel could be better. Akos Pirisi is a good drummer and like others have noted, he displays a a much greater level of self control than other many other drummers in this genre and that might be part of his problem, he probably shows just a bit too much self control and doesnt let loose as much a he probably could. Still, he does a good job and works well with the bands bassist. Barrett is probably best described as a competent bassist but a little unimaginitive, who's mostly working to support the lead pair of MacLean and Sheppard rather than joining in and using the bass as an instrument that that can stradle the roles of rhythm and lead. There are, of course, exceptions to this, most notably the jazzier parts of Dreadful Angel and Born of Ashes (its also notable that these two are the first songs the band wrote, so maybe he adapted the more supportive style later).And then there's the vocals. Its fair to say that Julie Kiss is a bit of love-or-hate singer. She has a very rich quality to her singing, which she seems to naturally give more power to than many other female singers. Personally, I really love the sound of her voice.

Its not all brilliant though. The production of this album has one glaring problem that annoys me every time and thats the sibilance on Kiss's vocals (for those that dont know, sibilance is a hissing sound found primarily at the end of S and cymbal sounds). Its there on every song and quite badly pronounced, I can only assume the engineer, Bret Caldas-Lima fell asleep after he pressed record to have missed it so badly. Kiss's talent at writing lyrics was also still developing as well since there are a few lines that come across as being, well, a bit clunky, particularly on the second track, Blood. Then there's the final track, Realm of Dreams. I get the feeling that Sheppard intended for this epic to ebb and build over the length of the track until it reaches a climax, yet it never seems to get anywhere and finally fades out into static, which I really dont like. My final gripe is with the bass, which has a really dirty sound to it. Normally, I wouldnt mind this, in fact I'd probably love it, but it tends to get lost in the mix a bit and serves more to mask the technical ability of Lee Barret.

Transcendental proves to be a good debut album and even now, having had the album for several years, the songs Dreadful Angel, Phantoms, Born of Ashes, Parfum and Obscure Oblivion are still amongst my favourites. More importantly it proves to be a very unique starting point for To-Mera, one that pointed to a very strong future. The faults I've pointed out with this album can be annoying but the underlying strengths of the bands compositions and the proficiancy with which they pull them off leaves me coming back time and again.

I don't think I have ever heard a metal band use dynamics to the extent that this band does on this album. At times they are very heavy metal, at others they are light classical or jazz. If prog metal is "characterised by genre transgression" then Transcendental has that in spades. The To-Mera musicians' virtuosity is also beyond a doubt. I don't usually like bands with female vocals as they tend to make it too gothic for me, but this is one of the rare exceptions. They don't seem to fall into the gothic format. To-mera's Transcendental is in my opinion a masterpiece of progressive metal.

To-Mera's "Transcendental" is, in a word, sublime. From the first instant with Julie Kiss' rich voice through the refreshingly un-dissapointing ending, each song is artfully composed and skillfully performed. Falling on the dark side of the mood scale, with a strong dose of emotional power, this album avoids one of the major pitfalls of moody music (which is to be tiresomely one-note). This music twists into unexpected places. There's a strong jazz influence that brings a "free" quality, and surprisingly well-placed bursts of thrash. All that said, it isn't perfect - all throughout, it's tough to tell what Kiss' lyrics are saying. She's low enough in the mix that her consonants are somewhat masked - and her enunciation itself could be clearer in places.

"Traces" begins with simple beauty, eastern influences, melodic guitar, and a gentle ending that functions as a subtle introduction to "Then Blood." Here, the metal part of prog-metal becomes immediately apparent, but tastefully done. Some unusual chord changes here and there make this solid tune more interesting, and suddenly - bam - you're listening to a ELP-esque key section - then right back to the metal, with no awkwardness of transition. In the last few seconds, the theme in the first track's ending reappears and serves as an intro to track 3, "Dreadful Angel." [In order, 4/5, 4/5].

When I first heard this album, I began to get nervous at this point, because the first 40 seconds or so of "Dreadful Angel" are similar to the previous track - and then it takes a very different turn. Ascending chords and angelic vocal interludes alter its path. A third of the way through the song, there are already five distinct themes. Then around 3:14, a further surprise: jazz! The gentleness of it provides great contrast, and the rest of the song follows that general pattern: heavy and gentle alternating, but each section unique - no repeats. This is masterfully done, with an emotional power that I don't often find in post-2000 prog. 4/5

"Phantoms" continues to build the pattern of alternating themes. The thrash element comes in here, and unlike most thrash I've heard it's powerful rather than irritating. I think the ever-changing themes help with this - it's not 7 minutes of relentless one-two-one-two-one-two timing. Applied in short bursts, it instead provides an interesting change. This track doesn't quite flow seamlessly, but is still excellent. 4/5

"Born of Ashes" is a good song, but many of its themes oddly remind me of music from the Castlevania and Diablo video games. While I enjoy a lot of that music, I feel it's a bit cliche' at this point. This could easily be part of a vampire movie soundtrack. I hope for a bit more than that in my music when it's not attached to visuals. 3/5

"Parfum" brings the level back up again, and brings it way up high. The quiet versatility of the vocals, desperately screaming guitars, moments of astonishing beauty, and a total avoidance of all things expected make this an emotional roller-coaster of a song. 5/5

"Obscure Oblivion" gives the listener a bit of a break at the start with a prolonged mellow intro, then delves back into the realm of quickly-changing themes. There's more jazz here, and several sections with interesting timing nuances. Well-composed, but not as powerful as the previous track. I attribute this in part to a few areas with similar structure to pieces of previous songs. 4/5.

By the time the final track, "Realm of Dreams," comes around, there's an obvious pattern that has emerged: quiet-loud-quiet-loud, etc. Heavy themes don't seem to be leading into more heavy themes, and soft ones into soft ones - and that's fine, but a bit repetitive even if the themes themselves are not. It would be disappointing if a band with so much compositional ability turned out to be a one-trick-pony. "Realm of Dreams" dispels that worry. There are several unbroken chains of loveliness that sustain or build rather than transitioning immediately into something totally different, and a passage at about 5:00 of surprising sensitivity. The ending that starts around 7:30 is at once dark and uplifting, with a key lead reminiscent to Moraz on Yes' Relayer. And while most bands might have simply faded out on that, not To-Mera. It cross-fades into ever more in-your-face static: a refreshing choice. 5/5

So, not every song is a masterpiece, but To-Mera displays astounding potential. Not every prog fan will love this - it's very dark - but it's a fantastic fusion of different styles. I recommend this highly.