ZENITH

ATMOSFEAR are a five man unit out of Hamburg, Germany. This is their second album, some 6 years after the debut. A new drummer is on board for this one and he's very impressive to say the least. I really feel that these guys have hit one deep here. Lots of atmosphere, heaviness and a great vocalist. This is without a doubt one of my favourite Prog-Metal releases of 2009.

"Beginning" opens with atmosfear (haha) before piano arrives. It blends into "Loss Of Hope" where it kicks in heavily before a minute. Vocals follow. What an uplifting and emotional chorus ! Heavy 4 minutes in with some deep bass lines. Keyboards follow as drums pound. A guitar solo follows. "Generations" is fairly laid back until the heavy drums come in. Vocals follow as it settles again.Tasteful guitar 3 minutes in and some prominant bass. It picks up as vocals return. I like the vocal melodies with that aggressive sound 7 1/2 minutes in. Rough vocals 9 minutes in and then it settles a minute later but not for long. "Reawakening" is an instrumental that opens with piano. It turns heavy a minute in as piano continues.The drumming is so crisp. The tempo picks up 2 minutes in. It settles before 4 minutes before kicking back in a minute later. Nice. Check out the bass and drums 6 minutes in.

It blends into "Scum Of Society" as vocals join the heavy soundscape. Some killer organ in this one. I just love the dark, heavy sound here. It's so uplifting 5 minutes in. Heavy duty after 7 minutes. Heavy riffs 11 1/2 minutes in to end it. "Spiral Of Pain" is the 30 minute closer. Atmosphere early as piano arrives after a minute. So much atmosphere here. Vocals 2 1/2 minutes in then it turns heavy. Some soaring guitar turns into a solo after 7 minutes.The heaviness returns quickly after that. Great sound 11 1/2 minutes in and 13 1/2 minutes in.The vocals are fantastic after 17 minutes. A guitar solo follows. It settles 20 1/2 minutes in as we get a RUSH vibe. Then those amazing vocals return. Strings with piano after 23 1/2 minutes as it settles to end that section. It ends with a pastoral orchestral passage with reserved vocals.

A solid 4 stars and a band that every Prog-Metal fan should check out.

Rather good, this sophomore effort from German progressive metal band Atmosfear.

Following 6 years from their full length debut, we're taken on a ride into vintage inspired progressive metal territories on this occasion. Lengthy and mostly epic tracks is the name of the game here, with three tracks hitting 10 minutes plus and one of these eventually - including the unnamed bonus segment at the very end - almost reaching the half hour.

Slow to midpaced progressive metal is the stylistic expression of choice, with guitars and keys of various sorts creating contrasts and a good blend of light and dark textures to the soundscapes. Multiple changes in pace, sound and intensity are the compositional weapons of choice, and the overall result sounds like a slowed down, less quirky version of Dream Theater. With enough individuality in riff patterns and guitar sound to escape being regarded as clones though.

And while not a great effort it is a good one - nothing new or truly brilliant, but an effort that most likely will be regarded as a strong release by fans of vintage progressive metal - "Zenith" is well worth checking out if you fancy such a production.

Atm0sfear (is this how they pronounce themselves?) has succeeded, while staying within the stylistic confines of Dream Theater-style pompous prog metal, to nevertheless create something original. Tempos are mostly slow, groove is deep, and production spacious - but don't let the song length and titles (Loss of hope, Spiral of Pain) mislead you into thinking this is some kind of a funeral doom album. In fact, it is best thought of as Dream Theater-like - with stellar instrumentation and a crooner of a vocalist - but played in slow-mo and without those pesky thrash and power metalisms. Special mention, as I've said, goes to the vocalist - who is good, like, Queensryche's Geoff Tate good, - but also lyrics, often an afterthought in prog metal. Too bad the band is so obscure I couldn't find the texts. But sound thoughtful enough.