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Stream Of Passion - Darker Days CD (album) cover

DARKER DAYS

Stream Of Passion

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4 stars The first album of this European-Latin rock band was the best until now(and including this)...with many Ayreon,s roots

The second one was awful :a very simple Gothic pop rock album as the worst of Evanesence(for example).

This one is a kind of a mix ...mostly of the songs are good( taking apart if in the qualification is prog or not prog)..nice melodies ..not so good the instrumental arrangements ...but in spite...good music..

In my opinion the genre is prog metal(again) may be because of...Flames...the genre was re- evaluated as prog related.

Some very good songs in the style of Ayreon (the dis-toned heavy ones) and others remind me very much Kingfisher Sky,s (heavy prog).

So still this is a solid band with an excellent M.Bovio.

3.5 stars...but it is so comfortably to listen to this work in comparison to the last one that I will stay in 4.

Report this review (#472986)
Posted Thursday, June 30, 2011 | Review Permalink
Prog Sothoth
COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Stream Of Passion is most known in prog circles as one of Arjen's projects, that guy who's always sporting the Prog Archives shirt on this site's main page. Bailing out after Embrace The Storm, Arjen left the reins in Marcela's hands, who wasn't ready to hang up the SoP name just yet. Whereas their second album ditched most of the group's progressive tendencies for a full- on generic gothic metal release, Darker Days refines their sound and unveils some unique elements that adds lots of needed spice to their music. It may not cater to those in need of a full-on progressive metal experience, but for those who aren't repelled by the whole gothic metal scene featuring corset-clad female vocalists, this is easily one of the better releases out there and does earn enough instrumental flair to be considered 'prog-related'.

One of the more singular aspects of this band's sound for this effort is the occasional utilization of Gert Wantenaar's bandoleon and accordion melodies. It provides a warm texture that, combined with some forays into Latin rhythms and sprinkled Spanish lyrics, brings an exotic charm to the overall album, and hopefully on their next excursion these qualities will be brought to the forefront.

Although not explicitly showcasing themselves, the band members seem well above the norm regarding technical skill as far as their chosen genre is concerned, with occasional shredding solos and snazzy drumwork that are rarely featured if at all concerning gothic metal acts, in which the focus tends to hardly stray from the vocalist while the band chugs away in the background dressed in black and looking generally sour. Marcela also plays the violin as well, which adds more flair to certain tracks.

Vocally, we're dealing with a very pretty voice. So much so, that if the brutally overplayed Titanic theme "My Heart Will Go On" did not luckily manage to sink the entire mushy pop-ballad based music to a level that it hasn't yet recovered from, I can picture Marcela being a prime candidate to duet with an aging Peter Cetera about how awesome love is. She's not a fiery vocalist, which makes for a bit of a contrast when the music's at its heaviest (we're not dealing with anything 'extreme' of course), but she's got a sweet range and an appealing enough tone in general.

Album-wise, the album suffers a bit from sheer length that wouldn't be an issue with a little more variety. There are a couple of welcome ballads which opt for that Latin vibe, but as for the rest of the tracks, many of them are individually excellent, especially the first two numbers, the title track and "This Moment", but there's a bit of repetition in style that could use more of that ethnic influence to fire up the tamales. Don't expect some sort of wild progressive beast here, but if for some reason you find yourself in the mood for one of those Lacuna coil types groups, this album is easily one of the better representatives of that style, specifically due to the talent involved.

Report this review (#919419)
Posted Tuesday, February 26, 2013 | Review Permalink
Warthur
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Although Stream of Passion are essentially an Ayreon by-product, having kicked off as a side project between Arjen Anthony Lucassen and Marcela Bovio, they've now got multiple albums under their belt without Lucassen being involved in the band, ol' AAJ having returned to his first love. What we get here is tasteful symphonic metal with gothic overtones, competently performed and spiced up by the presence of Bovio's violin - which is actually a fairly subtle presence this time around, adding textures here and there for the most part rather than grabbing centre stage. Happily, the band also show discernment with the running time, keeping things under 55 minute rather than cramming up the gaps on the CD with filler. Not earth-shatteringly brilliant but if you're in a symphonic metal mood it'll probably hit the spot - though it equally won't present you with anything you haven't heard a thousand times before in this subgenre.
Report this review (#931944)
Posted Sunday, March 17, 2013 | Review Permalink

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