APPEARANCE OF NOTHING

The band "Appearance of Nothing" from Switzerland (formerly know as a mostly cover band called "No Thanx") has been around since 2004 and has released an EP and four full length studio albums. The band plays a Progressive Metal that consists of two guitarists, a keyboardist, bassist and drummer.

This album "In Times of Darkness", Omar Cuna, who is also the bassist, has always shared vocal duties with various other members of the band, but this time around, he is the only vocalist credited from the regular band. There are also a few guest vocalists that help out on this album, however, including a growler. This album was released in March of 2019 and has 8 tracks which have a total run-time of 54 minutes.

"Inside These Walls" is a decent opener that generates a bit of excitement for the album with plenty of progressive passages and heavy guitar and just the right touch of both keyboards and piano at the right places. Omar is a good enough vocalist with enough emotion to make it all believable. The guest growler voice is present in this track, but he only sings occasionally and it is always in tandem with Omar, so they are easier to tolerate. "The Black Sea" is a bit softer, but has a dark undertone. The music is more along the lines of a heavy rhapsody. The tone and intensity changes often and so do the meters, but it never gets overly complex. However, the growler does make some short appearances at the intense sections, but it is usually broken up by clean vocals. There is a nice and melodic guitar solo that is worth waiting around for though. The guest cellist also adds some nice heaviness to the bottom end of this track. At just about 10 minutes, this track delivers a lot of emotion and punch.

"Storm" features shared, lead vocals from Anna Murphy who adds some nice depth to the music. The song follows a heavy thumping drum and guitar riff, but also has a good amount of keyboards to keep it grounded. "Erase" starts out as a piano ballad and intensifies to a heavy progressive rocker. Emotional vocals, lyrics and melodies and powerful riffs make this a stand out track. "Deception" returns to a heavier tone and faster beat. It also has more growling vocals than the others before it, but even then, they are not overabundant. After 4 minutes, it calms down with an acoustic sound and rolling drums. A guitar solo comes in and builds the intensity back up again but the guitar continues to the end of the track.

"Disaster (Sweetest Enemy)" is a slower, pensive track and features dual vocals of Omar and guest vocalist Devon Graves. As expected, things do intensify, but this one is another great track with another great guitar solo and is more ballad-like. "Lost" features the return of guest vocalist Anna Murphy. Though it has a fast beat to it, it is a bit mellower than most of the tracks. Again Omar and Anna share lead vocals. The song is based around a fast keyboard riff and thumping guitars. "The Huntress" closes the album with another 9+ minute track. This one also starts out less heavy and again is more driven by keyboards, but with a fast rhythm on the verses and slowing on the chorus. A heavier attack combining the organ and guitar starts at the 4 minute mark, and soon, more growling vocals come in. After this though, there is a killer keyboard solo. The song goes into another section where a fast march carries us into a guitar solo with rapid fire notes and then climaxing, and then back to the original chorus and a stately coda to end it all.

This is a very good Progressive Metal album with a lot of variety and just the right mix of heavy guitar and keyboard to keep things interesting. The use of the guest vocalists help provide good depth and variety to the sound, and even the growling vocals aren't so bad because they are, for the most part, used to enhance and not to describe the music. All of the musicians are in great form and the vocals are perfect for the music with good range and plenty of emotion. This makes for an excellent album that could have been even better with a bit of ingenuity, but all in all, it is quite entertaining and exciting.

Don't let the Appearance Of Nothing distract you from hearing A New Beginning, because, despite such deception, there's a lot to be enjoyed from one of Switzerland's few progressive metal bands. I've decided to adopt a policy of responding to stupid band names with stupid puns, and I won't stop until they do. Appearance Of Nothing plays straightforward melodic progressive metal that's heavy on the melodic. The band has been around for about ten years, and this is their third album. For fans of their first two albums, as well as fans of the more accessible forms of progressive metal, this is a very strong release.

Expect synth and guitar heavy music. Every song is carried by crunchy rhythm guitars, and I'm happy to report that the recording and production is spot on to allow them to really shine. As far as distinct strengths of the album: look no further the choruses. Every single one, particularly on the daunting 14 minute title track, is remarkably catchy. This memorability, along with the consistently driving pace of the album, makes it a very easy and enjoyable listen. The lead vocal performance is also pretty great, and the songwriting even manages to accommodate interspersed harsh vocals. Usually throwing harsh vocals into melodic prog is a quick turn-off for me, but I applaud Appearance Of Nothing for pulling it off.

Where drawbacks are concerned, I can't point to any specific "problems", but there are a few minor disappointments. For a pretty heavy synth presence, strong vocals, and ample songwriting diversity, I was disappointed with the overall atmosphere of the album. While the songs were certainly strong, they lacked a unique identity. This isn't so much a drawback as it is lost potential for a band that's got everything else they need to be really, really good.

Certainly check out the single "Chains Of History", as well as the title track. As common to great progressive music, it's often that the longest song ought to be the best, and that's certainly true here with the title track. I again applaud solid work from the studio to draw out a powerful performance so that it actually sounds powerful. Where technically proficient progressive metal meets great melodies and an excellent performance, you can't go wrong.

4.0 // 5

Originally posted at www.blackwindmetal.com

'The New Beginning' - Appearance of Nothing (60/100)

Appearance of Nothing first came to my attention back in 2011, with the release of All Gods are Gone. Even if their second album had not sold me entirely on their sound, it was clear that the Swiss progressive metallers had skill and potential enough to evolve into something greater. With this in mind, I met The New Beginning with some measure of anticipation; after all, there have been several instances in progressive metal recently where bands would come unto their own with a stronger sense of style on the second or third album. Haken's latest album The Mountain found the band finally crawling out of Dream Theater's shadow and forging a sound they could call their own; Leprous' third album Bilateral turned out to be one of the most impressive and creative metal records I had ever heard, period. Anyways, with All Gods are Gone, I saw some of that same potential in Appearance of Nothing. With that in mind, I may have been disappointed to hear The New Beginning toting much of the same middle-of-the-road melodic prog metal mashup that they were doing before, but a mild and derivative style has not stopped the band from creating an otherwise solid and nuanced hour of music for proggers to dive into.

As was the case with their preceding work, Appearance of Nothing take a varied approach to progressive metal, with a firm emphasis on melody. Although many passages here dared to be compared to Dream Theater, Appearance of Nothing are distinguished from that American prog powerhouse in the regard that melody is made to be the most prominent aspect of the sound. Even if they may occasionally jump into death metal territory, the music is built on firm song structures over the sort of longwinded instrumentation one tends to expect from the genre. "Without a Reason" and "Forsaken" are two examples of Appearance of Nothing's impressive ability to merge the longform scope of prog metal with the tight songwriting craft you would usually only find in songs of a more typical length. Although Appearance of Nothing can be commended for putting an emphasis on something that the prog metal style often ignores, it's resulted in a bit of a middle-of-the-road sound that lacks the shock and excitement I usually look for with bands of the style. Each of the longer pieces feel excellently paced and structured, but the concise approach has come at the cost of the exciting instrumental sections I usually long for in prog metal. When Appearance of Nothing do go instrumental, it has a tendency to feel restrained; it's as if they are still trying to make room for vocals when none are present. The songwriting is solid, but Appearance of Nothing feel disappointly reserved when it comes to unlocking their weirder side, if one happens to exist.

Melody by itself isn't necessarily a bad thing to emphasize in progressive metal, but Appearance of Nothing's melodic writing, vocal or otherwise, feels mildly underwhelming. Some of the choruses- most notably the anthemic, single-worthy "The Seer"- are plenty catchy and even memorable, but - to put it bluntly- the melodies don't feel interesting or all that creative. At their least provocative, some of Appearance of Nothing's melodies can sound like dry AOR rockers, melodies fleshed out with bombastic production, but too uninteresting to strike a real emotional response. Like many other prog metal bands, Appearance of Nothing's talent lies in their instrumental arrangement, and I often got the sense listening to The New Beginning that the music would have fared better without the commitment to a vocal-friendly structure.

It's worth noting that Appearance of Nothing have two vocalists. Bassist Omar Cuna and rhythm guitarist Patrick Gerber both lend their voices here. The vocalists offer distinctive performances from one another, with the mellower of the vocalists recalling the voice of Orphaned Land's Kobi Farhi, and the other providing a more bombastic delivery in the same neighbourhood as Sabaton's Joakim Broden. Both musicians are decently skilled in the vocal department, although the gruff machismo of the latter has a tendency to wear pretty thin some fist-pumping choruses into the album. A handful of death growls are thrown in, and while they aren't entirely out of place, it isn't natural for the otherwise intensely melodic nature of the album, instead feeling like a somewhat contrived attempt to jump on the post- Opeth prog metal bandwagon. The lyrics are effective at times ("Leaving without a reason, is like dying without belief") but there are times when they're almost laughably awful ("I wanna keep your smile, because I like your style"). Then again, lyrics are rarely a progressive metal strong suit, and the inconsistent lyrical quality rarely gets in the way of the music itself.

Even though it's easy to take a band's virtuosic skills for granted in progressive metal, Appearance of Nothing are indeed remarkably skilled and tight as a band, even moreso now than they were on All Gods are Gone. The guitar pair of Berger and Gerber offer some strong riffs and leads that express a healthy awareness for the genre's legends. Marc Petralito's keyboard work and Omar Cuna's bass contributions are more subtle, adding a solid foundation of sound for the music, but almost never donning the spotlight themselves. The real standout here however is drummer Ronny Wolf, also known for his work in Lunatica. Even if the songwriting places the clear emphasis on guitars, Wolf's drum patterns are what caught my attention the most. His playing feels nuanced and powerful in the same way that made Mike Portnoy a legend.

Though I've been heavy on the criticism and I still can't say I'm really sold on the band, The New Beginning is a noted improvement over past work, taking them one step closer to realizing the potential I know they have locked in them. In trying to go so many directions (between melodic rock and death metal) at once, the end result is something that feels like it's stuck in the middle of the road, a jack-of-all-trades, but master of none. In order to unlock that potential, I feel Appearance of Nothing will need to make some decisions about which element of their sound they are going to want to emphasize, because as it stands, their style strikes me as being indecisive. Even moreso, their instrumental skill is a beast waiting to be unlocked, and the songwriting needs to give those skills a greater room to breathe and explore; that can be done without any cost to their melodic sensibilities. In spite of these thoughts, The New Beginning has made for an enjoyable slab of progressive metal, stronger than a fair bit of its melodically- inclined kin. On a surface level, it's easy to see why some people have been calling this the prog metal album of the year so far, but as my thoughts were when I heard All Gods are Gone in 2011, there is some evolving yet to be done for the band to start shining.

All gods gone is the second release of Apperance of Nothing - a progressive metal band from Switzerland, the album released in 2011. Eh, let's say that this kind of metal I've heared 3 billion times before, nothing is groundbreaking here, in places is even boring. They gone already on a path beaten to many times by prog metal bands like Dream Theater , Vanden Plas or even Edge of sanity moments to be found here. Overall the musicianship is ok, they know to handle the instruments for sure , what lacks here is captivating arrangements, instresting passages, inventive solos. Aswell I have hard times listning to that combination clean/growling vocals, is not bad but totaly pointless to me ears. Two well known figures in metal zone Davon Graves from Dead Soul Tribe and Psychotic Waltz fame and Dan Swano from Edge of Sanity and Nightingale, had good prestation on some pieces, specially Dab Swano on 2nd God the most progressive metal piece from the album to me. The music offered is technical progressive metal with plenty of power metal elements added, some good if not spactacular riffs are to be found here and in places some keybords are a welcome in the overall metalized sound. The best track tome is Destination, the rest are ok but far from being soemthing really intresting or captivating. So, 3 stars to this album, maybe in same league with their first release from 3 years prior, overall good, but that it. To me is quite the type of prog metal even is not bad at all is forgetable at best.

'All Gods Are Gone' - Appearance Of Nothing (6/10)

One of the most recommended prog metal albums for me this year was this LP by Swiss group Appearance Of Nothing. Setting aside my fatigue with the somewhat stale nature of modern prog metal, I have looked into it, and while I still cannot set down my distaste for what this once-glorious sound has now become, it is clear to me that some albums of this sound stand out more than others. With a handful of guest appearances from some big names in metal, 'All Gods Are Gone' appears to be this band's breakthrough record; a refreshing escape from the Dream Theater worship that many prog metal bands fall into. The bottom line; Appearance Of Nothing have made themselves a fine record to beckon the listeners of 2011 in.

Appearance Of Nothing tends to fall towards in a comfortable middle ground of the prog metal spectrum, both knowing how to be technical and wild at times, but also narrowing in on that feeling of the 'epic' that much power metal aims for. Appearance Of Nothing are a very melodic band, albeit without necessarily being catchy; the strength of this band instead lies in the way they have been able to throw a bunch of different ideas into the mixing bowl and have them come out as something relatively cohesive. Know that 'All Gods Are Gone' is far from the most refreshing listen in prog metal that's come out lately, but I will say that they do more with their sound than most. Here, I am hearing the sounds of symphonic, death, and power metal, and even distinct sounds of electronica, which still sound a little jarring amidst the rest of the more traditional sounds.

As far as musicianship goes, this band is a winner, and the arrangement and layering of the compositions is excellent. Appearance Of Nothing has an eclectic sound to them, with heavy riffs and growls being contrasted with jazzy interludes, power metal choruses and a few surprises here and there. The style is certainly not new, but the band keeps changing up the sound and pace of the music, so it stays fairly interesting. Also, an intriguing addition here are the vocals of Dan Swano and Devon Graves, the former being a hero of mine for death metal. Although the vocals of neither are used particularly well, they are refreshing cameos, and give Appearance Of Nothing a stable position in the prog metal network.

A very good album, and even great for the mere fact that its eclectic style makes much of the output by similar bands seem dwarfed in comparison. Even still, the sounds of melodic prog metal seem like they're getting too mixed in with AOR, and- not to mention the lyrics- there is a certain level of cheese here that might turn off the more serious listeners. All that being said, here is an album with good writing and excellent musicianship, a great introduction to this Swiss act.

Appearance Of Nothing is a new progressive metal band from Switzerland, quite an unusual place for metal music. Even though this is their second album, being their first released in 2008, 'Wasted Time', the band has received a lot of attention among the prog metal scene, being considered to be one of the best prog metal albums of this year. Maybe I'm losing a bit of my prog metal love, but I can't agree with this statement: in fact, I was a bit disappointed, to my surprise.

'All The Gods Are Gone' is much pretty straight forward prog metal: heavy guitars, complex rhythms, with some power metal influences, rich and powerful sound, keyboards, fast-paced solos. There are some elements in this album that aren't a rarity in this type of music, but still without being a distinctive and essential characteristic: the epic sounding melodies, the pretty frequent use of growl vocals, some techno/heavy synth use, some use of acoustic guitars and piano here and there for thickening the sound a little more. The production is probably the best thing about 'All The Gods Are Gone'; almost perfect sound and great mixing, which are key principles of a good Progressive Metal record.

For your and my sake, I'm not even going to mention the lyrical content of the songs, since, for what I hear, it sounds pretty pathetic and corny to the extreme. Better just to focus on the music. The first part of the album isn't my favorite; those first two songs have some pretty weak moments; however, the melodies can be pretty memorable at times. But the best part of this album is it's the centre, with 'Sweet enemy' and 'Destination', the two longest tracks. There are some great, bad-ass sounds and memorable melodies along pretty much both the songs. But the fifth track, 'The Call Of Eve', is my favorite, even though that heavy techno synth could turn many people off. But the musicians are at their top, the music is extremely enjoyable throughout the whole song. However, the last songs of the album pretty much make me cringe, especially ''.I Said Silence', the worst song of the album, some times it gets alsmot unbearable for me, because of the huge amount of cheese, which, I didn't mention earlier, is kind of a distinctive trait of the album. Actually I don't mind the last song, the instrumental 'The Rise And Fall Of Nothing', it definitely has its moments and it's probably the most progressive song on the album, even though being paradoxically the shortest.

An album I enjoyed partially, I had more than a few issues with it. But I can see why people are liking this, maybe I'm getting a little tired of that epic metal sounding prog metal. Begging for some Dream Theater here.

The rise and hopefully not the soon fall of a great prog metal band

So far this year, and at the end of last year, there has been a plethora of bands that have gone with the flow, and sounded like every other prog metal band out there. But, Appearance of Nothing has shown that not all bands strive to be normal. With a great group of guests that include Dan Swanö of Nightingale and Edge of Sanity, and Devon Graves of Psychotic Waltz and Deadsoul Tribe. This album is a great mix of genres that include prog and hints of power metal. Though it's early in 2011, this has a huge chance to make my top ten, or even top five albums of the year.

The musicianship on this album is top notch. I especially like the guitar style of Peter Berger, which blends in very well with Appearance of Nothing's great prog sound. One song that showcases this is "The Mirror's Eyes". Peter Berger and Marc Petralito show off bursts of electric power that is highlighted by the drums, which back up the vocals very well. The bass lines on this album are also very nice, and thick, backing up the guitars and blending in with the drums evenly. The solo to begin "2nd God" by Peter Berger is superb, and it offers a nice transition into a nice vocal section highlighted by great drumming. This is a testament to how well both the production is and how great these guys play together.

The diversity of this album also sets it apart from other recent releases, and adds to its greatness. Songs like "The Mirror's Eyes", "... I said Silence" and "2nd God" swing between dark symphonic prog metal and death metal. The way Appearance of Nothing was able to incorporate Dan Swanö into "All Gods Are Gone" shows how good they are as a band, too. "The Mirror's Eyes" is a prime example of the diversity of this album with since it also has hints of power metal in it, too. After the death vocals, it transfers into the power metal section with much faster drumming and resonating lead vocals by Pat Gerber and Omar Cuna. Those two work together so well, that they almost sound like one voice. "Sweet Enemy" changes up the feel of the album, with Devon Graves on lead vocals and a much slower feel with a lot less drums than normal. What's great about it is that it doesn't feel out of place at all, it blends right in with the rest of the album. One thing that was unexpected on this album was that it also had techno elements in it. I know many people don't think that techno would fit in with prog metal, but surprisingly it does. On the track "The Call of Eve" the keyboards start the techno riff, but it is soon taken up by both the drums and guitars. Then it flows seamlessly back and for the between metal and techno until the vocals, which as with every other song are superb.

I can say absolutely nothing about the production of "All Gods Are Gone" because it left me speechless. It is flawless and smooth, another reason to pick this one up.

Some of the best progressive metal comes from Sweden, but now some people will have to turn their attention to Switzerland. Appearance of Nothing has brought everything I love to the table in their newest release; great vocals, originality, great sound. With hints of power, and prog metal they will capture the ears of many listeners. For their grand release Appearance of Nothing gets 4.5 stars.

Albums like All Gods Are Gone remind me why I love progressive metal so much. Although traditional prog metal has become a dumping ground for uninspired Dream Theater clones lately, an ambitious act like Appearance of Nothing injects some much-needed life into the genre. Featuring guest performances from legends such as Dan Swanö (Edge of Sanity, Nightingale) and Devon Graves (Psychotic Waltz, Deadsoul Tribe), as well as some of the best prog metal music created in the last 10 years, should be enough to convince anyone to give this a shot. Appearance of Nothing has an impressive amount of power and energy, not to mention the unforgettable compositions on All Gods Are Gone. Although 2011 has barely begun, it looks like we already have an early contender for "top ten" material. If you've been writing off progressive metal as a derivative genre that has nothing new to offer, pick this up - you won't regret it.

The music here is undoubtedly progressive metal, but there's plenty of eclecticism and diversity on All Gods Are Gone. You'll hear thrash tendencies (especially on "...I Said Silence"), plenty of power metal (not the cheesy type), some death growls from Dan Swanö, and of course technical prog rock/metal in the vein of Dream Theater. This is a pretty fast-paced album - not like an extreme metal album, but there isn't much breathing room here. There's the occasional softer moment, but most of All Gods Are Gone is a heavy symphonic journey. Cheesy and pompous ballads are nowhere to be found; instead Appearance of Nothing manages to seamlessly blend heaviness and beauty while maintaining a sense of coherence. Songs like "The Mirror's Eyes", "2nd God", and "...I Said Silence" switch moods multiple times without any awkward transitions. As previously mentioned, Dan Swanö lends his death growls to 3 songs here, and Devon Graves contributes on one song. Despite the prominence of the guest singers, the vocals from the core band shouldn't be underestimated at all. The two vocalists in Appearance of Nothing (Patrick Gerber and Omar Cuna) add up to a terrific department with wondrous harmonies and soaring melodies. Instrumentally speaking, AoN is equally as impressive. There are plenty of complicated breaks and mind boggling solos without ever crossing the line between impressive playing and self-indulgence.

The production from Markus Teske and Marc Petralito is absolutely fantastic. The sound is perfect for Appearance of Nothing's music - no complaints here.

All Gods Are Gone really was a pleasant surprise for me. Prior to this album I had never heard of Appearance of Nothing, so calling this a great introduction would be a huge understatement. Modern prog metal doesn't get much better than this - if you want to hear something that's original and captivating from beginning to end, definitely check out this excellent Swiss group. 4.5 stars are deserved here - this is an essential purchase for fans of the genre. It'd be a mistake to let this gem slip through your fingers.