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.