SNOWFALL ON JUDGMENT DAY

Within a year this great band has moved up my personal ranking of prog metal bands to one of the very highest positions. What I like most about them is their energetic approach and each time I play one of their albums they lift up my spirit and almost give me some sort of boost. And added to these already important facts they also compose highly melodic and catchy songs (not always a plus in progworld but within the prog metal scene I usually prefer this feature).

And with this latest release they again don't disappoint me one bit. At first few listens I thought it was a bit more of the same compared to what they have done so far but I have this feeling more often when I listen to a new album. In the end it's also a matter of getting used to the new songs and give them time to sink in. I know all their albums by now and I have to say they are all pretty equal in quality, at least where the compositions are concerned. Yes, even the debut pleased me a lot even though the average here on PA might suggest it's by far their least output. Where style is concerned this Snowfall on Judgment Day is right in between Fulness of Time and Origins of Ruin. The latter was a little bit tame for their abilities where FoT was extremely energetic. SoJD is a bit closer to FoT but has the same catchy melodies as songs like Memories and Fall on You, two great songs from OoR.

So all in all another great release by Redemption, most certainly recommended for their fans but prog metal fans who never heard of them should actually be a bit ashamed and run to the store or wherever and buy this album immediately to check it out. I could even reward it with the full score but lack of originality prevents me from doing so. It's the only danger and thread for this band in the future. On the other hand I would be disappointed if they would leave their great recent style which suits me just about 100%. So yes I'm pretty ambivalent about this aspect but right now I think I will be enjoying this album for quite some time. Best songs are Leviathan Rising, Keep Breathing and Love kills us all/Life in One Day but none of the songs is less than very good I have to say.