II = I

Andromeda is a Progressive Metal band from Sweden. I have almost nothing but comments from this great and relatively new band. II=I is there second studio release. When one listens to it, the elements of a dark emotional sound with an excellent mix hard and soft matierial will become apparent.

The album is written similar to Dream Theater. Throughout all of the album there are jazzy overtones complimenting the funk-styled rythym playing. Thomas LeJon is a Progressive Metal drummer with talents that can compare even to Mike Portnoy and Virgil Donati. Johan Reinholdz is one of the very best young progressive metal guitarists. On certain occaisions his playing can excel ahead of players like John Petrucci. The future is very bright for this young guitarist (who doubles on bass). His styled is extremely smooth and jazzy, truly a pleasure to listen to. Martin Hedin is also an apt keyboardist. Hedin has excellent skill, but lacks synth sound creativity. The only complaint I really have are the vocals from David Fremberg. He fits the band somewhat nicely, but he has trouble in some of the more delicate tracks. If his voice matures enough to sing smoother in softer parts, he also has a bright future.

The album is quite a piece of work. The opening track Encyclopedia imeadiately gets the listener thinking about the lyrics. The title track Two Is One is a Progressive art. The song has a special touch to it to keep building with emotion while staying calm musically. The track finally starts to climax at the end which was a perfect lead to the next track, the insturmental Morphing Into Nothing. The insturmental shows off the amazing insturmental talents this band has. It's even comparable to Dance of Eternity by Dream Theater, but it's longer and showcases more guitars than keyboards.

The production isn't lively, but it really fits the album. The tones are dark and subtle. Even the drums have a certain bleakness to their tone. The bass isn't noticeable, but Johan Reinholdz makes his living in this band as a guitarist, not a bassist. The keyboards are my only complaint as they are somewhat uncreative with the tone selection.

The music is definately five star quality, but the band is young and I'm sure to see better work from them in the future. A 4 star rating is adequate.

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