THE FLAME WITHIN

Maybe there is such a thing as the sophomore jinx. I say that after reviewing ABIGAIL'S GHOST's latest and now this one. Both bands have changed their sound from the debuts. In STREAM OF PASSION's case they've gone from a Prog-Metal style to more of a straight forward sound, mixed with some heaviness. I wasn't surprised to see them listed as Prog- Related now because that's what your getting here. There's 13 tracks over 55 minutes so we get all these 4 minute songs. Lori and Arjen have both left since the debut and I really miss their guitar work. The vocals of course are flawless, i'm a huge Marcela fan.

"The Art Of Loss" opens with piano and vocal melodies as it kicks in heavily. Vocals follow. Some ripping guitar after 2 1/2 minutes and the vocals are great. "In The End" puts the focus squarely on the vocals which isn't a bad thing. Drums and piano are prominant as well. Tasteful guitar solo 2 1/2 minutes in. "Now Or Never" opens with piano and heavy riffs then it settles when the vocals arrive. A catchy tune as the contrasts continue. "When You Hurt Me The Most" is my third favourite. Piano and reserved vocals to start as it builds. She sounds excellent here. Guitar solo 3 1/2 minutes in then it ends as it began.

"Run Away" opens with piano (I see a theme here) as reserved vocals join in. Some violin here in this ballad although we do get some power late. Not a fan of this one. "Games We Play" is heavy early until vocals and piano arrive, although the heaviness comes and goes. "This Endless Night" has this powerful undercurrent I like. "My Leader" has a good intro then it settles with vocals and piano. Contrasts continue. I like the vocal melodies. "Burn My Pain" is my favourite. Some atmosphere finally as vocals and heaviness come in. I really like the synths here. A very uplifting song. "Let Me In" is pretty good but "Street Spirit" is much better. My number two. I just like how intense it is and of course the vocals. "A Part Of You" opens with guitar followed by the heaviest section yet. It then settles with vocals the rest of the way. "All I Know" features a guest string quartet with piano and reserved vocals.

This is very close to being 4 stars for me but I can't pull the trigger. 3.5 stars.

This is a very solid album. I personally find the melodies much more satisfying than the first album. "Embrace The Storm" is much more uneven in terms of my own enjoyment of the overall experience of the album and only two or three songs really stick out.

Not so for "The Flame Within". It's hardly ground-breaking or challenging, but it delivers in a very solid way. Combining Marcella's amazingly beautiful vocals with these great, catchy melodic ideas makes this album a winner. And the lyrics on this album are mostly very good. It is for these reasons that I feel a rating somewhat above "good" is deserved.

Stream of Passion started out as a Arjen Lucassen side project and very much a vehicle for the amazing Mexican singer Marcela Bovio. 'The Flame Within' is Stream Of Passion's second studio release but is marked by several line-up changes with Arjen Lucassen amongst those missing. Strangely the only reference to Arjen is the sticker on the CD cover that says "After hearing the excellent 'The Flame Within', It's clear that I'm not needed at all".

Having purchased (and enjoyed) the first CD 'Embrace The Storm' on the strength of the association of Arjen Lucassen I was uncertain what to expect with 'The Flame Within'.

Overall 'The Flame Within' maintains the same high standard as 'Embrace The Storm' and it is true that Arjen is not missed. The writing, musicianship and production are all very good. The songs are all typically about 4 minutes length with one instrumental track "Street Spirit" (5:23). Although all are of a similar style, the music does not feel repetitive and makes for a good listen.

I don't think any prog archive listener would be disappointed with this work in their collection and I expect that most fans of Gothic music would rate this highly.

3.4 stars. Very good but not essential.

I saw this band on their last Canada tour and thought that they had given a charming and entertaining show even if the band doesn't offer something new to the emerging genre of female fronted symphonic metal bands with power metal influences. They deliver solid and short tracks without too much kitsch and keep a good balance between satisfying guitar solos and keyboard passages. The voice of the Mexican singer is nothing outstanding and reminds of a little bit of Floor Jansen from After Forever and ReVamp but sometimes also of Sabine Edelsbacher from Edenbridge. I would still prefer the mentioned bands to Stream of passion because After Forever are known for their surprising experiments while Edenbridge have many epic and very progressive songs in their diversified repertoire. I think I must not mention that genre leaders like Nightwish are from a different planet, too.

The problem with this record is that most of the songs sound as if we have already heard them somewhere else and as there is not much diversity on the album, especially the middle part of the album gets very long and boring. Songs like "Games We Play" are very ordinary and I ask myself why this kind of music is still written nowadays as we have all heard that over and over again. The boring piano ballad "Run Away" is even worse and is filled with many clichés and a lot of kitsch which enemies of the genre often criticize.

You can't find a couple of good average songs on this album like "A Part Of You" that reminds a lot of Edenbridge and as I like this band I also like this indirect homage to them. The Radiohead cover song "Street Spirit" is a very progressive and powerful track but still only a cover track. It would be great if the band would write this kind of songs for their next record and head for a more progressive touch as they do a convincing job with this one.

There are still a few well done songs on the record. "The Art Of Loss" is a good opener, tight and yet quite diversified in comparison to the rest of the record. The other really good song on this record is "Burn My Pain" with its experimental, dark and atmospheric vibes that give the whole thing a slightly Asian folk touch. I must also admit that "In The End", though it is almost a cheesy pop song, is catchy as hell and does a very good job and also works well live.

After all, this album keeps the balance between inoffensive ordinary songs and a couple of catchy tracks. The band is sympathetic and I would wish them to find their own style soon because some little glimpses of genius are already well hidden on this record. But after all, this album is rather enjoyable background music and not yet a breakthrough. This band is only one out of many. The next time, they should put more heart, soul and uniqueness in their album and I will surely give them another chance.

Originally published on www.metal-archives.com on February 3rd of the year 2011.