LUMINARIA

From Boston, Massachusetts, this Prog Metal band burst onto the scene straight out of Berklee College of Music over a decade ago. After two solid albums in the 2010s, they were stalled by the Pandemic but have slowly been working on the group of songs that we now find on this 2023 release.

1. "Prelude" (3:10) gorgeous New Age keys open this one before acoustic guitars and hummed choir vocalize a melody and chords to match the guitars. At 2:27 delicate, heavily-effected voice sings a single line before the band bursts into a spaciously spaced series of pounding chords to close. Powerful opener. (9.5/10)

2. "Cradle" (7:25) symphonic yet metallic and very HAKEN- and NATIVE CONSTRUCT-like music supports Adam Benjamin's vocals. The total sound palette reminds me of KARNIVOOL and THE CONTORTIONIST. The melodic and rhythmic paths explored here are so fresh and unpredictable that I find myself quite engaged--even mesmerized. Impressive and practically flawless. A top three song, to be sure. (14.5/15)

3. "Safehouse" (5:00) Great KANSAS-like vocals with very sophisticated syncopated instrumental constructs seemlessly sewn together, I am here reminded of the Australian band STARE AT THE CLOUDS as much as THE CONTORTIONIST. I live the microtonal guitar work, djenty low end, perfectly synchronized drums and surprise high-speed piano. Another top three song. (9.5/10)

4. "Legend" (6:02) more djenty low end with off-tempo drum hits and muted/background guitar and piano arpeggi support some growl and Freddie-Mercury-like vocal acrobatics. The full-on sprint at the end of the second minute is interesting--I'm finding myself feeling more in the territory of bands like UNEXPECT and old OPETH. Then there's the weird crazy Franz LISZT piano solo over some of the heaviest grunge in the fifth minute before the return to QUEEN- like heavy prog and then technically extreme djent. I get the innovation here but it is not exactly easy on the ears. Wow! What a wild, weird ride! (9/10)

5. "La Jolla" (5:04) despite the heavy low-end djent chords, this song presents as a more melodic, LINKIN PARK-like: the gentler, more melodic side of what I call atmospheric prog. At 3:52 the song even goes acoustic guitar like a Ed Sheeran pop song! But then the djent chords pop back and we're served notice: this we are the POISON of the 21st Century! Interesting but not my favorite. (8.66667/10)

6. "Pinenut" (5:47) the fleeting guitar and vocal opening to this make me think immediately of some of the modern Country Rock or 21st Century Southern Rock coming out of America--like a 21st Century version of the MARSHALL TUCKER BAND or a pop-oriented DIXIE DREGS (note GHOST MEDICINE, Imagine Dragons, et al.) For my ears, it runs a little long and its disjointed, staccato metal rhythms make my brain hurt a bit. And the saccharine solo piano at the end does not save it. (8.666667/10)

7. "Pure" (7:08) opens with an interesting (and, I have to admit, gorgeous) multi-chord multi-guitar weave before "settling" into a flowing, if-broken rhythm patterned motif over which Adam sings in a surprisingly gentle, airy voice. That base-line weave is actually quite pretty--lilting and wave-like, almost making me want to drift off to sleep--not unlike LEPROUS or KARNIVOOL at their most tranquilizing. Nice song. They show a restraint and aspect of their composition and performance skills heretofore unrealized in a vocal form (yet reminiscent of the album's opener). (13.5/15)

8. "Where We've Been" (3:59) a beautiful instrumental journey started off by HAROLD BUDD-like treated piano with computer glitch scratches and gorgeous if-embryonic piano- and guitar-led melodies. As the song progresses it begins to express in the rhythmic and sonic ranges more common to 21st Century progressive metal (and experimental/post metal). As it builds and builds, it never loses its focus, never loses my interest or enjoyment. Great song. (9.5/10)

9. "Coma" (10:45) more piano to open, this time more reminiscent of pseudo jazz artist GEORGE WINSTON. The chord play becomes more dark and dissonant just before the metal instruments join in (machine gun bass drum play, djenty bass and guitar chords). The construction of these chord sequences is amazing--I wish I could see "the charts". I'd also love a tutorial on the musical theory informing the modern metal musician. Anybody have any good resources? I like the gentler variation of the main theme as explored in the jazzy piano-led section from 5:30 to 6:30. The percussion- led motif that follows is nice--quite a bit like Australian band STARE AT THE CLOUDS' 2016 masterpiece, This Clear Divide. It's a bit surprising to have a fairly "normal" rock/metal guitar solo in the ninth minute--even while the djenty music continues. At the nine-minute mark the band slows down, resting before launching into a frenetic finish (symphonic, even!). Nice construct. (17.75/20)

10. "Blink" (9:23) yet another piano opening! Fast arpeggi are soon joined by chunky djent-bass and etheric reverb- vocals and then the staccato bass, drum, and guitar-keyboard interplay begins--all beneath, of course, the vocal threads that try to hold it all together. I love the muted piano and guitar note-play at the end of the third minute that forms the skeletal structure of the next section. In the fifth minute the vocal and drum lines start to feel a bit stale, but then a shift into a higher gear of djenty and technically demanding instrumental play get me on my feet again. Cool "metal dream sequence" in the sixth minute! This is followed by TOOL-like section containing a little more angst and anger in the vocals (and music), but things go a bit symphonic again at the end of the seventh minute before the music settles into a mesmerizing djent groove for the next 45 seconds. (Man! They could play this motif all day and I'd be happy!) Things seem to come to a close at the end of the eighth minute but then, no! It's not over: the music resuscitates itself, albeit on a slightly slower, more laid-back way--right up to its surprising solo piano finish. Wow! What did I just hear! I need to hear it again! (18.125/20)

Total Time 63:43

One thing the Gen Z musicians have going for them is very little allegiance to diatonic scales or long, drawn out motifs: they are unafraid to go melodically where no one loyal to Newtonian physics and pre-20th Century Western musical traditions would think of going and they have no qualms about exploring a motif or theme for a measure, a 20-second burst, or less, without second thought about ever returning or "recapitulating" said theme again. These are, I think admirable talents, but I really appreciate it when musicians can (and do) bridge the gap between the modern short- term attention span and the longer 19th and 20th Century spans (which are, respectively, two-to-three minutes and 30-to-60 seconds in length [the length of a typical radio and/or television commercial]). Otherwise, trying to engage and accommodate the chaotic sound "bites" bombarding our central nervous systems makes it more challenging for brains that were hard-wired in the 20th Century like mine. (In defense of my aversion [or maladaptability] to the sound-bite frame of temporal reference: I only entered the world of the Internet in 2007, I have yet to own a "smart phone," and have given up on all social media platforms other than email. As a matter of fact, just to assuage my over- stimulated CNS, I have been soothing my soul by listening to mediæval and Renaissance music with increasing regularity for several weeks now [and almost exclusively for the past three days]). So, while I appreciate the technical and cerebral plasticity displayed through Aviations' music on this album, it will probably never become music that I "like"--that I return to or which works its way into my list of all-time favorite albums. And yet I can recognize the talent and skill on display--and, therefore, recommend it whole-heartedly to my less-concretize-brained peers on ProgArchives and other music sites.

I, in no way, mean to denigrate the musical compositions or extraordinary performances throughout this album: it's all just so dynamic--almost overwhelmingly so: I will compare it to hearing "Gates of Delirium" or "Discipline" or Univers Zero and Yugen for the first times: my nervous system is in a little bit of shock. With each successive listen I have found myself sinking into, enjoying, even grooving--to these songs. It is my opinion that this album represents truly quite an a remarkable achievement in progressive rock music. In fact, I offer mega kudos to each and every musician associated with this project: you pulled off something truly amazing!

Another plus for this album is its wonderful/beautiful artwork--so perfectly rendered for this Autumn delivery!

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of 21st Century progressive rock music of the form founded within the latest metal trends. HIGHLY redcommended to all and any individual who professes themselves to be a lover of progressive rock music.