AEON ZEN

And so this actually may provide a perfect closure to the band's history, but alternatively could be a strong argument for a continuation in the same way. For Rich Gray 'Transversal' means 'now it's time to make a change'. One may regret that, okay, but it's not to us to question this move. Period. Alistair Bell (lead guitar) and drummer Steve Burton are on board here again. Furthermore, excellently arranged vocals provided with slight opera feel are predominantly coming from Andi Kravljaca as usual. Concerning some choir arrangements you will detect Tom de Witt being involved, and this goes for the cover picture too. Which is intended to showcase elements of every previous band album artwork. Well, I still have to try harder. Musically they are drawing on influences from Dream Theater, Cynic, Threshold, Symphony X and similar bands acting in best form.

EP or regular album? - this goes for a total playing time of 30 minutes. A suite is recommended to be handled in one go, of course. Consequently all parts are fading into each other. Let me file this under bombast prog metal in its entirety. Here we have a highly entertaining chain of song pearls. Featuring much drama appeal and serving some Queen touch, slicing and crashing guitars all over, powerful rhythm section, and ambitious multi-layered vocal arrangements. The opener Twilight alone marks a best prove concerning trickiness and beauty. And furthermore the album's flow is simply amazing! Just as if they have kept the best until the end, their masterpiece, nothing else. Chapeau! 'It still lasts forever ...', yeah, the closing song sums it all up. Bye AEON ZEN, and Happy Beginnings for the new era, Rich!

"Inveritas" consists of several guests other than Rich Hinks who provides vocals, bass and keyboards. Other players include Alistair Bell on guitars, Andi Kravljaca on vocals, Steve Burton on drums and also a guest appearance by Vadim Pruzhonov from "Dragonforce" playing keyboards on the title track. The album is available on CD or digitally.

"Rebel Theory" starts off the album beginning with synths fading in and then a sudden onslaught of heavy guitars and drums playing progressive riffs. Rich's vocals match the heavy sound of the guitars with clean vocals and some harmonics. Meters and tempo changes when moving from verses to choruses, but it changes smoothly, hardly interrupting the heavy flow until the middle of the track when things suddenly quiet down with simple guitar and both vocalists singing their individual parts, things intensify quickly and return to the main theme. "The First and Only Line" is a more moderate tempo with stronger keyboard support, guitars boiling underneath and unleashing power on the chorus and bridge. The vocals have a more emotional feel than on the previous track, and both vocalists are used quite effectively. These first two tracks are great progressive metal tracks, but are fairly typical with the dual vocalists being the biggest highlight.

After this, the next two tracks go over the 8 minute mark. "Another Piece that Fits" sounds more promising with a heavy, fast and symphonic sound mixed in the synths and heavy guitars. The rhythm suddenly turns complex and the vocalists begin and right away, you hear a huge increase in progressive style and plenty of heaviness. Just before the 3 minute mark, a blistering guitar solo begins between the verses. A sudden drop in intensity brings in a more atmospheric and dark sound as a new vocal melody comes in. When the drums come back in, the beat is much slower, but soon, while the vocals continue, the drums start pushing for intensity again, and then things take off again. But before you know it, a jazzy section comes in from out of nowhere and then another blast of energy follows the track to the end. This is a much better track bringing in the progressiveness that was missed in the first two tracks, and the longer timing of the track is used very well, developing the track wisely and taking time to experiment a bit.

The next 8 minute track is "The Last Alive". This one starts off immediately heavy, fast and intense with regular and processed vocals. Again, this track is definitely progressive and the variation in melodies are evident as this track keeps away from standard song structure. Plenty of progressive metal riffs keep the energy going hard and heavy. This one is definitely a prog metal lover's dream. After 3 minutes, the intensity backs off while the fast beat continues and the bass gets a chance to shine and this leads into another vocal section. After 4 minutes, everything backs off a bit as vocals are supported by bass, softer guitars and synths. Soon, heavy guitars return with some great riff action, this progressive section pushes the track back to its original intensity.

"The Treachery of Images" returns to a standard sized track. However, the progressive level remains high this is evident right away in this guitar driven instrumental. Tempos and meters are all over the place this time, yet it still manages to retain its melodic quality, at least for a while before the guitar goes really crazy. "Disconnected" returns with harmonized vocals, and for the first time on this album, some short sections with growling vocals interspersed in the regular vocals. The sound continues to be heavy and complexly progressive, this time with a little more support with keys, but they remain slight. This track is another huge highlight for the album, and is one of the heaviest.

"The World Without Sky" ventures past the 7 minute mark. After the heavy onslaught of the previous tracks, this one, in contrast, starts off soft and atmospheric, but suddenly becomes more powerful while retaining the vocal melody. This has that symphonic, metal sound, but it is constantly changing from soft to heavy textures, dynamics being very important to this track, in both vocals and instruments. This is another great track that packs a very emotional vocal punch backed by driving guitar and synth work.

The last track is the title track "Inveritas". Guest Vadim Pruzhanov adds his guitar work to this track, which continues with the heavy, progressive sound. The overall sound is still heavy and complex, but a bit less dynamic as it stays heavy throughout with a stop/start style. The track isn't quite as interesting as the last several tracks, but it is still impressive and of course the guest guitar solo is amazing and after that, the intensity builds even more as it reaches it's conclusion.

After the first two tracks, I was expecting the album to continue to be a typical progressive metal album, but once the songs were allowed to be longer, things definitely got better really fast. This is strong progressive metal and after the first 2 tracks, it only becomes more progressive and even heavier in some tracks. There are some nice surprises among the tracks also, like when the band touches on symphonic metal styles and even throw in a little jazz. Besides the first two comparatively weaker tracks, the only other complaint I have is ending this amazing album with the title track, which is still great, but would have had more of an impact if the album ended on "The World Without Sky", because "Inveritas" doesn't have the dynamic clout of the former track since it is just pretty much wide open metal all the way through, and ends quite suddenly. Anyway, these are minor issues that should not keep progressive metal fans away from this album. It is definitely one of the best progressive metal albums this year which still contains several 5 star tracks.

At some point in every artist's career, they will generally stop t take a look at what they've already done, consolidating their position and reflecting upon the path they've taken. After releasing one of my favourite progressive metal albums of the year in Enigma, now seems like a perfect time for Aeon Zen to take a moment aside for reflection. From the band's origins essentially as a personal project of multi-instrumentalist Rich Hinks to its full-fledged current form, Aeon Zen has come a long way. Featuring a new song and three re-worked versions of compositions from their 2009 debut A Mind's Portrait, the recently released Self Portrait is a fitting demonstrator how far the band has progressed. Although the EP doesn't excel without its context as a simple indicator of the band's evolution, Self Portrait is a fine bite-sized chunk of modern progressive metal, and a welcome addendum for anyone who shared my love of their most recent full length.

Although I hesitate to use the term 'djent' when describing a band (or at least a band I like), Aeon Zen share some of their sound with the likes of contemporary progressive metal acts; their compatriots in TesseracT come first to mind. Although the instantly identifiable palm-muted tone associated with that dubious word was downplayed on the new album, Self Portrait has a distinctly djenty tone to it. Even though it's the shortest piece on the EP, the original composition 'Psych!' is my favourite song here. Built around an odd time signature, it's the sort of brimming overture that would have set a perfect atmosphere for a full-length. It's a very atmospheric take on progressive metal, similar to Devin Townsend or the latest record from TesseracT.

As for the covers here, the most notable difference is the improved musicianship and production. Although Aeon Zen started off on a great note for what was then largely a one-man act, these compositions really benefit from a full band performance. Of the three, 'Portrait' is my favourite piece, balancing ambient clean vocals with death growls and rhythmic riffs that recall Cynic. 'Rain' is a much softer track; guitars give way to piano here for the most part. While the track benefits greatly from a much improved production, I'm left wanting something more aggressive from the band; the smooth saxophone solo recalls Dream Theater's 'Another Day' and is an unexpected contribution, but doesn't work as well with the rest of the band's sound as it was probably intended to. 'Demise' has been significantly shortened from its original twelve minute length.

While Aeon Zen has been a good band from the start, their recent material is a firm step up from their origins. While I'm sure it was Aeon Zen's intention with Self Portrait to emphasize that fact, I would prefer to hear newly written material rather than revised versions of older songs. Enigma remains a favourite of mine, and has made me anxious to hear more from the band. Comparing these older compositions to the recent stuff however, it's evident to me that Aeon Zen have improved in more than their mere execution. Self Portrait doesn't hold my interest as much as an EP of fresh material would have, but it's a worthy addition to the history of one of progressive metal's most promising contemporary acts.

Rich Hinks on guitar and bass has exceptional style as does fellow guitarist Matt Shephard. Andi Kravljaca handles the vocals well and there are some excellent drum figures at the hands of Steve Burton. Shaz is fabulous on keyboards, and often lends a rather ambient atmosphere in tracks such as the instrumental opener 'Enter the Enigma' and the intro of 'Warning'. This latter track also has a dense distorted metal riff that locks in and the melody and style reminded me of a Devin Townsend song. There are some nice sax tones heard on 'Downfall' that break up the frenetic metal blastbeats, and the vocals are always appealing and especially the killer lead guitar frenzies such as on 'Eternal Snow' or 'Still Human'.

Overall this is a great album, that will appeal to prog metal addicts, especially those who prefer the melodic side similar to Threshold, Haken, or Dream Theater.

The first thing that came to mind when I heard this album was how uninspired it seems. Sure, you've got the standard metal riffs, the orchestration, the growling and (*shudder*) James Labrie-wanna-be vox, and the speedy drums. But, you know what? I'm tired of that. Those things are only interesting if the composition, themes, and lyrics are interesting, too. "Engima", however, doesn't really hit that mark with me. It seems like a bunch of riffing and boring orchestration smashed into a vacuum. No soul. No emotion.

Sure, there are some great moments and songs, and there are some truly groovy moments; but I don't feel like they save anything. This is just standard prog metal that embraces the technical side of prog, but not the soul of prog. Dream Theater? Symphony X? Etc? Etc? Etc? They have all gone stale. I want something original. Something emotive. Something inspired. I want something that is truly progressive.

In 2009, a band called Aeon Zen came out with "A Mind's Portrait", an album that, while rooted in what detractors may call 'Dream Theater clone territory'- was impressive enough to put them on the radar for those who heard it. Alongside bands like Haken and To-Mera, Aeon Zen are at the forefront of a British wave to revitalize the progressive metal style into something fresh, exciting and relevant. In what is undoubtedly the band's most consistent work to date, "Enigma" lives up to the promise of their debut. Although they have not yet broken free from the shackles of the progressive metal old guard, Aeon Zen's fantastic blend of musicianship and composition sees them flying leagues above much of what the genre has recently produced. Progressive metallers take note- this is one of the most impressive albums bound to come out this year.

Aeon Zen are part of what I might call (without wanting to sound too clichéd or the least bit pretentious) part of the New Wave of British Progressive Metal. If you've heard the way Haken or Threshold seamlessly blend melody with technical flair, Aeon Zen aren't too far off. Led by multi-instrumentalist Rich Hinks, Aeon Zen are a firm indicator of where the scene is at. The infamously overused conventions of Dream Theater have their place in Aeon Zen's sound, but there is a great attention paid to what's been happening since then. If you look past the breathtaking musical flow, melodies and spacious production, the band's capacity to mix so many sounds together may be their most impressive trait. "Enter the Enigma" is a very fitting overture for the album, seamlessly flowing from the rhythmic pulse of 'djent', to symphonic metal and progressive synth arrangements. From there on, the album flows as would a single forty-five minute epic. Although the Kamelot-esque "Artificial Soul" and single-worthy "Divinity" both function quite well on their own as self-contained pieces, "Enigma" is graced with a number of pleasantly recurring themes and a near-perfect sense of flow.

Aeon Zen also take care to acknowledge the more extreme side of metal that has played such an important role in prog in recent years. When "Divinity" isn't conjuring the cinematic quality of symphonic metal, it is basking in technical death metal territory, although the growls come and ago fairly quickly, so as not to put off the less-acclimated listeners. The album's most triumphant moment comes with "Warning", a slow build up that gives a not- so-subtle nod to the style of a Mr. Devin Townsend. Complete with wall-of-sound production and a soaring lead melody, it's difficult not to think of Townsend's "Terria" or "Synchestra" when hearing it. These nods to the styles of other bands certainly don't end with that either. "Divinity" features a chug and pick slide straight out of the Gojira canon, and there's a guitar solo on the album that I could swear I've heard to some extent before on a Blind Guardian album. Add in some overt Between the Buried and Me influences, and you have a a molten pot of progressive metal with something to offer to virtually every fan of the genre. Most times, I would accuse a band so closely emulating the styles of others of unoriginality at best (or plagiarism at worst), but in the case of Aeon Zen, the way all of these different sounds come together is something in itself. While they may not win any prizes for uniqueness with "Enigma", the composition is what gives the album wings. I would have had doubts if I had heard so many sounds within prog metal could come together into something half-decent. In Aeon Zen's case, they've gone much farther; although the year is young, I'm not sure 2013 will produce another album with such a solid flow.

Lyrically, Aeon Zen do not excel nearly as much as they do on the musical end. Although there is the vague impression of a concept tying the record together, "Enigma" follows a tired trend of modern progressive albums aiming for a more abstract sense of narrative. Although this 'idea-over-action' style of revealing a concept may have worked well for To- Mera last year on "Exile", Aeon Zen do not have the same such luck. Simply said, the lyrics on "Enigma" do not feel particularly relevant, instead feeding off of the genre's 'thinking man' clichés. Fortunately, the vocal standard is held to an incredibly high standard throughout the album. Andi Kravljaca is one of the modern progressive metal scene's most impressive singers, and the inclusion of other singers (most notably Atte Pettersen of Above Symmetry and Rich himself) gives the album a greater vocal range, although none of them sound wildly different from one another. In the end however, Aeon Zen is a band all about the guitar, and reverence of the progressive riff. Despite his youth, Rich Hinks is a monster with the guitar. Contrary to many youngblood virtuosos, Rich's talent with the instrument is multi- faceted; although he is very likely to impress you with his burstfire lead playing, he is just as skilled with the rhythms, and mellower end of his playing. The musicianship is excellent throughout, with Steve Burton's dynamic drumwork standing out alongside Rich for his richly dramatic performance.

In short, "Enigma" is a satisfying progressive metal epic that trims off alot of its genre's fat without losing any of the magic. Really, it was the sense of bombast-for-bombast's-sake that had prog metal floating in rough water for some time. Although Aeon Zen are still well- rooted in the sounds of many of the more innovative prog metal acts, it's rare that I get such a satisfying impression from an album. Originality regardless, "Enigma" is a near-perfect mesh of thoughtful riffs, dynamic musicianship and conscious homages to their influences. Especially considering the band's relative youth, I think we can only expect greater things from them in the future.

The promo sheet references several bands from the tech/extreme and melodic prog metal front, to name Dream Theater, Symphony X and Cynic or Between The Buried And Me for example. That suits in some way, no question - but Aeon Zen are Aeon Zen, not a copy-cat band. Stylistically a proper bandwith is to state while comprising crashing eruptions and growls in the same way as haunting ballad-esque moments. Those parts where they turn into a more experimental direction - though definitely being in the minority - do not affect me too much, I'm more at home on the melodic prog metal playground here, to make it clear.

The short opener Enter The Enigma - literally meant of course - arises from an orchestral synth arrangement where Artificial Soul - among other things - shines with great vocal management, safe to say, for the benefit of agressive and enchanting voices which compete and complement here. That said, I mean it was worthwhile really to invite some additional singer ... well, not intending to downplay Andi Kravljaca's role as the main vocalist of course. Also considering some excellent song-writing qualities and extraordinary sense of melody this is the album's highlight definitely. The following Divinity goes wild then apparently, sinister growls included.

Like 'Anna Lee', known from DT's 'Falling Into Infinity', Seven Hills immediately follows as a charming ballad with pop appeal, yeah really! This by now makes it clear, here we have an achievement that presents great variety, many metalheads - no matter which subgenre they prefer - will find something which appeals, I'm sure. The entry of keyboarder Shaz seems to be a great benefit overall. Due to piano excursions as well as orchestral string implementation, the keys are partially rather symphonically tinted. Expectedly the guitars are playfully appointed - shredding here and empathic there like to experience at the very start on Warning for example. Turned To Ash unfolds to a really tricky song after a while.

Some pieces are skillfully placed with repetition on this album ... 'Rising And Falling From The Ashes' ... which leads to some appealing recognition value ... and even sing along yearning after a while. Let me also mention Eternal Snow which shows an excellent flow (huch, some particular rhyme here). where the nicely arranged vocals, inclusive growls, once again attract attention. 'Enigma' is a fine new album by AEON ZEN which grows with every round. Great variety to state, though far away from any patchwork attitude this sounds completely rounded. Even some saxophone contributions are successfully implemented within two songs. So this deserves 4 stars now finally.

Rich Hinks is helped out by a lot of guest vocals here, including Nick D'Virgilio (Spock's Beard). The music is middle of the road progressive metal with some traces of AOR and art rock. There are some hard rockers here and some ballads. The instruments are the usual progressive metal fare. Obvious references are Dream Theater. The sound are really good. So are the musicianship and the vocals. A very well done job by everyone involved.

One man band mostly means a pretty inward looking one dimentional result. And there is no denying that this album also have a lot of that. But the addition of the guest vocals has added a lot to this project too.

I am by no means a fan of progressive metal. But this album is very good in my ears. It is varied, it has a lot of really good melody lines and it is obvious Rich Hinks is onto something with Aeon Zen. This is a very good studio album which cries out to be played live. I will gladly pay for being there.

This album is recommended to all progressive metal fans out there.

3.5 stars

Leading off with Michael Eriksen's vocals, the album's longest track "Salvation" gets things off to a good start, offering up some excellent material on all fronts. This is what one can expect from Aeon Zen most of the time. It shouldn't be hard to hear some of Hinks' musical influences in the songs, for the most part not sounding too much like something from any one of the albums (although there are some parts that do sound more like the usual suspects' material). "Visions" ramps up the intensity a bit, switching to the voice of Andi Kravljaca and featuring Shepherd's only solo on the album. Having been on A Mind's Portrait and joining Hinks onstage seems to have helped make Andi's performance sound more like he's a part of a band here instead of as a guest singer. Hinks and Eriksen further pick up the pace with "The Heart Of The Sun" before changing gears for "Crystal Skies" which might be the most cheerful sounding of the songs, aided by the prominent keyboards and sung by Nick D'Virgilio, his only performance on the album.

Jem Godfrey's sole appearance is in "Natural Selection", easily one of the best tracks on the album. It's pretty straight forward and catchy enough to stand apart from its progressive metal siblings, yet doesn't really feel out of place with the other songs. As it reaches the four minute mark, it hints at something more and I thought the song should've been a bit longer, if only to let Godfrey sing a bit longer and to hear more of what Rich had spiked the song with. "The Face Of The Unknown" builds up slowly to get the second half of the album in motion, again a showcase for Kravljaca's voice and some blistering leads from Hinks and Van Schuerbeck.

One of the weaker aspects of the album lies in Hinks' own vocals, a trait shared with its predecessor. "You're Not Alone" starts off softly, eventually allowing in some killer melodies and a nicely played solo as the song progresses, but his voice sounds artificial all throughout, not to mention the effects at the end of the third verse before the lead break. Hinks sounds much more natural in "My Sacrifice", the first of two songs with Jonny Tatum's vocals, but then gets lost on the way to "Start Over". This could have worked as well as instrumental track "Goddess" from the first album, but the way Hinks' voice sounds over the piano serves to move this track towards the filler category. Following these is the impressive album closer "Redemption's Shadow", the second of Tatum's performances. That last minute seems as though it should be leading to another part of the song or a new track but goes nowhere, serving as a final gasp for the album.

Overall, The Face Of The Unknown does show some improvement over A Mind's Portrait in key areas. As with the first album, having multiple singers may make this album a bit hard to follow at first for some listeners, but it's worth the effort. It's not a repeat of the first album, yet doesn't really offer anything new either. It doesn't need to. I've no doubt that Rich Hinks will continue as he has done and a new selection of singers will join him for a third outing. I'm only guessing here, but I think Andi Kravljaca will probably be around again, but it would also be nice to have a couple others return to lend their voice to Aeon Zen again. Even if he doesn't come up with something groundbreaking, as long as Hinks puts out albums of this caliber, Aeon Zen will have a lasting place in many a music collection.