CELESTIAL ENTRANCE

My good PA colleague B. Olariu recommended me this one. And it did surprised me. I must confess that I did not expect much. It´s been a long time that any prog metal act does not move me. They all seemed to be stuck in a rut and/or imitating Dream Theatre. So I was quite delighted to hear this band from Norway. No that they won me over easily: at first they sounded me as an average power/prog metal band of the day: good, but with nothing special. However, after a few spins I was already changing my mind.

The simplicity I found initially turned out to be quite misleading: actually the music is very intricated, very well played and the fact that they use their obvious virtuosity to enhance the songs and not for pointless noodling nor as vehicle for personal showmanship is the kind of quality I great admire. If you have any doubts if they are truly progressive go to their two-part epic Back to the magic of childhood. It´s over 13 minutes of pure instrumental music that will take you to a great ride. I´m glad to find at las t a skillful bunch of prog metallers that avoided the usual traps of the ´Dream Theater syndrome´

Great guitar solos, nice dreamy keys and a versatile rhythm section. Not a single filler in the whole CD. The high pitch vocals are not the best I´ve seen, but that´s just a matter of taste and it is clear that the singer does his job well. Blessed with a superb production, excellent songwriting and tasteful arrangements, Celestial Entrance is certainly a great find and injects energy and personality in a style that seems to drag lated. A real great find and a must have if you´re into prog metal.