To say that Redemption’s I Am The Storm (AFM Records) is chock full of technically proficient playing and complex yet inviting compositions would be an understatement. There is no question that Nick van Dyk is a master of his craft. I Am The Storm just cements that fact.
Thirteen years since the release of their debut self-titled album, Periphery have made a name for themselves as one of the leading forces in the progressive metal world. Utilising a vast array of influences and genres into their own sound to create something unique with each release.Continue reading
The new album from melodic progressive heavy metal act Spheric Universe Experience (never have I heard a more perfect name for a band!) Back Home (UPRISING!) is a true musical journey. This new cut, the band’s fifth overall and first for a decade, plays through like a movie soundtrack for some epic sci-fi adventure, which is apt considering this is a concept album set in space.
Persefone’s metanoia (Napalm Records) opens and it feels as if I’m watching an Andrew Lloyd Weber Broadway musical. Metanoia is atmospheric and grandiose; one would expect nothing less from Persefone. ‘Katabasis’ explodes onto the listener with a bombastic array of seventies progressive rock and psychedelia feel. Marc Martins Pia has shades of Yaz and Freddy Mercury on the opening track juxtaposed with the guttural vocalizations of death metal. The guitar work of Carlos Lozano Quintanilla and Filipe Baldaia are a wild mixture of mathematical genius, LSD, and a plethora of thirty-second note runs. ‘Katabasis’ can be an intense listen.