Breathtaking proggers Acolyte to livestream from Chapel off Chapel

All bands add a lot to the music cosmos. But having had a ear on the single "Entropy" of Acolyte took my breathe. What I heard was pure crying from the very depths of the soul. 

It's not happening often that I can hear the heartbeat of a band but Acolyte provided this through their music to me. While most of the track comes a heavy way it's the transition towards a slow and dream/nightmare-like style at the end that never seems to end that got me in so deep. 

And this very band is going to host a global streaming event at the intimate and iconic venue in Melbourne, 'Chapel off Chapel'. Acolyte's live performance guarantees a stunning, powerful and emotive musical experience that will bring their new songs to life in a live setting. 

The interactive streaming event will premiere on SUNDAY JUNE 6TH 2021 [But will be available for rewatch] 9pm AEST/ 7pm AWST / 12pm BST/ 1pm CEST / 9am EDT 

Tickets on sale now and there is a tiered pricing structure so fans can choose what they wish to pay to discover and experience the fast rising prog metal act. https://acolyte.veeps.com/ 

Voyager give us a ascension to the stars

Voyager amaze me. Not only have I been pointed to their music out of the nothingness but in addition they have been growing stronger with every song I've heard from them. The last new track the band shared all along with tourdates was "Misery is only company" and this time around the Australian progmetalheads have returned to blow my mind once again.

This time they serve a mixture of haunting and slightly freezing fragileness in the softer sections all along with eruptive and abrasive yet still enjoyable heavy potions all put in one track. It's outstanding how the band links these elements together while always taking care of the fact that everythings sound organic and real. A good production without going too far and making it sound impossible to replay.



Voyager are currently offering their next album "Ghost Mile" on pledgemusic as a preorder. Any pledges will contribute to the completion of the production and manufacturing of the album. You may decide to pick the record or choose one of the other cool items or events to support the band. The album is set for a release on 12th May 2017.

A cool coloured overview of the bandmembers of Voyager, (c) by Voyager, used with kind permission

If that's not so much of your taste you can see the band live touring Australia with the support band "The Algorith" in May 2017. Here are the dates.

Adelaide Fowler's Live - May 11
Melbourne Evelyn Hotel - 12
Brisbane The Zoo - 13
Perth Amplifier Bar - 19
Canberra The Basement - 20
Sydney Oxford Art Factory - 21

Tickets have gone on sale this Friday, 10 March.

Stay in touch with the band through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Kepler Ten share positive feelings throughout the change of Time and Tide

As the times change so does the tide. It all just seems to be coming and going. So does life look at least to me. Kepler Ten seemed to have picked up the topic with their latest track "Time and Tide" and it's not only a song of thinking out loud but also packed with immensive power showing how much three musicians are able to put out of sheer musical expression and sharing positive thoughts and feelings this way. It's uplifting for me.

Steve Hales, Drummer of Kepler Ten who wrote the lyrics for this song, says this about the track:

‘No matter how in control of our lives we feel when it comes to the passing of time we are merely passengers. Our journey is flagged along the way by important personal moments such as falling in love but metaphorically the same powerful tide that brings two people together can in the blink of an eye tear them apart (in the song through illness). Whether you call it fate, probability or just dumb luck it's still outside of our control and there is no way that we can ever stop the clock or turn it back for a second chance. The song is sad but the message is not. Don't take anything for granted and make the absolute best of those good times. Fly their flags high!’

The cover for the video single "Time and Tide" by Kepler Ten, (c) by Kepler Ten, used with kind permission

Kepler Ten’s debut album ‘Delta-v’ was mixed and mastered by John Mitchell and will be released on February 10th 2017 via White Star Records.

Make sure to keep a close eye on the band on their homepage or connect through Facebook with them.  

CD Review: Third Voice - A Day Like Today (Progmetal/2016)

Classic prog rock for fans of the genre. The tunes are kept in a sound format like in the early 90s.

Introduction

Prog rock can be a satisfying music if you can relate to the music and the way the songs are written. I had a period in my life when Dream Theater dominated my CD player and few other bands had the chance to be heard at that time. Like ever so often this time passed me by. But the thougts of back in the day are still there so it was a pleasure when this Third Voice album arrived at my inbox.

The cover of the "A Day Like Today" album by Third Voice, (c) by Third Voice, used with kind permission

Summary

This band surely doesn't have much in common with today's trends soundwise and songwriting like.The album feels like a expedition back to the feel of times long ago. This starts already when you listen to the music. It's kept in a softer production than today's majority of output. That means the guitars are much less rough, synths shine through and the drums are kept in a natural sound without all the soundstyling that is possible these days. The vocals follow the concept and keep it in a similar form, his voice is very present and constant yet there are highs and lows in it.

The songwriting also comes out as a one piece record. All the songs can easily be imagined to be written in one period of time with a certain focus. It feels like a puzzle - all tiles fit to each other to form one big picture. Most of the time the album has a midtempo rhythm with it, so it's enjoyable at a longer time. Few pieces come along faster or slower, it's all very one style.

Preview Track / Purchase-Link

Here's one song example to add some music to the words.

If you like progressive tunes in the way described above the album will give you a good time. Most fans of Fates Warning should find this something to share their time with.

You can purchase the tracks over at the homepage of the band (US only) or buy a copy at CDBaby.

Contact data
 
You can contact the band through their homepage.

Onydia shares a glimpse of hope with upcoming single

I like it when the lyrics that come with the music transport something. This part of the song can be a message, a thought, a opionion, a statement or anything else you can imagine. I've often found myselves checking the lyrics out and many times they did hold something worth reading and thinking about. So I can only motivate everyone to do the same thing and have a closer look on what the song wants to tell you.

This track of the band Onydia also has this special idea behind it of transporting something to the listener.
The Main theme of the track is the rebirth of hope when everything seems to be over as the band points out in their own words:

"Life is a complicated path which often makes us feel lonely and abandoned.

In these moments, confidence in ourselves and in our abilities make us feel alive, restoring our energy and letting us create pure art. Creation is a supernatural entity which discloses itself.

The artist cannot help but lends his soul and his voice to this entity, which is stronger and bigger than him. "Dyaphany " is an explosion of creative strength which spreads energy and positivity. "

You can feel that these words come from the heart. Here is a little glimpse on how the single will sound like. If you like progressive metal with the deepth and intensity of the female voice - this is for you. Check out the snippet on the website of the band's record company Revalve Records.
The full single is going to see the light of day on Friday 09.12.2016.

Onydia is the new project born from the hands of the ex Elarmir musicians, Eleonora Buono (Ex Elarmir), Daniele Amador (Ex Elarmir, Ade), Luca Zamberti (Ex Elarmir), After sharing the stage with bands like Arch Enemy, Epica, Sirenia and Amorphis the band continued their way with a new chapter in form of a single and album. 

The Onydia name was created from two greek words, oneiro(dream) and diafanìs (transparent),”the display of a surreal dream in the real world, a mystical dream, our emoctions when creating art”
The band signed a record deal with Revalve Records for the release of the new single in autumn 2016 and the debut album that will be released in the first months of 2017. The album will feature some special guests.

Make use of Facebook to stay in touch with the band for all the further updates.

CD Review: Amoth - Revenge (2016)

A young progmetal band from Finnland unafraid of offering their own style of progressive music. With a solid production suporting the tracks Amoth change the style and tonality inside each track within a moment without any further ado.

Short Introduction

The brand new album "Revenge" is a continuum to their 2011 released debut "Crossing Over", which got great reviews around the globe. One common factor among critics was the "uniqueness" and "own sound" of Amoth's music. This time around they keep paving their own path and prove that they belong to the forefront of Finnish progressive metal scene. With new singer on the line-up and experience from the first album all the pieces truly lock into place.

The cover of Amoth's Revenge album, (c) by Amoth, used with kind permission

Summary

The power of this record sources of the originality of the ideas and the inconstant structure of each and every track on the album. There are times where the band pushes on forward with raw power ("Die Young" and "...And So They Fueled These Veins With Chaos") bringing out the heavier taste of the band for prog music. On other times like the both excellent singles "Tattered Wings" and "Shadow Of The Beast" they show their fine sense for details and sensible song structures. Both tracks breathe a sheer blast of emotions with them which gives the listener a lot of moving moments and sometimes a sort of ghostly feeling with it.

The accoustic ballad "For The Moon And Mercury" somehow gives a moment to get back some breath and leads over to the second album part. This see's us listening to even more diverse and mostly fast album tracks. The sounds change even faster and the spontanous style change in them often amazes the reviewer. Finally the title track put's a crown upon this record. It features all the strenghts of the previous efforts in one, long track.

The production is kept down to earth which is a good choice in my eyes. You feel it's not overworked and the sounds not expanded on postproduction to the bitter end. Instead you can listen to a direct sound which let's you feel the joy the band may had while recording. Most of all the album remains followable and the pure sound gives it some purity with it. That's a good feeling in my ears. The album's rounded out by a remarkable album sleeve that adds a mysterious feeling with the golden bird and the horizon in various dark but also partly warm colors.

Player and Purchase Link

The full "Revenge" album can be heard via Spotify.

For all those who don't have a Spotify account I've added the two video singles for a quick check out. Both videos are also strongly recommended by me also if you've listented to the audio before. "Tattered Wings" has a strong redemption feeling with it. The breaking waves give it somewhat of a moving moment to the listener/watcher. And that's a good feeling.

You can purchase the whole album through the band's record company Inverse Records. Another chance is to download the record from Amazon as a mp3 file. For fans living in Finnland it's notable that you can also order the album at Recordshopx.com or cdon.fi.



Contact data

The band has a own website and is present of social pages such as Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. 

Easter gift: Full Orymus progmetal album "Miracles"

Happy easter everyone! Yeah, the spring time is coming closer so it's time to wipe the winter ghosts away. That's the way it's at least tradition here in germany. People come together at a easter fire, children often baking potatoes that are bound on a bough wrapped in aluminum foil and holding it in the glow of the fire until it is ready for easting.

As it has become sort of tradition that there's some giveaway going on here on Heavy Metal Underdogs on those days. This year we have some fine progmetal for you. The swiss progmetal band Orymus is currently handing there full album "Miracles" out for a pay what you want price (no minimum and maximum amount) over on Bandcamp. You can also listen to it first here before downloading anything.


They impressed me with their powerfull sound. You can feel the brightness of the music already when listening to the big bass sounds that the opener "End of the world" holds. Yet there's enough room for all the other elements to breathe and some space for dreaming and lots of emotions as well.

If you enjoy what the band offers you follow them even further with taking a look on their homepage or liking them on Facebook.

CD Review: Lyra's Legacy - Lyra's Legacy EP (2014)

A great first EP combining sharp guitars with a lot of fine melodies, a excellent rhythm section and many vocal variations. It's the tension between the heavyness of the guitars and rhythm patterns on the one hand and the harmony of the voice on the other that makes this band so special.

Short Introduction

Lyra’s Legacy was founded in 2008 and consists of five musicians from North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany. Every band member brought in their individual musical experience from previous bands like Heavenfall and Frozen Fire.

Since 2011 Lyra’s Legacy is playing gigs and festivals e.g. “Metal for Mercy On Stage”, “Realms of Metal” or “Brotherhood of Metal” and shares the stage with bands like The Name, Gloryful and Ivory Tower.

Lyra’s Legacy represents sophisticated and melodious metal and inspires the audience with their melodies, musicality and power. They've put out a three track EP under the title "Lyra's Legacy".

The cover of the Lyra's Legacy EP, (c) by Lyra's Legacy, used with kind permission

Summary

A compact and razorsharp three track EP is what we have here. All songs go straight into your ears and will make you headbang to them all the way. On the contrary there's lot's of room for emotions and slower sections with keyboards giving it a silker touch. The vocalist uses a wide range of variations for his performance which makes the tracks even more enjoyable. There are surely not only some high pitched notes in the vocals but also a lot of midtone as well as some sing-along choruses to be found.

Player and Purchase Link

The whole release is up for a free listening session on the Soundcloud service so there's no need to buy the stuff without testing. If you like what you hear you can purchase a copy on a silver disc for 5 Euro plus shipping and handling. A band shirt is available for 10 Euro plus shipping and handling.

You can order these goodies through the band's Facebook page, through the band's contact Email form or contact Andreas Denz at his Facebook account to order your copy.


EP Overview

Mirror Of My Life
Powerfull compact starter, very riff packed, few keyboard inserts. The fine outworked vocals show much variations in them and the refrain invites to sing along,

Breath Of A Winter Night
A epic beginning but it changes quickly to faster riffing, free power riffing follows. It's a very direct number going all on it.

Utopia
The final song starts slow and then goes over straight into a pure powerfull riff rollercoaster providing the listener with sharp, straight, hard, powerfull and intense moments.

The band Lyra's Legacy, (c) by Lyra's Legacy, used with kind permission

Links

Check in to the band's website for all the latest tourdates and also tune in to Facebook for even more regular updates.

Voyager to tour Australia & Europe spring 2016 alongside Epica/Leprous

Progmetal has been on my mind for a long time in recent days. But as always things change so these days I'm back with the thrash metal direction but sometimes a prog band crosses my path that let's me think back to those prog days.

Such a thing happened when I heard about Voyager and saw their clip of "Hypenventilating". It's this mixture of power with emotions and melody that turns my attention towards them.

I call these elements of the sound "dreaming elements". They're often missing in today's prog metal sound where the focus is more set on heavyness. It's these dream elements I would like to see coming back in and Voyager happily still has them.


As ever so often when I discover such bands there's the wish to witness a live performance of them. Well, this could become a reality since Voyager has been confirmed to open up for Epica and Leprous in spring 2016 in Australia as well as in Europe.

Here is a round up of the dates, make sure to reserve your tickets early. I'm pretty sure those Epica shows will go quickly as the band was able to gain a lot of new fans in the last months. Maybe also a nice idea for a christmas gift. ;-)

The European 2016 dates with Leprous are as follows:

31/03: TBA
01/04: 's Hertogenbosch, (NL), W2 www.w2.nl
02/04: Helmond, (NL), Cacaofabriek www.cacaofabriek.nl
03/04: Hoofddorp, (NL), Podium Duycker www.duycker.nl
05/04: TBA
06/04: Essen, (DE), Turock www.turock.de
07/04: Pratteln, (CH), Z7 www.z-7.ch
08/04: Strasbourg, (FR), La Laiterie www.artefact.org
09/04: Durbuy, (BE), Durbuy Rock Festival www.durbuyrock.be

Here's a overview on the shows with Epica in Australia:

(c) by Epica, used with kind permission

Also make sure to see the Voyager Facebook webpage for all the latest updates about the band.

Vanden Plas to release Netherworld II album soon

Vanden Plas is such a dedicated progmetal band, I love the song structures and vocals so much. It feels to me as if their music goes somehow deeper, it has more depth to offer and most of all the tracks are played with a lot of power, always giving it a good balance between progressive elements and the needed agressive and direct parts that keeps the music moving forward and enjoyable for fans of the heavy music style.

They've for years now put out one strong record after another yet it seems not many recognize them. I remember having hear them first on a sampler CD of the german Rock Hard megazine back in 1999 which featured the track "I can see" and was overwhelmed by the way the vocals came out on that one. Over the years I've always had a eye on them, every here and there. Now the time is getting closer for the release of a a new record - the follow up to last years "Netherworld" album. This first trailer gives me chills offering a wide overview on the new CD.



The new release will be called "Chronicles Of The Immortals: Netherworld II" and will see the light of day on 6th November 2015 through Frontiers Records. Here is the tracklist:

VISION 11even * In My Universe
VISION 12elve * Godmaker´S Temptation
VISION 13teen * Stone Roses Edge
VISION 14teen * Blood Of Eden (* All love must die) (* The rite)(* This is the night)
VISION 15teen * Monster
VISION 16teen * Diabolica Comedia
VISION 17teen * Where Have The Children Gone
VISION 18teen * The Last Fight
VISION 19teen * Circle Of The Devil

A first full song "Stone Roses Edge" along with a fine band-performance has been installed on Youtube as well. Make sure to connect with the band through Facebook or see their website from time to time to keep for more news, tourdates and so on.

Periphery giving free home recording lessons

So many band are recording and producing their material themselves these days. Digital recording and mixing/cutting equipment has become affordable for many bands and the chance to work on the songs as long as you like and/or need is surely a big pro for going this way.

But how are the several steps done properly? There are many decisions to be made and stuff to be set up before a good sound comes along. The  progressive rock/metal band Periphery has teamed up with CreativeLive Music & Audio and decided to give a free online recording workshop which will be hosted by bassist/producer Adam "Nolly" Getgood and drummer Matt Halpern.

The exact date for this event is August 26th and 27th from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. PDT / 1:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. EDT. You can also see the exact time for your timezone when clicking on the proper gadget on the stream website. You will be able to see how drums are tracked in a live session, other lessons will cover areas such as tuning, microphone selection and positioning and how to work around common problems while recording music.

Finally the result will be given a complete mix with a session of the "Juggernaut" album recordings from Periphery along with the drums recorded in the workshop.

Finally make sure to click over to the Studio Pass session and to enlist to this fine way to learn more about homerecording for free.

If you haven't heard something of the band yet check the short video snippet below to hear how the band sounds like.

A Light Within stream new single from the upcoming EP

So the clocks are mercyless ticking down the last hours of 2014...
What shall be done left before a new year will begin?

Don't miss out the chance to do something special on day number 365:
hear the new single from A Light Within already today! It will be released at the end of January 2015 but you can already listen to a stream of the full track "Between Shores" on the pages of Ragnarok Reviews. Very haunting and epic atmosphere on this one. Made my last day of 2014 a very special one...

The next show of the band will be on
Friday, 9th. January 2015 21:00 (CST) at the recordBar in Kansas City
If you would like to sneak a bit more into the upcoming EP don't miss out my article about the vocal recordings sessions as well as more clips from the recording process I posted some time ago.

Update 2015/01/17: The new song is available for streaming and download on the bandcamp page from A Light Within on a pay-what-you-want basis. Since it's such a great track I include the stream here as well. For me this track comes with a very haunting and blistering atmosphere. The intro perfectly rounds out this song which offers it's full bandwith and content only to those who listen to it several times...

Morphelia release 3 cam mix video of Northern Prog Festival

Sometimes, yes only sometimes there's a song and band out there that gives you this freezin' chills that make you feel so good. They help you escape from the daily gray, the dark and cloudy winter weather we are currently rolled in.

This little moment has just happened. I saw a live video from the band "Morphelia", a superb and excellent Progrock and progressive Metal band from Lower Saxony, Germany. Maybe this little post can help to reach out and touch some of you out there to make more people aware of them.

The cover of the current album "Waken the nightmare", (c) by Morphelia . Used with kind permission.

They are sort of a band which offers music to let you drift and dream away but never misses this groovy touch so it never feels boring or standing still. One of the bands you could compare them best to is the band Saga. But better than any words could ever do music speaks out for itselfs so please click the play button and enjoy some fine music and video (it's a fine three cam mix done from the guys at the Background Megazine).

I like the detailed work on this one, all of the elements are arranged in such a harmonic way that fits together perfectly. Most of all the atmosphere is supported by the fine keyboards and the whole excitement lasts for the full ten minutes duration of this track. That's something quite few band can come up with.





I've seen Morphelia myselves back in 2011 and they were awesome. A friend of mine made me aware of them and we spontanously drove over to the show. Never forgot that evening. Most of all the bass guitar solo. I've had the honour to see quite a lot of good bass guitar players so far but Renko Rickers is absolute excellent on his instrument.

Don't miss out to see Morphelias website to learn more about this excellent band. They also have a account on youtube as well as a page on myspace if you prefer to connect to them through these pages.

The band is working on a new album at the moment and sends out a newsletter through E-Mail from time to time. It includes information on the the recording process as well as about past and upcoming shows of the band. It comes in both, german and english language. Just enter your E-Mail adress into the proper field on the right row directly at the homepage underneath the Vossphor-Records Logo (please scroll down a little bit to see it).

The band recently played at the Northern Prog Festival in Siegerwoude in the Netherlands on November 1st 2014. If you want to read a detailed live review about the festival as well as some photos of all the bands playing then head over to the Background megazine. They've put together a fine detailed check up of the full festival.

Free Generation Prog Festival 2014 sampler up for download

In a few weeks the "Generation Prog Festival 2014" will take place over here in Germany at Nürnberg on 15th of November 2014.

The company doing the promotion for the event "Prog Sphere" has set up a free download sampler that features one track of each of the bands of the festival as song
1-5 of the sampler. Tracks 6-10 are bonus tracks by bands that are taken from the Generation Prog Records roster.

For all those who prefer to stream instead of downloading the compilation I've included the player below. The full download can be found on the Bancamp page of Prog Sphere Promotions.

Find out more about the Generation Prog Festival 2014:
www.generation-prog.com

Order your festival tickets and affordable hotel packages here:
www.generation-prog.com?page_id=1172&lang=en

A Light Within returns with snippet from the upcoming EP

A while ago we here at metalunderdogs had a interview with the Post/Progressive Alt Rock band "A Light Within". The band also gave a little info about what to expect from the upcoming EP the band was preparing at those days.

By now the songwriting and recording process made some progress and the band recently revealed a first short, but in my eyes very cool teaser so we can have a idea of what's going on. Just sit back and enjoy the little preview below.

If you want to stay up to date about further developments just make sure to pick the RSS feed featured on the top of this blog or have a look at the bands Facebook page or the bands presence on Bandcamp.

Update 2014/07/25: I oversaw that there's another teaser for the track "Glaso" online so I added it here today.

CD Review: Catexia - A voz do Brucutu

Note: If you have a own band or project that you think might fit in well here for a review or as a presentation / introduction please do drop me a line or two here in the comments section or please see my profile for my E-Mail adress. I do appreciate new suggestions very much! 

Short introduction  

The brasilian band Catexia started back in mid 2012 as a instrumental progmetal band. So far the band managed to play a couple of live shows both with and without the EP. The first recording is entitled "A voz do Brucutu". The newest stuff the band did put out is a video for the new track "Aborto" which also shows the band performing live in celebration of their one year anniversary as a band. I've included the video at the very end of the article right under my review of the band's first EP.


Short Summary / Player / Download Link

The EP comes as a free download from the bands website featuring three longtracks. With the mp3 files you receive a front- and backcover for printing out your own record. Just click on the big image to start the download.

As for me the band mixed elements in the style of Dream Theater in their "Systematic Chaos" phase together with guitar-styles in the tradition of Jimi Hendrix with a lot of experimental and jamming sounds in it. Check out the tracks in the player to hear what I mean. If you like a mixture of those sounds I'd suggest you to download this nice EP. It's a wild mix but a pleasure to listen to. Give it a chance. You can also keep an eye on the band by clicking the like button on their facebook site. 




Track by track Review:

1. Inferno: slow start, very catchy riff that won't leave your ears for a while. Short bridge with the same riff, heading over to the wilder side of the band. Short silence then start of a new melody, slow again. Finally some more movement with a compact riffing, jamming between this section and some more melodic softer part. Going over to one of the riffs of the beginning, things start to turn out wilder, very powerfull guitars. Keeps very strong jamming up, ending with some classic rock riff and shouts.

2. A Resurreicao: Slow intro with some effect pedals going over to a soft jamming, followed up by the more powerfull guitars, change again to some more softer part. Very clear guitars on this one. Very short break bringing us to a very compact and hard and heavy section. The rhythm starts to get tighter by every minute. Very powerfull guitars fill the sound while various tempos and rhythm changes follow to it. Some rough jamming can be heard, at the end comes up to some more melodic and softer end with a mid-tempo rhythm-section mixed up with heavier guitars. Very hard effect pedal effects at the end. A lot of variations in this song, time flies while you listen. My personal favorite song from the record.

3. Marta: a very clear and intro but soon mixed with some heavier effects leading over to the typical riff jamming but this time with mostly small tempo. The drums go wild for a while. A classic rock riffing towards the end. Shortest song on this EP. The last note giving the hope of more songs in the near future...

Encore:

CD Review: Mahogany Head Grenade - Return to the part of departure

Note: If you have a own band or project that you think might fit in well here for a review or as a presentation / introduction please do drop me a line or two here in the comments section or please see my profile for my E-Mail adress. I do appreciate new suggestions very much!

Short introduction

It's time for the next review. This time I checked out the first release from Mahogany Head Grenade called Return to the part of departure. The band is located in Texas and is set up as a a Progressive Instrumental trio that did release their first album in May 2013. The album was tracked live, recorded & engineered by Sterling Winfield (Pantera, Damageplan, Hellyeah) at Valve Studios in Dallas. Mastered by Maor Appelbaum (Cynic, Halford, Sepultura) at Maor's studio in California, USA. The live tracking especially surprises me - it's something I've seldomely come across.  

Short Summary / Player / Download and CD Purchase Links

The album is great, no question. If you're into instrumental Progmetal you should give it a listening round. I would describe them as typical shred metal, along with a little influence from modern metal. The special one comes in when you think about the Texas roots, so there's a lot of these guitar work in there that you can hear.

The only thing one might dislike are the many guitar solos, but in the end it's a instrumental album so this shouldn't be a problem. It has a fully professionell sound and production, full blown and decent sound for such a music style and features cool fotographic inlay to each track. Just check out the title track or "Trouble for trouble" and you'll fastly know if it's your flavor of music or not.



The album can be purchased as a download for only 3 dollar at the BANDCAMP SITE. There you can quickly get the album in high quality FLAC (File losless Audio Converter) format as well as in high MP3 format. The album is also available as four panel digipak CD featuring original artwork by the band: You can get it from the linked bandcampe page. It's also available on itunes, amazon, cd baby Just click on the links to go to the proper site.

Update 2014/11/03: The prices have been reduced! You can pick up the download for a price of your own choice (no minimum is set). The Compact Disc version is available for 5 Dollar but you have to add shipping and handling for the physical copy of course.

If you want to stay in touch with band, you can do so on facebook or check out the band's youtube account to see some nice live videos of the band performing some of their tracks.

Track by track Review:

Return to the Point of Departure
Very dark, gloomy Intro style. Feels like something unknown and evil might come down. Very catchy riff in here, much Texas metal reference. Good variations and guitars much in the front row, making this a good raw start to the album. Cool solo. Makes me wanna here more.

Trouble for Trouble
Strange voice Intro. Going over into some rhythmic section, laid back feeling. Guitars then rushing in, giving the song a more agressive, cutting riff while bass and drums follow, making it a very compact sound. After some solos suprisingly a change to a soft section, slightly moving the song for a moment in the jazz direction before one more solo throws it back to the old heavyness and riffing.

Vinedresser
Another strange voice intro leading into a short rhythmic section, followed up by brutal heavyness typical for this band. Some seconds to take a breath after that with one more jazz-like jam-section. We are introduced to a very heavy jamming guitars part, putting a lot of shred metal in here. Some more melodic play-along in the end of the track following it to a soft end.

Etude War Machine 
Very compact riff-monster rushing in bringing the album into a more moving direction. Much of the rawness of the band in here I think, lot's of very different guitar solo variations to listen to. The end sounds like the last of possible things is shred out here. Very short ending.

Venetian Bricks
The last track starts with a short riff introduction. Again much guitar variations in here with the drums and bass following straight to it. Very heavy and bold sound at the end making it a very, very tight track. The shortest one on this record but a very good ending to this release.  

CD Review: Atropos Project - Equator

Here we go with a new section on the Metalunderdogs Blog. I'd like to write down my thoughts on new releases that have been recently put out. If you have a own band or project that you think might fit in well here please do drop me a line or two here in the comments section or please see my profile for my E-Mail adress. I do appreciate new suggestions very much!

Today we start out with the actual album from Atropos Project called "Equator". It's a instrumental Progmetal one man project that is centered around John Quarles. He has written, performed, recorded, and produced all the stuff that can be heard on the album. On some of the tracks he has additional help with guitars, keyboards, Pedal steel, dobro and slide guitars from other musicians. John is mostly a self-taught musician who started out with drums, later going over to guitars and even having taken some lessons on the piano.

As for the structure of the review: I will first give a short summary of the album along with a embedded player so for all of you who dislike reading text from screens you can shortly go over and have a quick check on the content. Afterwards I will write down a track by track review showing you my thoughts on the single tracks.

Short Summary / Player / Download and CD Purchase Links

No doubt it's a great album. If you're into Progmetal and like instrumental songs I suggest you to check this out. I know no one like's to be compared to something but to give you a idea on what this is all about imagine the instrumental tracks from bands like Dream Theater, Vanden Plas, Threshold and the like along with a more straight forward songwriting. The songs are very progressive and do show the beauty and diversification of this musical style but always remain followable and don't loose thereselves into too complicated structures. They always give you the chance to take a breathe after a "hard attack" so your emotions and thoughts can sort freshly giving you new energy to go for the next push-on forward.

The album can be streamed for free so it's no hidden catch. Take the time and check out "F.A.C." or "Deadfall" for a very quick glance on what's this band is all about. Take some time to give the blasting "Spiralling" a chance as well as the slower tracks "A Curious Trip" and "Drudgery".
The album can be purchased as a download for only 8 dollar at the BANDCAMP SITE. There you can quickly get the album in high quality FLAC (File losless Audio Converter) format as well as in high MP3 format. John has also put together a beautifull CD version of the album so if you prefer to buy the album as a classic Compact disc, you can do so also via the BANDCAMP SITE. 
For all those of you who do prefer itunes and Amazon, just click on the site names to go to the direct download pages. Moreover CD baby is one more chance to get a copy of the album.
If you want to follow Atropos Project, you can do so on facebook or check out the band's website for further links and info.

Update 2014/11/03: The prices have been reduced! The download is now available for 4 Dollar as well as the Compact Disc that goes out for the same price but you have to add shipping and handling for the physical copy of course.

Track by track Review:

Before reading: don't let your enjoyment be spoiled. I will talk about some of the details of each track. Discovering music on you own might be much more fun. If you don't want to know before listening I suggest you to let the music do the talking instead of reading this.

"Inceptions Promise"
The slow intro track takes you away from reality to the start of a musical journey. Set up with clear guitars in a very own style it plays a bit around in the hight notes to take over to the first full song of the album.

"F.A.C."
A open and direct straight forward song taking you inside of the album. Shortly after the opening sequence a first solo part with a very own styled solo section. Very rhytmic track, lot's of variations in tempo and soft change over's. It show's also a very own trademark of Atropos Project: very own style and interpretation that give's the straight arrangement a remarkable own note.

"Deadfall"
The hardest track of the album in my eyes. Raw, direct and unfiltered first riff with dirtly crash cymbals. After the hard entrance a softer part with slower rhythm and piano playing awaids the listener. The permanent constant playing of the guitar while the piano does a little duell with the guitars take's it back to the harder intro riff. Finally a release at the end with a very straight forward riff. Short silence. Then a short hard riff. The piano take's to the end of this nearly ten minute long song. A jamming session in the end repeating the piano theme slightly from the middle section. A open end fading out of a great track. 

"Spiralling"
A song that opens up while a ghostly-feeling riff that gives you chills. It's followed up by a more complex Rhythm Section, that leads into another part underlayed with Keyboards. Sort of style I like very much. After some jamming finally a blast killer riff at the end that free's the compressed energy the previous parts did build up.

"A Curious Trip"Sort of very special track. It starts very slow and relaxed with some Piano. You feel lost in deep thoughts when listening to this. The end offers a very, very complex instrumentation while the bass keeps repearting a montone riff. The end comes very abrupt and leaves you behind with a surprise (a good one).

"And...Lift"
This one show's a lot of jazz elements with lot's of variations. The riff is very strong and pushes you hard in the forward direction. A lot of solo part's in here. In the end part a riff that open's up the song like a flower and shows several styles of this riff and the melody.

"Suspiria"
We start into the song with a slow section playing clean guitars that is seldom to find these days. Warmly welcomed by me. The rhythm builds a bridge to the main part of the song. Guitars playing at a high tone on this one. Powerfull guitars with a catchy riff and several repeatings then - silence. After a short break another power riff with a very straight ending.

"Drudgery"
Again a clear intro with a touch of sadness hanging in the air. The jam session that follow's leads into a good power riffing. The rhythm is very crawling and has lots of modern elements in there. The end takes you back to the starting intro melody and the end is soft and let's you slowly fade away.

"New Leaf"
A cool drum section opening up to clear guitars. Once more we go with a power riff while the drums keep being very dominating on this track. The bridge is a drum fill going over to a new pattern opening up to a piano section alonng with fitting beats. Some more jazzy elements and a small jam section go over to the final part of the album. After a short power riffing arrangement the CD comes to a end with a piano section putting a very decent ending to a strong first release of a project we hopefully will hear more of in the future.

Liquid Horizon

I remember having run across this band by pure chance - I surfed around on youtube and after I watched a video by Vanden Plas youtube offered me a video by Liquid Horizon and since the starting picture of the video did look fine I gave it a click. Well, I wasn't disappointed with my choice since it got me fastly, it's this part of something beeing so very special and unique in their sound that made me notice down the band's name quickly so I won't get lost in the dust of times.

By now I've checked their site and found out through the media tab on the site that they do follow the modern progressive way of Heavy Metal in the style of Vanden Plas and the like. Anyway, their vocalist Oliver Kilthau and the performance of drummer Chuck West do have found their very own style which gives the band a unique touch which makes it a band to be remembered . So if you like progmetal in the modern style take some minutes and check out the video of "Daily Dose".



You can also follow them on facebook to keep up with all the latest news about the band.

Morphelia

Seems like I'm not gettin' much sleep tonight. A pain in my lungs keeps me awake. That's bad,but gives me the chance for another update.;-) This time it's Morphelia,a little progmetal band from the very north of germany. Some month's ago I saw them live,sort of a spontanous idea a friend of mine came up with. They blew me away! This band has the ability to take you far away on a musical journey through time and space. Dreaming melodies combined with power and very skilled musicians give them their very unique sound. If you like bands like Saga, Marillion and Dream Theater then this is well worth the over seven minutes of listening.

Find more artists like Morphelia at Myspace Music

The official band website has more info on them www.morphelia.de