First of all, we find a sought-after and inventive progressive metal which reveals itself little by little, listen after listen, the atmospheres released being always very diversified and, the tone of the album, taking into account the theme, is certainly darker than the band's previous productions. Evidenced by the first title 'Codename:Pharaoh' (see the video above) which, against a background of the end of term speech of 'Dwight D. Eisenhower' in 1961 on the military-industrial complex, unfolds a slow and heavy tempo on which the singing of 'Christian Ayala Cruz' arrives quite late and remains in the background behind the power of the electric instruments. With 'The Downpour', after a heavy introduction, we start in seven minutes of progressive alternating different atmospheres with oriental sounds and a hardening of the tone through growls, the final atmospheric fallout being remarkable and leading to the following title 'New Beginnings', which is much quieter with ethereal vocals and guitar arpeggios accompanied by delicate choruses. The introduction of the composition 'A Trace Of Home' continues in this serenity but the title quickly gains momentum and pours out an energetic neo-classical melody with an alternation of extreme singing and clear singing, the whole bringing remarkable alternations of intensities and showing all the talent of this formation in this type of compositions presenting strong oppositions of styles and atmosphere then, the pianistic break 'In Träumen' shows a much more peaceful and carefree face before the long development 'In Memorian' (see the video here) which, with a rhythm section offering multiple tempo changes, is a typical composition of an inventive progressive bringing together various more or less accessible influences, the instrumental section in the middle of the title being quite admirable e. With 'Facing An Armored Dreadnaught' it's yet another good example of these quite remarkable atmospheric changes, with a new airy semi-acoustic ambience and peaceful melodic lines accompanied by soft vocals, then, 'Dissembling The Artifice' is much more extreme and certainly less accessible melodically with an alternation of clear vocals and growls bringing a very tormented side, but we also find a magnificent break in the middle of the title with a deep bass accompanied by guitar arpeggios and a much calmer singing of 'Christian Ayala Cruz', the end of the title returning to the starting theme. And to finish, the last two compositions bring again this contrast between very distant musical landscapes with, first of all, the calm 'The Earth Inside' which precedes the eight minutes of 'Daybreak' which closes the album remarkably and which is a good summary of the whole with a succession of different atmospheres and always this alternation between tension and relaxation, the whole being supported by a memorable melody with oriental scents.
In summary, the Puerto Ricans of Avandra' offer us a dense and varied new album and, show, that with already four albums in five years, they have become one of the benchmarks in progressive metal and 'Prodigal' should join in good place, the ideal discotheque for all lovers of progressive music, bringing together different styles of music ranging from peaceful rock to extreme metal... | |
