After 'Eleine', it's still a symphonic metal band, with the Americans from 'AfterTime' who released their first album 'The Farthest Shore' a few months ago and whose first EP 'World We've Lost' dates from 2017. With 12 tracks for almost 70 minutes, this first opus shows a great maturity for this group which has surrounded itself with talented artists such as the singers 'Melissa Ferlaak' and 'Angel Wolf-Black', the choir 'MPLS impulse Choir', the guitarist 'Stephen Decker' and the Austrian 'Lukas Knöbl' for orchestrations, as well as a big name of the profession for the mixing with 'Joost Van Den Broek', the favorite keyboardist of 'Arjen Lucassen'. The beautiful cover created by 'Jan Yrlund' puts us directly in the bath of the epic theme around sea voyages with this fascination that the men have of this quest for discovery by going towards unknown lands.
And it is with the almost 9 minutes of 'Battle of the Sea' that the album begins in a debauchery of orchestral arrangement with all the ingredients of a grandiose symphonic epic, the chorus bringing an addictive first melody reminiscent of certain atmospheres of the Dutch of 'Epica', then, 'Edge of the Earth', more classic in its construction, offers remarkable vocal arrangements and 'World We've Lost' continues in this epic momentum varying the tempos and highlighting the very mastered singing of 'Sarah Wolf', just like the following title 'Nimata Moírais' which offers a beautiful duo 'Sarah Wolf'/'Angel Wolf-Back' with, by small touches, some well-placed interventions of growls of 'Brad Sturgis' as likes to do 'Alexander Krull' with 'Leaves 'Eyes'. There follows a melodic 'Planetary Eyes' which continues in some energetic symphonic metal then, 'Santuary' is the break in the middle of the album in the form of a magnificent ballad filled with emotion and in which we are lulled by the delicious volutes of 'Sarah Wolf' and 'Dare To Roam' regains strength and is certainly less direct with an alternation of different tempos that must be tamed, in contrast to 'A Journey Itself' which is a rhythmic mid-tempo much more accessible with a section bringing a folk touch. With 'Survive The Storm', we return to a powerful and epic symphonic metal in the form of an energetic ride, the growls of 'Brad Sturgis' becoming more present, then 'The Afternath' offers us a majestic power ballad with a beautiful vocal duo bringing together 'Sarah Wolf' and 'Melissa Ferlaak' and 'No Turning Back', with its heady melody supported by an inventive rhythm section alternating rolls and classical tempos is very catchy, the album ending 'The Farthest Shore', of more than 13 minutes which takes us on a symphonic epic containing all the ingredients of this style, admirable orchestral arrangements, instrumental flights and masterful vocal sections in alternations of intensity and tempos.
In summary, this first album from the Americans of 'AfterTime' shows that, given the comparisons that we can do with the tenors of the genre, they have directly entered the big leagues of symphonic metal and that 'The Farthest Shore' will be without no doubt well received by all lovers of this style... | |
