When I was asked to review this album, the description given to me on an email included the words “The Immunity Zone”, “Silverwolf Productions” and “17 minute track”. Never having heard of the band I asked the question, “is this a prog/powermetal band from Germany or Sweden?” I was right in every respect, being a Swedish five piece releasing their latest work through the steadily expanding German Silverwolf label.
Opener on the album is ‘Recognising Fate’, which at seven minutes long is far from the shortest track on the CD. It combines classic metal riffs, clearly sung complicated lyrics, and a sample of some nameless politician denouncing the military industrial complex, before slowing down into a keyboard break that sounds like it was transplanted from the seminal prog album ‘Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’.
‘Slaves of the Plethora Season’ shows the band’s euro power metal heritage, a precise guitar line dominating, supported by swirling keyboards and a chorus that somehow manages to turn the song’s thesaurus mangling title into a chant along, as well as providing the line that gives the album it’s title.
Through track after track Andromeda are more then proud to show their prog-rock roots, obvious in the staccato guitar riffs of ‘Ghosts on Retinas’, mixed with the eloquent, story telling lyrics of David Fremberg, whilst time and again the keyboards scream of the best early work of Pink Floyd and Genesis.
The album finishes with the seventeen minute plus epic that is ‘Veil of Illumination’. In this their melodic progressive roots are most apparent. This is a track that could sit happily in any set by the legendary Yes, complex keyboards complimenting harmonised vocals of myth and mysticism, all backed by faultlessly skilled guitars, bass and drums. Each musician is given the chance to showcase their considerable talents, long musical breaks allowing each instrument to come to the front or duel against each other in increasingly complicated displays of virtuosity. This necessity to self promote each musician could easily fall into the realms of self indulgence, but Andromeda manage to hold it together in the context of the whole CD.
This is an album of unashamedly complex rock that demands to be matched live with a complicated light and projection show to bring the full story of each track to life.
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