Just for the benefit of readers (and editorial staff) who think that the exclamation mark at the end of “Self Release” is a little typo, it isn’t! Not being a huge power metal aficionado, this is a band who I’d never heard of despite a couple of previous demo releases, so when this CD arrived I was surprised from the quality of the artwork, printing and packaging that it wasn’t supported by a label. This surprise turned to absolute amazement when I heard it. How many other self financed and self released bands can boast the addition of a full choir to assist with their songs, as well as an original requiem? None I’ve ever heard of, that’s for sure, whilst the production values are so high I can scarcely believe it wasn’t the result of many months in a professional studio with a host of technicians.
This is European power metal at its most massive, and combines all required elements of the form in spades. Throughout guitars are technical and complex; bass and drums are fast and played with the precision of a metronome; vocals are high, clean, and sustained; and swirling key boards soar around and intertwine with every element. Sandwiched between the tracks, on what could well be considered a concept album on reflections of loss and death, are pieces of a Requiem in the original Latin, sung with the melancholy skill and haunting sombre tones of a monastic choir.
With such skill and precision throughout, it is not a put down to say there is no one stand out track, just a reflection of the same high levels of production throughout. ‘Dead’; ‘Awakening The Ghosts’; ‘Fit To Die’; all these tracks, as well as the other five metal numbers, are laden with hooks and demonstrate the band’s not inconsiderable musical chops throughout the hour that album plays.
The band should be truly proud of what they have achieved, all without label support. This is an album that can stack up strongly against any of Europe’s strongest power metal acts, and with support and a following wind, the band could well become a feature of the numerous traditional and power metal themed festivals that abound throughout the continent in 2010 and beyond.
http://www.myspace.com/futureistomorrow
http://www.futureistomorrow.it
http://cdbaby.com/cd/FutureIsTomorrow
