Stephen
The last time you heard of this band is probably in 2004 when they released 'Machines of Mental Design', and after 7 years of silence, they're back with 'A Beautiful Atrocity', and damn me if this one ain't a strong come back, in love with this after only one single spin. Probably you'll be curious what's inside like a virgin boy peeking a hole to see a hot lady showering up, a hint for you that a lot of influences from many metal genres bounded together such as progressive, European power metal, and classic heavy metal. Melodic metal with a decent prog twist might be a good summary of their core engine.
"Perverse Perfection" started in a midtempo fashion and explosive riffs before they're building up the tempo and packed it with a great combo of melodic and prog metal. The solos are mindblowing and definitely a great track to start. "God V2.0", a lousy title but a very strong track. Traditional metal style, awesome chorus with blistering drummings. The guitarworks are monster, another personal fave. "Monster" is a good Rhapsody of Fire-influenced track but "Mind Divided", "Sleep Eternal", and "Only In A Dream" are examples of their boring mode.
Despite "The Man" which is a confusing bluesy feel track for metal fan but still a good one for me, the rest are excellent tracks. "Altered In Red" is a superb melodic metal tune and that also goes for "Dreamworld Messiah" which has a trace of Iron Maiden influence on it. "Heart of Darkness" and "I Sinner" are both spectacular and "Tide of Time" reminds me a lot of Edguy's "Hellfire Club" era and definitely another winner from the band.
Bernt Fjellstad has a great range of vocal, the production is also great, and everything you need from a wonderful prog/melodic metal thing is here. Influences are sure come from those classic giants such as Helloween, Symphony X, Stratovarius, and Edguy, and many songs are in 3-5 minutes range so it's pretty much accessible to most casual fans. A great one from Norway that's right up my alley, not very original and some tracks are passable, but kudos on the excellent work!