lukretion Just one year after releasing a strong comeback record such as Sacred Pathways, prog/neoclassical metallers Artension returned with their sixth full-length album New Discovery. The album was recorded by the same line-up who had played on the previous record, comprised of the three permanent band members, keyboard wizard Vitalij Kuprij, vocalist John West and guitar player Roger Staffelbach, plus Mike Terrana on drums and Kevin Chown on bass. Stylistically, the new album follows in the footsteps of the band’s most recent records, embracing the neoclassical metal sound and leaving behind the prog metal ambitions that had characterized their earlier albums. In addition, New Discovery brings back traces of hard rock that was present at the beginning of Artension’s career but had been somewhat left behind in recent years.

Throughout their career Artension had the unfortunate tendency to alternate strong and weak releases. Although not a complete disaster, New Discovery sadly belongs to the latter category. The main culprit is the uninspired songwriting that mars many of the songs on this album. There is a sense of rigidity and formulaic repetitiveness running through the 9 tracks of this LP. Most songs follow the same structure of verse/prechorus/chorus/instrumental break without any variation or innovation. The arrangements are also quite monotonous. Terrana’s busy double-bass drumwork is pushed to the front of the mix, with bass and guitar chugging away underneath it, to the point that the songs can often come across as rhythmically dull (“Remember My Name”; “The Last Survivor”). The song melodies, carried by West’s vocals and occasionally Kuprij’s keyboards, are frequently cut from the same cloth of Baroque-inspired music that inspired Rainbow and Yngwie Malmsteen, which can be fun to listen to for one or two songs, but rapidly grows tiresome across 50 minutes of material.

To be fair, Kuprij does try to inject some variety into his songwriting, by seeking inspiration in classic hard rock, most evidently on “Hearts Are Broken” and “Call of the Wild” where John West channels his inner Joe Lynn Turner in the most convincing way possible. These songs, however, are quite dull and would probably be classified as fillers on any good Deep Purple or Rainbow album. The album’s best songs are thus those where Artension manage to combine neoclassical metal and melodic hard rock in a less unyielding manner, such as on the title-track, “Innocent Soul” and “Story Teller”. The obligatory power ballad “Endless Days” is also remarkable, thanks to its memorable melody and John West’s soulful performance. Also on the plus side, the album’s sound production is significantly improved compared to some of the previous Artension’s albums, like Sacred Pathways. Drum, guitars and keyboards sound much better than on that album, probably due to the fact that they were recorded in different studios. The mix is still fairly muddy and compressed, though, and this penalizes particularly the guitars and the bass, which are sometimes difficult to hear clearly.

Ultimately, New Discovery gets appreciated mostly for the quality of the playing of the five musicians involved, than for the ideas that form the music. The solos and instrumental jams that inevitably appear in all songs are all excellent and really fun to listen to. If only Artension had managed to write consistently good songs around them, New Discovery could have been a strong album, while instead it only occupies a decent, but lesser place in Artension’s discography.

lukretion Led by keyboard maestro Vitalij Kuprij (Ring of Fire, Trans-Siberian Orchestra), singer extraordinaire John West (Royal Hunt) and guitar wizard Roger Staffelbach, prog/neoclassical metal band Artension have been churning out album after album since their inception, Sacred Pathways being their 5th in only 7 years since their 1996 debut. For the occasion, the band is completed by the same formidable rhythmic section (Mike Terrana / drums; Kevin Chown / bass) that had played on Artension’s first two records and had then left after that. With such a technically proficient line-up, the quality of the playing is not under discussion – but the real question is whether the songwriting is up to par, after Artension’s previous record Machine had disappointed more than a few fans.

Fortunately, the US-based combo seem to have found their mojo again. Sacred Pathways features an impressive array of textbook neoclassical metal tunes, rhythmically tight, sublimely melodic and running at speed-of-light tempos. The inspiration of Baroque and classical music is evident throughout the record, in the construction of the vocal melodies, in Kuprij’s and Staffelbach’s ornamented solos, as well as in the use of contrapuntal harmonies. Personally, I prefer the more original mixture of hard rock, prog and neoclassical metal that Artension pursued at the beginning of their career. But I have to admit that the band’s take on the neoclassical metal style is very well-done and convincing here.

Songs like “Your Victory” and “The Emperor” rip and shred like anything ever composed by His Neoclassical Majesty Yngwie Malmsteen, and then some more (listen to the slapped bass groove on “Your Victory”). Meanwhile, “Running out of Time”, “Sacred Pathways” and “Nightmare” are more melodic affairs that remind me of bands like Royal Hunt and allow John West to showcase all his talent, illustrating why he was such a sought-after vocalist at the time. His voice is clean and trained, and yet rich in resonance thanks to his powerful vibrato and soulful, husky tone. Also enjoyable are the obligatory ballad “The Calm before the Storm” and the brisk instrumental “March to Ruin” where Kuprij fully unleashes his compositional and playing skills.

The album contains a handful of duller moments, from the anonymous hard rock filler “The Killing” to the odd, Queenesque piano ballad “Flower of the Orient” that closes the record awkwardly. The album’s main drawback, however, is its production. This is a problem that has afflicted several Artension’s releases. There are several issues. The drum sound is pretty terrible, too dry and compressed. It constantly drowns out the guitar, whose sound is also poor and thin. Even the keyboards do not sound great, which is surprising considering the prominent role they play for Artension. The mix is also poor and at times it is really hard to follow the harmonic structure of the songs, because all one can hear are Terrana’s busy drumwork and John West’s vocals (“The Emperor”).

Despite these shortcomings that in part do ruin the listening experience, Sacred Pathways is a solid album, thanks to its inspired songwriting and the excellent playing of all musicians involved. It is a considerable step up relative to Artension’s previous record, Machine, and although it is not at the levels of the band’s first two albums, it is up there with the best work by neoclassical metal artists.