lukretion As a huge Evergrey fan, I was very intrigued by the announcement made in 2017 by US progressive metal band Redemption that they would be replacing their longstanding vocalist Ray Alder (Fates Warning) with the mastermind behind Swedish power/prog titans Evergrey, Tom Englund. However, when their first album together, Long Night's Journey into Day, was released in 2018, it didn't quite meet my (admittedly high) expectations. I felt that the band played it too safe and didn't fully take advantage of Englund's incredible voice. Now, fast forward to 2023, and Redemption has returned with a new album, once again featuring Englund on vocals. I Am the Storm, the band's eighth studio album, is released on March 17th via AFM Records, and it has completely pulverized all of my previous concerns and reservations about their previous LP.

I Am the Storm is one of the best “traditional progressive metal” albums I have listened in quite a while. When I say “traditional progressive metal”, I mean that Redemption’s sound has remained largely unaffected by the post-metal/pop/djent contaminations that many contemporary prog metal acts have embraced in recent years. Instead, this album stays true to the US prog metal sound that was established in the late 90s and early 00s by bands such as Dream Theater, Fates Warning and Symphony X. The guitars play a central role in the sound design, with an onslaught of riffs and melodic leads. The busy rhythm section is powerful, with thunderous beats, while the keyboards are used in moderation to add color and texture to the dense metallic soundscape. Meanwhile, Englund's vocals are skillfully woven in and out of these textures, allowing ample space for lengthy instrumental sections.

This is not to say, however, that there aren’t modern contaminations and exciting sonic experiments present. In fact, Redemption incorporate a diverse set of influences into their sound, including ferocious thrash metal, classic progressive rock (as evidenced by the Genesis/Peter Gabriel covers included on the LP), and more modern, post-rock-influenced atmospheric soundscapes (“The Emotional Depiction Of Light”). The end result is an album that manages to feel fresh and varied, while at the same time retaining a clear and distinctive sonic identity.

With I Am the Storm there is a clear sense that Redemption took risks in their songwriting that ultimately paid off in a big way. The different influences that have shaped Redemption’s sound over the years have been taken to new extremes on this album. The heavy tracks (“I Am the Storm”, “Resilience”) hit unashamedly hard and approach a degree of metallic ferocity that would not be out of place on a Nevermore album. On the other hand, “The Emotional Depiction Of Light” lies at the opposite end of the spectrum, with its delicate interplay between Englund’s voice and Vikram Shankar’s piano, building to a beautiful cathartic crescendo that tugs at the heartstrings in a way reminiscent of Anathema or Silent Skies (Englund and Shankar's recent atmospheric metal project). Between these extremes, I Am the Storm offers a plethora of sublime progressive pieces. “Remember the Dawn”, “Action At A Distance” and “All This Time (And Not Enough)” are longer pieces with complex structures, plenty of virtuoso playing, and subtle references to the classic progressive rock sound, reminding me of a slightly heavier version of bands like Spock’s Beard or Enchant.

The names mentioned in the previous paragraphs indicate that the album covers a lot of ground. Yet, it does so with finesse and sophistication, allowing for smooth and natural transitions between the different styles. I also feel that with the new material, Redemption have finally discovered how to unlock Englund's full potential. His performance on I Am the Storm is undoubtedly his best in a while. Although I adore Englund's distinctive and poignant voice, it's difficult to ignore the fact that in his recent work with Evergrey he has stuck to a pattern of similar melodies and cadences that may comfortably suit his voice, but can also make the songs feel monotonous. On I Am the Storm Nick Van Dyk’s diverse songwriting challenges Englund to step out of his comfort zone and experiment with his voice, sometimes with more aggression and other times with more melody. This is similar to the approach taken on Evergrey's early and highly progressive LPs, where Englund first established himself as one of the finest singers in the genre. It’s a joy to rediscover his versatility and tremendous class on this new record.

The rest of the band also delivers incredible performances, with Van Dyk’s showcasing his terrific guitar skills, ranging from heavy and aggressive to sublimely melodic. Shankar adds beautiful synth textures, while Chris Quirarte on drums and Sean Andrews on bass provide a solid and ultra-heavy rhythmic backbone. Special recognition also goes to Simone Mularoni (DGM) for his jaw-dropping and exquisitely well-constructed solos. His mixing and mastering jobs are also commendable, although the guitars may be slightly too prominent in the mix and the drums may be too busy, taking away some nuance from the other instruments.

In the end, however, the standout feature of I Am the Storm is the incredible quality of its songwriting. In contrast to Redemption’s previous LP Long Night's Journey into Day, there are no filler tracks on this album. Each song delivers some of the finest progressive metal you're likely to hear this year: technically intricate and fiercely heavy, but always exquisitely melodic. Prog metal fans should not overlook this album: I Am the Storm is Album of the Year material, and Redemption’s greatest artistic achievement yet.

[Originally written for The Metal Observer]

DippoMagoo Sometimes, I’ll be excited for a new album not because of the name of the band releasing it, but because of something particular about the album itself. Either an interesting concept, a guest appearance or the inclusion of someone I’m a fan of, or it could just be that a hear an early single and it gets me excited. In the case of Long Night’s Journey Into Night, the seventh full length release from American prog band Redemption, I was excited as soon as I heard it would be the band’s first release with new lead singer Tom S. Englund, the mastermind behind Evergrey, one of my all-time favorite bands in the genre. I previously heard the band’s previous two releases, In This Mortal Coil and The Art of Loss, and while I found them both enjoyable, neither of them really blew me away initially nor stuck with me much over time. I was hoping the addition of Tom would help the band to finally realize their potential and produce an album that would hook me, and thankfully that’s exactly what happened, as Long Night’s Journey Into Day isn’t just by far my favorite Redemption album I’ve heard: It’s one of my favorite prog albums of the last few years!

Redemption has always been on the heavier side of the genre, with In This Mortal Coil in particular feeling like a very raw sounding prog album, so it’s no surprise there are some hard-hitting riffs on this new release. Alongside being notably heavy, the band is also known for having some outstanding musicianship, with guitarist Nik van Dyk in particularly being very technically proficient, and of course the keyboards and drums are excellent as well, with the former in particular being very prominent in this album, and adding some extra flavor to the music. Their music is known to be equal parts complex, emotional, introspective and accessible, and all of those definitely apply to Long Night’s Journey Into Day. Obviously, considering who the new singer is, it’s no surprise to know this album deals with some fairly dark lyrical themes at times, and the music itself is very atmospheric as well, with the guitar tone at times coming fairly close to Evergrey, but one of the biggest differences between the two bands is actually something both the name of the band and album would suggest. Where the former is very dark, with any hints of light being very short lived and outweighed by darkness, Redemption do heave their dark themes, but they often offer up some hope and optimism as well, and tracks like “Indulge in Color” and the title track of this album are a perfect example of that, with the mood changing subtly throughout the tracks, in a very effective way. While the tracks are often fairly lengthy, the majority of the tracks here are fairly direct and simple, with a few big instrumental moments to give them an extra edge. Obviously, the title track is much more complex, but it too has plenty of memorable melodies and hooks to grab onto, while at the same offering up plenty of details to look for on subsequent listens. Production is absolutely perfect as expected from Jacob Hansen, and this is definitely the most polished sounding Redemption album to date.

The one element of this album I was most excited for, was, of course, the vocals. While I enjoyed the two previous albums I’ve heard from the band, I found that Ray Alder’s vocals didn’t quite have the same spark there as they usually do with Fate’s Warning, and that was one of the reasons I was hopeful the change in singer would help me appreciate this band more. While I was initially concerned after hearing the lead single “Little Men”, as soon as I heard the full release I knew without a doubt Tom was given plenty of room to work with, and he excels just as much here as he does with Evergrey. He’s especially great at singing with emotion, and so the tracks where he has to alternate from themes of fear and doubt to themes of hope and optimism are where he especially shines, and he sings with as much power and emotion as ever. There are times where his voice gets a bit deeper than usual, and while it took some time for me to used to, these deeper vocals also sound quite good and definitely fit the rougher sound found on some of the heavier sections of this album.

One area where I was especially interested to see if the band would deliver was in the songwriting, as I found their previous two albums to consistently enjoyable, but they lacked anything truly memorable. Thankfully, that is not the case here, as there’s a nice mix between heavier, more instantly engaging tracks, as well as some more complex tracks and some subtler, more emotional tracks that take some time to open up. Everything is very well done, though, and the album, on the whole, is excellent. Opening track “Eyes You Dare Not Meet in Dreams” pulls a nice trick at the beginning, starting with some electronic effects that give the feeling it will be a rather slow and melodic track, but then the guitars quickly kick in and the music speeds up, turning into a fast, hard-hitting track with some power metal elements. It has fun verses, where Tom really excels, as well as a great melodic chorus, and the riffs and drums are energetic throughout, making it easily the most immediately engaging track I’ve ever heard from the band. At the same time, it has some really nice melodies mixed in as well, and it does still have signs of the band’s prog tendencies. It’s an excellent opening track, and one of my personal favorites on the album.

Next is: Someone Else’s Problem”, which again kicks off with an extended electronic intro, before the guitars kick in, though this track is a bit more relaxed. It still has some heavy riffs, but the keyboards are a bit more prominent here and there are some slight symphonic elements as well. It’s a more laid back track, moving at a mid-paced tempo, and it has a soft and very strong chorus as well as an excellent instrumental section in the second half. In similar territory is “The Echo Chamber”, which has an extended intro once again, though this time the guitars are out right at the start, and the track settles into a nice groove, moving at a slightly slower pace than the previous track. Again, it has a really big and melodic chorus, where Tom sings with a ton of emotion, and this is definitely one of the tracks where he shines the most. The track overall does a great job of alternating between heavy and melodic sections and is complex while still begin engaging and fairly accessible. Next is the heavier track “Impermanent”, a faster pace track where the guitar tone is especially dark and reminds me quite a bit of Evergrey at times, and while the verses are fast and fun, the chorus also feels familiar, in a good way, and Tom clearly excels again throughout the track. The instrumental section is quite intense, frequently shifting between guitars and keyboards, and overall it’s a fun and very engaging track, while still having excellent musicianship throughout.

The first two singles of the album are next and placed together, with the second single “Indulge in Color” coming first. This track absolutely blew me away the first time I heard it and is certainly one of the most complex and most beautiful songs on the album. It starts out softly, with some rather ominous sounding acoustic guitars and the soft voice of Tom, but after a while, it gets heavy, and turns into one of the most complicated tracks on the album, with a lot of layers to it as well as plenty of shifts in mood. Tom executes these shifts brilliantly, with the first half of the track being fairly dark, but by the end of the track the tone has become much more hopeful, and Tom sings the lyrics absolutely perfectly, helping to make it one of the most beautiful tracks I’ve heard from a prog band. Everything is perfect, from the vocals to the shifts in guitar tone and keyboard sound throughout, and once the music gets more upbeat later on, it just sounds incredible. On the opposite end of the spectrum, “Little Men” is a much darker, heavier track throughout, moving at a fairly fast paced. It’s a very impressive track musically and is very hard hitting, but I find Tom’s vocals don’t quite work as well as usual here, in large part because the vocal melodies feel a little bit lazy compared to on the rest of the album, but it’s still a fun track overall, if not one that sets a very favorable first impression for people who listen to the singles first.

Moving towards the end, the lone ballad of the album is “And Yet”, another track which shifts between moods very nicely, and it has some more very powerful vocals from Tom, as well as a nice guitar solo in the second half. It’s a more subtle track but still manages to hit quite hard in its own way. Next is “The Last of Me”, another faster-paced track with heavy riffs, a great chorus and excellent instrumental work throughout. It’s another fun and more instantly engaging track, which alternates nicely between being heavy and melodic. The next track, “New Year’s Day” is a bit more surprising, being a fairly light track with a strong emphasis on the keyboards. It almost feels like a pop/rock track at times, aside from the riffs and dark guitar tone. It’s certainly a more melodic track and one of the more accessible songs here, with a great chorus, as usual. Lastly, we have the epic 10-minute title track, which is definitely not one of the more accessible tracks here. It starts off softly, with an extended intro largely focused on vocals and soft guitar work, before the music fakes a sinister turn and gets much heavier. The track alternates between heavy and soft several times throughout, and goes through several mood swings, pretty much feeling like a perfect summary of the album on the whole. It’s a very complex track, which manages to throw in a ton of epic, technically impressive instrumental sections while still leaving tons of room for big vocal melodies, and memorable moments. It’s another very emotional track, and stands alongside the opener and “Indulge in Color” as one of my three favorites on the album.

I was cautiously optimistic before hearing Long Night’s Journey Into Day, and thankfully it managed to exceed my best expectations and has become both my favorite album from Redemption, as well as my favorite album involving Tom S. Englund in quite some time. It retains the complex musicianship and heavy riffs of past albums, while at times being very melodic and having some very powerful lyrics and amazing vocal melodies. It manages to be equal parts complex and accessible and is definitely one of the best prog albums I’ve heard in recent years. A must hear for any fan of Redemption or Evergrey and highly recommend for all prog fans in general.

originally written for myglobalmind.com: https://myglobalmind.com/2018/07/29/redemption-long-nights-journey-into-day-review/

UMUR "The Fullness of Time" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US progressive metal act Redemption. The album was released through Sensory Records in June 2005. Redemption started out as the brainchild of main composer/guitarist/keyboardist Nick van Dyk and the debut album "Redemption (2002)" sounded like a project more than a real band effort IMO. There were lots of prominent guest appearences on that album like Ray Alder from Fates Warning on vocals (who sang lead vocals on one song) and Jason Rullo from Symphony X on drums. It´s not an album that impressed me much, so I approached "The Fullness of Time" with some caution. As it turns out my fears were unfounded. "The Fullness of Time" sounds much more like a band effort compared to it´s predecessor and is overall a much stronger release. Ray Alder is now a full-time member of the band and lead guitarist Bernie Versailles (Agent Steel, Engine, Fates Warning) has also opted to become a full-time member. New members of Redemption are drummer Chris Quirarte (Prymary, Roswell Six) and bassist James Sherwood (Prymary).

The music on the album is progressive metal. It´s rather traditional with heavy guitar riffs, keyboards, a tight and technically skilled rhythm section, and a skillful vocalist with a strong voice. There are influences in the music from acts like Dream Theater, Fates Warning (...well it´s hard not to sound like them when you share lead singer) and Symphony X (only when the piano kicks in. But when it does there´s an audible similarity). So far... so good. Nothing out of the ordinary there. What is out of the ordinary on "The Fullness of Time", is that the compositions are of an extremely high compositional quality for the genre and the musicians are some of the more skillful players in that genre too. The development that´s taken place since "Redemption (2002)" is impressive. Many progressive metal acts tend to overuse keyboards, but the use of keyboards on "The Fullness of Time" is very tasteful and helps create the hauntingly beautiful and at times desperate dark atmosphere on the album. The guitar riffs are heavy and powerful but cleverly played and sophisticated when that is called for.

The choice of Ray Alder as the lead vocalist in Redemption could have been a dangerous one (comparisons to Fates Warning will forever cling to Redemption), but his performance here is so strong that any critique of the choice of him as the lead vocalist will be hard to justify. The new rhythm section is also a great new asset to the band. Drummer Chris Quirarte shines throughout the album and a comparison to Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Transatlantic, OSI...etc.) is not far from the truth.

There are 8 tracks on the 57:28 minutes long album. The first 4 tracks are individual tracks but the last 4 tracks ("The Fullness of Time Suite") seque into each other and form a concept. As mentioned above all tracks are of a high musical, lyrical and compositional standard. "Parker´s Eyes" with it´s TV-reporter samples from the September 11th terrorist attack is for example a stunning goose bump inducing piece. The sound production by prolific Danish producer Tommy Hansen (who used to be a musician himself and play with The Old Man & The Sea) is professional, powerful and clear. A very suiting sound for the music on this album. Overall "The Fullness of Time" is a top notch progressive metal release and a 4.5 star (90%) rating is deserved.

Warthur Eh, not really feeling this one. Redemption play a respectably competent variety of progressive metal which ticks most of the boxes without ever quite managing to excite me. Ray Alder of Fates Warning has a rather generic vocal delivery which feels a little soulless and lacking in personality - much like the drum work by Chris Quirarte, which is technically on-form but feels rather stiff and mechanical (there's points where I do have to wonder whether they weren't sneakily using a drum machine here and there). Keyboard flourishes from Nick van Dyk are pretty enough but feel like embellishments to what is otherwise a fairly uninteresting package. Those who are more keen on Alder-era Fates Warning might get more out of this than I do.

dtguitarfan This is the album that finally convinced me that I loved Redemption. After this album, I went back to their older albums and discovered I loved them too, but before this album I used to tell a good friend of mine who was a big Redemption fan that I felt like the band was 5 instrumentalists soloing at the same time. When I heard this album, I felt like I was hearing how the band had matured and cohered. I remember also that it seemed like every time I listened to this album, my favorite song on the album changed as I discovered I loved another song on the album. It is still hard to pick a favorite, though I would like to mention the song, Keep Breathing. This song was written by one of the two guitarists, Nick Van Dyk, about his daughter Parker, who has a degenerative disease causing her to lose her eyesight. The lyrics explain how as a father he can't stand to see his daughter in pain, but at the same time is amazed at her strength and bravery and tells her that it inspires him to go on. As a Progressive Metal fan, this doesn't happen to me very often, but the first time I heard this song I had to pull over as the tears began to flow. The whole album is powerful, and don't be surprised if your speedometer begins to climb as you listen to this album.