AFFECTOR — Harmagedon (review)

AFFECTOR — Harmagedon album cover Album · 2012 · Progressive Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Time Signature
The rapture...

Genre: progressive metal

Affector is an international super group that whose line-up includes members from Spock's Beard, Dilemma and Symphony X. "Harmagedon" is the band's debut album and something of an ambitious affair offering up sophisticated and melodic progressive metal.

After a perhaps somewhat misleading introduction in the form of the hyper-symphonic 'Overture pt. 1: Introduction', the album really kicks off with a melodic and technically impressive instrumental tune, in which the guitarist Daniel Fries' skills on the fretboard shine through. 'Salvation' is the first track on the album to feature vocals, and Ted Leonard's clean vocals fits the melodic but technical style quite well. This combination of melody and technicality works excellently, and there are enough odd meters and other quirks to appease most fans of progressive metal. At the same time, the melodies quite catchy, and the music is generally quite accessible. The song structures are dynamic and complex with a track like 'Cry Song' being a nice little prog rock ballad. A main feature of almost all the tracks on the disc is that there are many unexpected out-of-the-blue changes in time, tempo and whatnot. This may not be something that pleases everyone, but personally I have always had a weakness for that kind of antics.

The musicians that constitute Affector are highly competent and professional. Both guitar and keyboard solos (with guest performances by the likes of Alex Argento, Neal Morse, Jordan Rudess and Derek Sherinian) are technically advanced and impressive, while the rhythm department is robust and rock steady, and the dynamic vocals are clear and clean. The production is polished and well defined, and this is a positive feature when it comes to this type of technically advanced rock music, because it means that you can hear all the details.

The lyrics have strongly oriented towards Christianity, and it is not something all metal heads are happy about, but it is certainly something I can live with in this case. Personally I am critical towards all religion, but at the same time I respect the need and the rights of the individual to express and celebrate his or her religious beliefs (that being said, I also reserve the right to ignore other people's expressions of religious beliefs if I so choose). The Christian lyrics are not cheesy or silly (I mean just compare "Harmagedon" to the Christian silliness of Golden Resurrection's "Man with a Mission"), and it is easy to divert one's attention from the lyrics and onto the very appealing music itself. You can always hear some Slayer or old Sepultura, if you need to be de-Christianized afterwards.

Affector's Armageddon is more than a decent work of progressive metal which is simultaneously challenging and catchy, and the album should, musically, appeal to fans of progressive metal.
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