DISTORTED HARMONY — Utopia (review)

DISTORTED HARMONY — Utopia album cover Album · 2012 · Progressive Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
Kingcrimsonprog
Distorted Harmony are a Progressive Metal band from Israel and 2012’s Utopia is their debut full-length studio album. This album is available for free download from the band’s website should you be interested.

Musically; they mix 1970s Symphonic Prog influences such as Yes, Genesis and ELP sounds, containing a lot of lush piano sounds and sweet sounding synths, with both a Dream Theater and Pain Of Salvation approach to the Metal side, as well as hints of a big American alt-rock radio sound in moderation.

As can imagine based on that description, there are long songs that have sections of very rhythmic distorted guitar and frequent double-kick drum sections going off in challenging time signatures, occasionally overlaid with fast paced key solos, and these are followed and preceded by beautiful orchestral sounding passages, but also occasionally framed with sections you might expect from a million-selling 1990s radio ballad.

If you are more of a Metal fan and need some convincing, try out the crunchy ‘Unfair’ and if you are more of a Prog fan who needs convincing, try out ‘Breathe.’

The band’s musical talent is unquestionable, their songwriting is impressive. the vocals bring to mind the sort of thing heard from Maynard James Keenan in A Perfect Circle, as well as Porcupine Tree’s Steve Wilson and Mariusz Duda of Riverside. It’s a pretty perfect mixture that covers a lot of ground, flows seamlessly and never manages to sound disjointed or confused. In addition to a fantastically written, performed and pleasing sounding set of songs, the album sounds phenomenal. The lush orchestral passages, perfect guitar tone and excellent mixing job make this sound like it was an impossibly expensive album to produce, with years of time and care put into it by a series of industry professionals. It may well be one of the best-produced albums I’ve ever heard.

Their sound would appeal to fans of any of the aforementioned bands, and other bands that fall within the paradoxical notion of Traditional-Prog-Metal as well as to fans of bands who border on a more Alt direction like Rishloo, Dead Letter Circus, Cog, 3, Karmamechanic, Fair To Midland, Soen, Muse, Amplifier etc

Basically, if you like Progressive Metal at all, then this is seriously something that you may want to check out. This is a superb, immaculately produced album; its dynamic and grandiose, its heavy and technical, its full on great tones and the vocals are brilliant. If you normally like this sort of music then I highly recommend that you give it a shot.
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Colt wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Epic!
dtguitarfan wrote:
more than 2 years ago
This is in my queue to listen to, and now I'm very excited. Thank you!

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