This quintet of talented musicians from Wales has brought over its debut album, "Opus Arise", and what a treat it is! The short, but intense debut album, will take us to a journey of complex harmonies, odd times signatures, modal music and unconventional harmonies. However, it's a must for fans of modern Progressive Metal groups like THRESHOLD, CIRCUS MAXIMUS, PAGAN'S MIND and SEVENTH WONDER and also fans of more the traditional complex stuff like DREAM THEATER, PORCUPINE TREE and SYMPHONY X.

Right from the first note of the opening song, "Beyond The Flames", I could hear the strong musicianship that was standing in front of me. The song started with a drum intro al'a Mike Portnoy and entered to a very "Arabian Nights" kind of riff that lead into a very groove based verse, then a break and a chorus that just got stuck in my head. Afterwards, the song just kept on getting better. An excellent opening song that just shows what these guys are all about. "Entity", the following song, kept the same line and it was a great song as well. "Blood Red Diamond" started with a piano melody that reminded me of a lot of 80s Pop songs and because of that it was hard to take the rest of the song seriously even though it's was good, but in my opinion the intro is too "happy". "Seek To Find" and "New Times Awaken" showed a more soften side of the band with a more melodic and mellow, especially the latter that reminded me a lot of DREAM THEATER's "Prophets Of War" because Loosemore has a very similar vocal pattern as James Labrie's. I could also see how great Grey's guitar playing is with an amazing full of soul guitar solos.

The rest of the album savored the same line of the first two tracks. The thing that surprised me the most was that "Lost In Thoughts", the self-titled track, was the worst one on the, and I think that's something to take under consideration because if a band is naming a song after its emblem, they would better make a masterpiece out of it and sadly it didn't happen here.

Production wise, the record has a great sound. The only thing that bothered me was that I heard too many parts that reminded me a lot of other songs from other bands. Also, the songs are sometimes too experimental. I know that this is Progressive Metal but if the listener loses his train of thought, sort of speak, it can say a lot about the song and the band. The good thing was that the choruses and melodies were strong and catchy so even if one doesn't know what is happening and where he or she are in the song, enjoyment is guaranteed.

To summarize, for a debut album, it turned out great for the band. Nevertheless, I think that they should take more time in making something special and unique and not just great music that sounds a lot like something else, especially in the Progressive music world that it's important to have a distinct sound and material.