Phoenix based three-piece Progressive Rock and Metal band, ARRIVE NOT HERE, have released their debut full-length album called "Arrive Not Here". To get it as widely spread as possible, they have even made it available for free downloading at bandcamp.com.

They start their album with "The Setting Sun", whose intro is a soft and slow acoustic little riff, probably one to set the mood. It's all built around this one intro melody, which is not that bad at all but it gets a little boring after a while seeing as it doesn't evolve at all.

"It's Been A Long Time Coming" is a lot more like it. For the first time you can label what you hear as Rock. The Metal is nowhere to be found as of yet, though. For Prog Rock, it's a bit minimalistic. Nothing fancy going on, just straightforward riffs, drums and vocals. In the middle of the song, they go back to the style of the first one, which is a bit unnecessary, but luckily, it doesn't last that long. A first little guitar solo spices thing up a bit, which is welcome.

The opening notes of "Significance" are of the best I have yet heard on this album. Finally there's some power to go with the mood they have created. However, it's still more Rock than Metal and I venture it's going to stay this way, with some exceptions down the line, like the guitar solos.

"Sky of Nothing" is again like their opening song, but it lasts a lot longer and is therefore more of a drag to listen to. It's like they tried to write their own "Stairway To Heaven", but failed to do so.

Then comes "The Sierra Mar", undoubtedly the best song on this debut album. In this one you can really hear that they're not a top-notch band yet, but that they do have potential to become one. Different rhythms, cool riffs, changes of pace and a terrifying guitar solo make this song worth listening to.

They end like the way they started, with a slow and acoustic song called "Faith Now, Succumb Later". It drips feeling and mood, but I'd have liked to hear more of their powerful side, which displays loads better.