Evolution. This word makes the skin of every Old School Dolly Metal clones crawl. But evolution is the main force behind the long existence of Heavy Metal. Past, present and future are forever connected, and throwing out many bands with the dirty excuse of "I don't like it", but keep speaking shit from them is not a thing of Metalheads. It's a pattern of idiots, simple as this. Evolution is the force that pulls the Brazilian quintet PERC3PTION (you can read the band's as perception), from São Paulo, towards the future. Their second album, "Once and For All" is a proof of my words.

Their musical work evolved a lot since "Reason and Faith" (their first album). Their Prog/Power Metal style gained a great dose of weight and aggressiveness. It's not just a step ahead, but the entire musical conception on the band evolved in a way that we couldn't guess. It's in the vein of SYMPHONY X, but heavier and extremely aggressive. Prepare your ears and hearts, dear nephews and nieces, for these guys are not kidding! Glauco Barros (one of the band's guitarists), along with Guilherme Lima, made the album's production. But the pre-production was done by Edu Falaschi (ALMAH's singer), and the mixing and mastering is a work done by Glauco along Rodrigo Nimrod. So it's not a surprise that on "One and For All" the sound quality is almost perfect, sounding heavy and clean in a way that the musical technique of the band, along with the newfound aggressiveness can coexist with their melodies.

Wellington Consoli (PERC3PTION bassist) did the art of the album, with an excellent cover and fine design on the booklet (the graphic arts for each song is really a fine work). Ok, but how about the songs? They are all excellent, and there are some special guests on the album: Edu Falaschi played the keyboard parts on "Rise" and "Welcome to The End"; Mariliane Brizzoti the female vocals on "Oblivion's Gate", "Rise", "Braving the Beast" and "Through the Invisible Horizons"; Rodrigo Nimrod some vocals on "Persistence Makes the Difference," "Immortality," "Braving the Beast," "Magnitude 666" and "Through the Invisible Horizons," and Rômulo Dias sang on "Persistence Make the Difference."

Their songs are long, and their best shots are: the thunderous and heavy aggressiveness shown on "Persistence Makes the Difference" (excellent guitar riffs and solos), the tender "Oblivion's Gate" (where the melodic side of the band's musical work are evident, showing a fine work from keyboards and from the newcomer Dan on the vocals); the modern and aggressive outfit of "Immortality" (showing excellent parts from bass guitar and drums); the rich rhythmic changes that we can hear on the long "Braving the Beast," the oppressive weight of "Magnitude 666" (one great moment of the album, with fine aggressive and melodic vocals, and it's the song of the official video); and the excellent instrumental parts and tempo changes of "Through the Invisible Horizons". PERC3PTION is here for you, so give them a chance. Better yet, give yourselves a chance, because "Once and For All" can be exactly what you are looking for.