From looking at the cover art, a universe where realistic meets surreal, you'd easily believe CONSTANCIA's new record is about to unleash a progressive, DREAM THEATER-like monster. Well... I'll be straight; the recently delivered second record sure holds potential and efforts, but also comes with a considerable lack of experience. For many elements what would've made a sophisticated record are withdrawn, making ''The Final Curtain'' only decent. The Swedish rockers, who list bands such as RUSH and BLACK SABBATH as influences, show nothing of it, as they offer a soft, melodic rock oriented record.

The prog-ish keyboard intro may fool you, but 30 seconds into the first track and CONSTANCIA have already unveiled half their tricks. Spoiling the confidence the intro had set, a rock-pop beat enters, with high-pitched, almost girly vocals going crazy on the ''oohs'' and ''yeahs''. If you're still asking yourself to this point: No, the quintet do not play within the spectrum of Metal, ever, as they seem to orient themselves more towards melodic, and sometimes hard, rock. Sure, this isn't a problem, as they offer nice and quite technical keyboard leads and very feel-y guitar solos from time to time. No, really, what seems to bother me lies in the repetitive, easy beats and the lack of maturity contained in the titles or the lyrics (''Please don't thread on my heart, I will never make it through'', as said in the first track, ''You play me like a fool'' in ''Lucidia'' or even ''Little Fighter'', the 9^th track). See, if it had been backed up by solid riffs and a heavy tone, then maybe the lyrics wouldn't have such a vulnerable feel to them, but in such a case, it only comes off as preteen. In the end, the record as a whole becomes cheesy before tasteful.

But hey, it's not all bad. While the structure sure is plain, the decent tempo and power chords underpin an impressive voice. Not quite virile or brutal, it does have power and a great, high range, forcing me to admit the talent within the band. If it weren't for the over polished and over done back vocals highlighting the voice, maybe it would sound less of a soft rock product, but that's up to the band and the style they aim to recreate. In other positive aspects, the record holds many interesting keyboard leads and solos, too. The psychedelic, electronic tone definitely adds credibility to the band's sound, establishing an illusion of pure creativity. Sadly, all other tones seem stuck within the barriers of ordinary, without flavor, as if all the hard work and energy had gone into reinventing a keyboard signature and sound.

There is no power or notoriety, no true spite. It's simple, processed, modern. Repetitive, polished, easy at last. I do recognize the creativity behind some moving riffs and technical solos, like it's also a pleasure to mention the nice tempo shifts and variations, but the overall flavor has no true passion. It cruelly lacks a je ne sais quoi, you can literally feel something is severely missing... It's amateur. Stronger songs like ''Spectre'' or ''Lucidia'' grab your attention harder, but there's a general lack of solidness. It's a happy, sunshine-and-butterflies pop disguised in keyboards and drums. Let the curtain fall, the show is over.