I have to admit that I was not looking forward to listening to CRISES' new album, Coral Dreams. This was not because I had anything against the band; in fact, I had never heard of them before. I felt this way merely because the past few releases that I have gotten from lesser-known bands have all ranged from boring to terrible. Thankfully, that was not the case here.

CRISES was formed in Germany in 1995, and have released two albums before this one. This is the first album released with their current lineup. CRISES play something along the lines of Progressive Metal, although if you are looking for insane time signatures, look elsewhere. I, however, enjoy this relatively straightforward take on the genre. I also like that seven-string guitars are employed tastefully. They give the music some added weight while still allowing the use of guitar leads. The guitar work isn't anything too flashy, but there are some nice solos sprinkled throughout.

If I had to pick a favorite song on the album, it would probably be The Chase, although Stormy Weather and the title track get honorable mention as well. Nothing on this album really blew me away, but that was made up for with the level of consistency. I was not falling asleep by time the final few songs started playing, which is more than can be said for many major label bands' releases.

While Coral Dreams is nothing earth-shattering, I always enjoy a band that doesn't put all of their effort into 2-3 songs and fill the rest of the album with throwaways. Their successful use of seven-string guitars certainly did not hurt them either. Take a look at CRISES' website and listen to a few songs. They're definitely worth checking out.