Hey, finally a reissue of an album that I was actually familiar with already! This month I've heard a bunch of reissues of obscure Prog/Thrash bands that I had never heard of, but not only do I remember this band, I am very familiar with this vocalist as a fan of DERDIAN and VISION DIVINE. So, first of all, this is a pretty straight forward melodic Progressive Metal affair, with less focus on flashy arrangements and relying instead more on hooks and riffs. I know a lot of people who don't usually like Prog, but would probably enjoy this one.

The lineup of this deserves some mention; Massimo La Russa (Guitars), and Constantin Terzago (Keys) are the two main members of the band, having been a part of the band LEGACY, that eventually became ELEGACY. On drums, we have Mark Zonder, the drummer from FATES WARNING 1988-2005 ("Perfect Symmetry" through "FWX"), on bass we have Mike Lepond from SYMPHONY X and Ivan Giannini of course has been in many bands and featured in many albums, but is most known to me as the current singer for DERDIAN and VISION DIVINE. May I say that when I first heard his voice on DERDIAN's Limbo I wasn't impressed. Don't get me wrong I liked his voice enough, but it seemed lacking; fast forward almost 8 years and I have a whole new appreciation for him, he sounded amazing on the most recent VISION DIVINE and even though I still think he's gotten much better as a vocalist, I have a greater appreciation for his style in general.

Alright into the music itself. I've gotta say "April Sun" is an interesting choice for the opener, it starts off with a heavy enough riff, but then the rest of the song is closer to an AOR track than anything Power or Prog. It's actually really catchy, but I found myself wanting more Metal. I was not disappointed however as the rest of the album delivers the heavy riffs.

At first "The Dragon's Age" sounds like it's going to be just a straight up Power Metal track, but after a fast start, it gets interesting with some subtle guitar layers, a fairly intricate rhythm section and of course a great chorus. Oh, not to mention I heard harpsichord which is always a huge positive when I'm writing reviews and usually pushes me to enjoy an album that much more. The orchestral backing tracks work well giving us moments of Neoclassical Prog, reminding me of a few bands, but really these guys are combining Rock and Progressive Metal in a pretty novel way, or at least in a way I haven't personally heard in a while.

As the album moves along I noticed the keyboard subtly snuck into a more prominent role and rather than just using one or two sounds, Constantin varies up his keyboard patches and helps keep things interesting. The bass work is of course excellent, but that's not exactly news at this point. The next song that really stands out to me was "The Night Comes Down", at first I was kinda like "great, another mid-tempo track", and it is mid-tempo, but it's actually energetic and fun regardless. The hooks are obviously great, but most importantly is the rhythm section that really keeps everything together, with enough variety in rhythmic patterns that I never get bored. This happens in just about every song too, even ones like "The Dark Tower" that start off rather bland, eventually find their groove.

The biggest and really only complaint I can think of is that I kinda wanted more metal. Like there are moments of some really badass thrashy riffs that turn into AOR/Prog; it's like the band is teasing me, regardless this is a solid album, albeit a short one. At 53:10 this album is kind of the perfect length for what it's trying to do, it doesn't overstay its welcome, though it also doesn't necessarily leave me wanting more.

I haven't really talked about it, but the production and mix are really superb and I think really helps the album in some places. Generally, the sound is a bit drier than I'm used to, but without galloping 16th notes and crushing riffs I think the dry sound helps. The bass is quite audible and the guitar doesn't overdo it and overshadow the rest of the band. Actually if anything, I think the keyboard ends up having the most stand-out performance. Now there are sections where the keys are just background stuff, but when they take center stage, I'm sorry but the active keyboard arrangements are easily the best parts of this album; especially displayed on "The Faulty Miracle Of Life" to conclude the album. Really though balance and pacing are what make this album shine. The mix is perfectly balanced as I said before and the order of songs is well selected.

Since this is a reissue and the band is on hold I really don't feel like I have much to say. I've been following Ivan Giannini's career for a while though and it's nice to hear him singing on something a little more Prog focused. He really does have a versatile voice, certainly more than you would think if you had only heard him with DERDIAN and VISION DIVINE; I would love to hear him on more albums like this.

Oh and I lied earlier, this album did end up leaving me wanting more and it's too bad the band has been on hold since this album because I would love to hear this exact lineup again because it's a really good lineup. If some random group had attempted something like this I feel like I might have been bored, but these guys have some great songwriting chops.