These days, there are many times I wonder why do I get some promos that have nothing to do with my taste in music. I have reviewed Progressive, Power and Emocore bands that as you will have already understood by my reviews are totally out of my musical range. There are also times when I listen to something I used to dislike and it seems much more familiar to my ears. Guys, I think I am starting to like Progressive Metal. What's wrong with me?

The Italian Progressive metallers came to life in the fall of 2001 by Simone Mularoni (DGM, MARSH MALLOWS, HOT) and Matteo Mastroianni (MARSH MALLOWS, HOT). As they say, their intention was to create something different in the Metal scene combining many different elements. Emanuele Casali seems to help a lot with that. Their only release before this album was The Eversinner in 2002, which If I am not mistaken was a demo release. This is their debut album, which is the result of the band's contract with Burning Star. So, it seems that the Italians surely know how to produce good stuff!

As I said in the first paragraph, I am not a fan of Progressive Metal and I always said that the Italians don't know to play anything else than crappy symphonic Power Metal and Gothic shit! It seems I didn't expect to find myself amazed with the album of an Italian Progressive Metal band, especially when we are talking about a debut album here! EMPYRIOS show their intentions in And The Rest Is Silence right from the start, with the incredible instrumental intro and the aggressive style of Tort, which is the next song! When you listen to how Tort starts, you are just sure that this album is going to rock you really hard! The band's five members seem to be talented enough to incredibly mix their influences from classic Progressive Metal bands like DREAM THEATER, more extreme Progressive stuff like NEVERMORE and bands like SYMPHONY X and EVERGREY. Even though I hate putting tags on a band's music, I think that the best way to describe what EMPYRIOS play is extreme Progressive/Power Metal. I think that this characterization fits like a glove to their music! The production is very good and has made the sound really heavy, a sound that best fits to their music. The recordings took place at Fear Studio, known for its work with bands like EPHEL DUATH, KHYMERA and ADDICTION CREW.

I think that And The Rest Is Silence is a great choice to spend your money on! It is technical, aggressive and melodic! What more can you ask for? Did I mention that the singer's voice reminds me of MAGO DE OZ's singer?