Once upon a time, in early 2000, a young guitar player Markus Sigfridsson and his friend Tobias Enbert, on drums, created the whole creative concept behind this stellar musical entity called HARMONY, a strongly Swedish Neo-Classic influenced Power Metal outlet with a slight Prog tendency crafted under an ultra Melodic prism and surrounded by the revelation of a positive creed message .

Fast forward to late November 2014, "Theatre of Redemption" will be available. This will be their third offer and it features as guest, one of the most reputed vocalist from Sweden, the one and only Daniel Heiman (LOST HORIZON/ex HEED, new frontman for LAVETT) who provides as expected a celestial work, very impressive in every section displaying an amazing range ("Bloodbound") and an outstanding emotional performance (in the heavily orchestrated "Theatre of Redemption" & "You are"), and I have the honor to write about it...

Of course, their historic Lead singer Mr. Henrik Båth  (still kicking at the frontman post with Markus and Tobias in their Prog Metal side project DARKWATER) was difficult to replace, and so Daniel Heiman was an obvious choice, as he was already guesting for a duet in the previous album "Chapter II: Aftermath" published in 2008 and globally critically acclaimed (even reaching the spot N°4 in my famous top 30) and naturally his exceptional gift and his broad vocal expanse .

You can count on the ultra precise sonic rendition in the purest Swedish Tradition as "Theatre of Redemption" was mixed by Fredrik Nordström and Henrik Udd at Studio Fredman (DREAM EVIL/HAMMERFALL), and mastered by Thomas -Plec- Johansson (SCAR SYMMETRY/DIVINEFIRE/MEAN STREAK).

The epic side is still present in glorious tracks such as "Crown Me King" or the complex "Son Of The Morning" with its unbelievable sophisticated pace, Eastern/Oriental weird chord structures, and its high profiled playing, yet in some more, Heavy Metal straightness is strategically added with songs like the closing cut, "In Search Of", which are providing a more accessible feel to the listener.

Some new heterogeneous details and ambitious elements are also developed for the first time, in the highest caliber nature of songs like "Hands Of Time" and "Bloodbound", those fresh organic groovy, almost 70's parameters mixed with the virtuosic excellence are immensely refreshing and brings a diversity extremely valuable.

The adventurous instrumental parts in "Theatre of Redemption" are emblematic of the tightness and the exigence of the technical side in HARMONY. The lead guitar spots are blistering and the duality with the keyboards is perfectly merged in the absolute RISING FORCE reference ("The Window of My Soul"/ "Bloodbound").

However, the pure Melodic and bombastic entertaining spirit of "Theatre of Redemption" is perfectly illustrated in "Inhale" and its numerous layers of harmonized vocals, or more specifically with the syncopated rhythm of "What If" before kicking in an absolute addictive refrain, majestic and rewarding : a constancy in the whole album and indeed a true sonic experience.

If you are into dramatic atmosphere and demanding virtuosity, if the mediocrity of the contemporary artists is definitely not for you, here is born under the wise guidance Northern star of the Septentrional skies, the shelter for your tormented soul and more basically one of the most interesting album of 2014!