It's obvious that the band which has been for long considered the "German answer to the American DREAM THEATER" never disappoints its audience; the evidence is a 2013 new album released after five years of its precedent, and as we always have high expectations from the renowned deep-rooted Progressive Metal bands (for IVANHOE is one of the pioneers of its genre), the present work is speaking itself out.

I wonder how many music genres got blended along the tracks, even though the progressive key elements are dominating let me take "Walldancer" as an example where the thrashy intro chords turn into Jazz-like piano ones followed by a continuous guitar transition arpeggio literally copied by the bass something which is common in the progressive genre. The scales were a mix of an oriental scent as well as a weird melancholy, despair and insecurity highly incarnated in the lyrics time after time, let me state the following line from "War Of The Centuries" a critique of unfair social hierarchy: "save me it's your eternal cry , your only goal is to lose the game" though alternating with some passages of optimism "you're waiting for tomorrow and for a better time" ending with a fade out, leaving the final decision to the audience.

One of IVANHOE's winning cards is the fabulous capacities of the lead singer, I cannot stress this enough! The singer's voice was distorted in many passages, added to that, his glam high-pitched falsetto often with a vibrato as in "Symbols Of Time" is perhaps "Too James LaBrie", however it can be nothing but acclaimed. Sometimes more than a harmonic backing track sustains the lead voice, either higher or lower pitched nearly simulating harsh vocals, and in "Human Letargo" the harmonic vocals were choir-like. Theatrical hints draw indeed your attention, from the spoken speech in "War Of The Centuries" to the footsteps and the door opening in "Learning Path" making us wonder about a possible DREAM THEATER's "Scenes From A Memory" influence. No doubt such elements contribute to the enrichment of any musical work.

The bass and keyboard are the undoubtedly the key instruments in this genre as well as in the mentioned album. The finger bass sounds loud and clear, backs the guitar in transitions and sometimes shreds on its own like in "Symbols Of Time" a sudden break, of drum and bass rhythm was backed by one quarter keyboard chords then a guitar tremolo bar and tap solo. The keyboard effects are various such as the pizzicato intro in "Human Letargo" added to a piano riff while not following the classical 4/4 or 6/8 structure. Later in the same song we listen to string ensemble chords blended with heavy guitar chords creating a melancholic atmosphere, and then comes the classic guitar in a bridge which unites a mosaic of instruments. The chorus is composed of two parts, in the second of which a distorted guitar plays a harmonic arpeggio ending with a simple but rewarding piano riff, contrasting with the brutal drum break beats end of "Late Recognition" or the surprising alert tune of "Walldancer". The guitar lines consisted of heavy chords sometimes palm muted or in a staccato mode, progressive metal transitions as well as numerous solos such as the tremolo one in "Learning Path" contrasting with a low tempo rhythm accompanying it.

Some unusual instrumentation came to put the berry on the pie in two instrumental tracks "Seduction" and "Resolution". In the first one after a pizzicato intro comes a violin solo leaving the space a staggering classic guitar and counter bass duo. In the next song you get submerged in the piano intro and the harmony between guitar and violin, transformed into a drums and bass rhythm then right after, heavy guitar chords in a sudden change of tempo and signature. Can't think of a better delight.

This review doesn't really need a long conclusion, but I'd rather say "Systematrix" is, without the least doubt, one of the best surprises I've encountered this year for its "easy peasy" simplicity and majestic richness at once, an equation hard to handle. Even though it couldn't reach the level of a DREAM THEATER album, Ivanhoe got it right though, deserving my first nine out of ten.