The Greece based Progressive Metal formation MAJOR DENIAL have released their debut EP "Minor Ways", and for that they are being joined by world renown ex-FATES WARNING drummer Mark Zonder as a special guest. That fact on its own makes this a very promising debut EP, and those promises are surely being kept.

They start pretty slow, with a quiet intro in "Never Neverland", and then reel you in with a nice and clean Progressive Metal riff. When the vocalist joins in, which they have three different ones of throughout the album, and three good ones for that matter, you already know you have gold in your hands and ears. They are clearly influenced by some of the Progressive Metal greats like RUSH and DREAM THEATER, and in the third song, called "I Am The Shadow", it's hard not to think of AVANTASIA. The great thing about MAJOR DENIAL is they play a straightforward kind of Progressive Metal, as opposed to a lot of other bands in the genre, with guitarists who might wander of some more. Which can be great as well, of course, but it's a nice alternation.

One thing they do particularly well is changing the tempo. You get some heavy riffs from rhythm guitarist Nektarios Ntagkas, and some fast solo's from lead guitarist Achilleas Diamantis, but at the right times they can put in a little change of pace, like a peaceful intermezzo. They even put in a piece of piano playing at the end of "The Man", and they surely don't shy away from (almost) going acoustic, like in the beginning of "No Sunrise".

All in all it's a debut that's more than worth checking out. They have set the bar pretty high for themselves with this one. Anyone who wants to buy a copy should be on their guard, because it's going to be a limited run of 500 12 inch pieces. If I were you, I'd have already put on my running shoes, and I would be waiting by the door. Ready, set, go.