Burning Star's NATION BEYOND instantly attracted my attention with the notes that are written on the promo CD and the several stuff they are saying in their official site and official Myspace page. If you visit those pages, you will see that this band is saying some really big words and I don't know if it is able to fulfill them. Time can only show my friends...

Hailing from Sweden, NATION BEYOND have released nothing but this album. This is their debut full-length effort and their first ever release as a band. This should not scare you since these guys seem really talented and one of the members (Joakim) has played and plays in bands like FACE DOWN (hell yeah!) and CONSTRUCDEAD.

The Greek label Burning Star Records saw the talent this band has and decided to offer them a contract. This contract led to the release of The Aftermath Odyssey, a concept album with great songs that will surely get stuck into your mind for a long time. The album starts with an epic intro that kind of makes you get into the concept's atmosphere and prepare for what is about to follow. A Rainy Day In Hell is a melancholic ballad that continues the epic atmosphere of the intro, and it is a song where Nielz convinces us about his vocal abilities with both his strong and emotional way of singing. In The Ashes starts really nice, with a Power/Prog opening riff and heavy guitars that are followed by a melodic EVERGREY meets QUEENSRYCHE compositions, that really put me down with its incredible melodies.

The combination of male and female vocals is just amazing, and the composing skills of the band result in an album that every single fan of Progressive/Power Metal will fall in love with. Even though the band members have stated that this is going to be a legendary, best selling Metal album and bullshit in general, I just look at the music and forget about the overall attitude. The recordings, the production, the mixing and all the studio work has been covered by the band's expenses and the work they have done on the sound is just great, since we have to deal with a solid and heavy sound that fits like a glove to NATION BEYOND's music.

The album's concept is all about a tale of love, hate and betrayal in a dark and dreadful future. The aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. Thus, I think they have chosen to use a simple and clever cover artwork that summarizes the story in just a picture. I strongly believe that this is one of the best debut albums for 2007 (if not the best) and my rating would be higher, but I just want to be careful since it is only the band's debut full-length work. I suggest you check these guys out and see that they deserve some of your money. That's all from me...