THEOCRACY started as a one-man project by Matt Smith and was evolved into a 'regular' after the positive feedback to the self-titled album in the late of 2003. So, THEOCRACY with a full time line-up hit the stores with the second album entitled Mirror Of Souls through Ulterium Records.
The album starts with two songs that clearly belong to the classic Euro Power Metal; galloping rhythms, catchy riffs and uplifting melodies are the main elements that I have to say are not something ground breaking. In fact this is my personal complaint about the otherwise likeable genre that almost all the bands are sound pretty much the same. Fortunately, the third song changed my initial impressions; Laying The Demon To Rest lasts almost ten minutes and is packed with guitar melodies and some almost Progressive Metal finishing touches. The general Epic atmosphere makes the song even more appealing and takes a step further from the predictable structure of Euro Power Metal music. The homonymous track makes things even more interesting impressively clocking twenty two minutes. Actually, I could describe this song with the new term Progressive Power Metal; many melodies and tempo changes justify the 'Progressive' part while the Epic high pitched vocals, the pompous keyboard melodies and the galloping rhythms the second part of this 'new' term. The building tension in the first half of the song bursts out with catchy guitar hooks and really good leads that fit excellently Matt's vocals. Indeed, Matt's has a wide range voice that serves the Power Metal side with powerful high pitches without losing an inch on the melodic parts.
I think you got my point in this review; I spent all the words talking about the dominating tracks of the album that clearly reveal the band's high composing potentials. This does not mean that the rest of the song are bad but are 'hidden' under the heavy shadow of the aforementioned compositions. I will definitely keep an eye on THEOCRACY secretly wishing that they will not loose themselves by working exclusively the long durations because there is a thin line that separates the term 'Progressive' from 'overloaded'.