Sphere of Souls is a new Dutch Prog Metal band, made up of experienced musicians from other bands, such as Sun Caged and Autumn Equinox. Lead vocalist Andre' Vuurboom sings in perfect English and has a strong, passionate voice that is perfect for the genre. The other musicians are quite good, too, especially lead guitarist Anand Mahangoe.
This is excellent Metal, with a blend of cultural diversity in the title cut to the haunting, Proggy track, "Extinct". A couple of the songs are on the slow side, most notably "Loss", and I really didn't care much for the background chatter on "No Salvation", but overall, I enjoyed this album.
While the lyrics are typically deep and depressing, common with modern Metal bands, the songs on this album are delivered so well musically, you may not even notice the dark words. The instrumental parts jibe with perfect precision, blending both traditional and modern Metal elements with a slight Alternative edge. The keyboards could be a little stronger, but I am not too disappointed, especially with the piano parts in the last song, Epilogue.
The band plays very well together, like a well-oiled machine, and it shows. This is how Metal should be done!
I really like this album a lot and see Sphere of Souls as a serious contender in the Prog Metal realm if they continue to write and produce quality music. Buy this album and enjoy it!
Reviewed by Melissa Palmer on May 30th, 2006
