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: : Psychogeist : :
Psychogeist is the fifth release from Hungarian band Age of Nemesis, and
their second English release. As Hungary isn't too well known for their
progressive music scene (or music as such), I was curious to what this
would sound like. After all, much of what is released by bands from
countries we are more familiar with can be quite similar-sounding, with
groups like Pink Floyd, Marillion, Yes, Genesis, Queensryche and Dream
Theater being more than inspirations for quite a few bands.
Age of Nemesis consists of good musicians. I presume they have
experience from other bands before AoN was formed as well, but close to
a decade playing in one band makes them a tight sounding outfit, where
the individual musicians give each other space enough to make balanced
soundscapes. The only negative aspect I could hear, was that the
vocalist; in my ears at least; seemed to be a bit off key from time to
time.
But alas, musically there's no revolutions here. Apart from a general
feeling that some of the musicians may have a liking for jazz and fusion
- elements thereof appearing now and again in some of the songs - Age of
Nemesis is yet another band that have discovered Dream Theater's earlier
recordings, and has become too inspired by that sound. Especially the
guitar sounds like it has been lifted off DT's "Awake" album, the
rough/dirty sounding guitar sound you will find on some of the tracks on
that album in particular.
As for the individual songs, there are few standouts.
Track 4, "Mommy's Crying",
is a nice synth-driven ballad, where they add guitars and ups the tempo
3 minutes into the song. The song has a bit more identity than the other
tracks on the album, and is one of the two songs on the album I may play
again from time to time.
Track 10, "Abraxas", is
the other song which breaks the mold of the album. The song has an epic
feel to it overall, and although the Dream Theater influences can be
heard here, it's no too blatant throughout the song, and the structure
of this song makes it an interesting listen.
Negatively, the only track below average is track 9, "Karma". The band
tries out quite a few ideas and sounds on this track, and loses track of
the structure and drive along the way. Not really a bad song, but below
average in my opinion.
So, this is prog metal. It's not bad at all, competently performed by
competent musicians, but it left me with a general feeling of "I've
heard this before". Nothing new, but nothing very bad either.
And if you're into Dream Theater, this album could be a nice addition to
your album collection. Especially if you enjoyed DT as they sounded a
decade ago more than what they sound like today.
Rating: 6 (out of 10)
Reviewer: Olav Björnsen
: : Visit the Artist’s Website : :
: : Discography : :
Psychogeist (2006)
Terra Incognita (2002)
Eden? (2002)
Abraxas (1999)
Nemesis (1998)
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