Siren's Cry: Scattered Horizons

Scattered Horizons is the debut album by female fronted Progressive Symphonic/Power Metal band Siren's Cry, and it made a powerful first impression on me. The style is quite unique, and comparisons could be made with Symphony X, Nightwish, Epica, Dream Theater, Serenity, and many others I'm sure. The instrumentalists demonstrate chops that are in the same league with the best Progressive Metal bands out there – changing compound time signatures abound, multiple instruments riffing in unison or at other times in complex layering, experimentation, and dizzyingly fast riffs. The style can be described as at times dark and gothic, theatrical and powerful, symphonic, surprising and exotic, clever and playful, and all together quite intriguing. And while the band gets quite technical and progressive at times, they also show a knack for writing catchy choruses that will plant a bug in your ear. And the progressive transitions between sections of songs can be quite surprising – in "Elegy of R'lyeh", the band breaks out into a jazz trio section, and in "Controversial Mind" at one point a little jam breaks out that reminds me of a blues-infiltrated Satriani Boogie.

My one and only critique of the album was that I noticed some production issues with the way the vocals were recorded, but the music was so well-crafted, and carefully, intricately composed and arranged that I felt that I had to give this album a very high rating regardless of this nit-picky detail. This band is definitely one to watch in the days to come and will be quite a contender in the Progressive Metal genre, I'm sure!

Track listing:
1. Introitus
2. S3V3N
3. Oratory & Sins
4. Elegy of R'lyeh
5. Draconian Spectrum
6. Cold Amber & Scalding Tears
7. Sahara Sagas Pt. I
I: Overture – Sands of Time
II: Beyond the Veil
III: The Unravelling
IV: Shahryār - The Great King
V: Astray
8. Serpents of War
9. Controversial Mind

Added: June 26th 2012
Reviewer: Geoff Glenister
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 517
Language: english

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