Australian act Fracture have just released their debut for Nightmare Records, called Simple Chaos, and it's a very solid platter of dark & powerful power/progressive metal for fans of classic Queensryche, Fates Warning, and Zero Hour. Comprised of David Bellion (vocals, guitars, keyboards) and Tony Markou (guitars, bass), with help on drums from Mark Emblin, Fracture sound like a full-fledged band here, as Simple Chaos is chock full of soaring vocals, memorable songs, and guitar work that borders on technical at times but is always heavy, thick, and dense.
From the opening track "Unidentified", with its sci-fi themed lyrics and bone crunching riffs, to the galloping "Frame of Mind", Fracture deliver the goods from the outset in a big way. Both Markou & Bellion have created a huge wall of guitar thunder throughout this CD, and David's vocals are firmly in the Tate/Alder/Salinas mold. He's all over the moody "Rearranged" with both high pitched and mid-range passages, and his poignant delivery on "The Grand Illusion" reminds of Fates Warning's Ray Alder at his best. Nice mix of staccato riffing and classical guitar runs on the title track, and "The Killing Kind" provides plenty of crushing progressive metal arrangements that fans of Zero Hour will go ape-shit over. Another winner here is the grinding, early Fates Warning inspired "A Common Thread", filled to the gills with dark, menacing riffs, complex rhythms, and a HUGE vocal performance from Bellion.
Due to its dark nature, Simple Chaos is an album that will take a few listens to fully get into, but it's worth the ride I can guarantee you that. I believe Fracture have fleshed out their line-up since recording this CD, and I can only predict that this band are going to be a monstrous metal machine in the months and years to come.
Track Listing
1. Unidentified 06:20
2. Frame Of Mind 04:27
3. Rearranged 07:52
4. The Grand Illusion 04:39
5. Simple Chaos 05:39
6. Without End 05:04
7. The Killing Kind 08:42
8. A Common Thread 05:02
9. The Wish 04:22
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