Into The Eye Of The Storm is an extremely entertaining album that is filled with a lot of very refreshing sounds. Rock solid guitar and rhythm work are melded with a keyboard sound that is blessedly different from the current trend to form a memorable album.
The keyboards of Vitalij Kuprij are the lifeblood of Artension; they breathe excellence into what would otherwise be noble but mundane progmetal songs. Not content to simply set his keyboard to "Kevin Moore" like so many players seem these days, Vitalij experiments with various sounds, and the result is an album that reminds me more of Rainbow than anything else.
The album starts out with "World of Illusion," an involving track that lets vocalist John West take some unexpected twists and turns. The title track is also very memorable.
If there's a weak spot here, aside from the "been-there-done-that" feeling that I find myself fighting off at certain times during the album, it's the lyrics, which are pretty, well, cheesy. That's not a big deal, though, since the musicianship it so tight and the melodies so well thought out. The masterpiece is the instrumental "Red's Recovery," a dazzling piece that makes the whole album worthwhile.
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
