Mother Of Millions: Sigma

Mother Of Millions is a Greek quintet that have been around for some time now. They released their first disc in 2014, a concept album titled Human. In the fall of 2017 they came out with their second effort Sigma. According to the band this is a concept album. Sigma is the 18th letter in the Greek alphabet but beyond that your guess is as good as mine. It will take a bit more studying of the lyrics to identify the album's conceptual inspiration.

In the band are:
George Prokopiou (vocals)
Kostas Konstantinidis (guitars)
Panos Priftis (bass)
Makis Tsamkosoglou (keyboards, samples)
George Boukaouris (drums, percussion)

This is a dark themed album with an underlying feeling of despair. Although this is not an upbeat record, it is not depressing either. It is the album's denseness that attributes its undeniably intense outlook, both musically and conceptually. When thinking of comparisons Pain Of Salvation and Leprous came to mind almost immediately. With the first track "Emerge" a moody layer of synths and narration is interrupted by energetic bursts of orchestration. The effect is dramatic and attention getting. The guitar work has that atmospheric sustain that I really dig and the slow build is at times reminiscent to something Anathema might do. The off kilter riffs and cool chord progressions in "Shine" and "Silence" reminded me a little of Leprous' more recent offerings. The latter features soaring vocals and moody guitar work and both are excellent tracks. The build from mellow to heavy makes "Rome" another captivating listen. Tasty riffs and tranquil piano diversify the sound. Two more highlights include the instrumental "Their Passage, The Light" which takes on Greek melodies and eastern motifs with some fantastic violin courtesy of Charalampos Paritsis and the startlingly good "Collision" featuring great builds ala Anathema and a vocal performance/arrangement that is lifted from the Pain Of Salvation songbook. As the song progresses the intensity level rises with great riffs and emotive vocals that you really need to hear.

Sigma is a dense, textural and masterfully executed slab of moody progressive rock and metal that will turn more than a few heads. If you enjoy any of the bands previously mentioned and appreciate finely crafted music that will make you think beyond the box, Mother Of Millions comes highly recommended.

Track Listing:
1. Emerge
2. Shine
3. Silence
4. Rome
5. Their Passage, The Light
6. Collision
7. The Rapture
8. Spiral
9. Sigma

Added: May 2nd 2018
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band's Official Site
Hits: 1069
Language: english

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